Stash-busting knitted basket ...

If you're looking for something to use up some of the chunky wool in your yarn stash I've got the solution. This little basket eats yarn. I've made it using 4 strands of Hayfield Bonus Chunky, worked together on 15mm circular needles (80 cm cord) using the magic loop method. It's really easy, and with yarn of that combined thickness you can easily make it in under an hour from start to finish. My knitting tension averaged about 5 stitches x 10 rows on a 10 cm x 10 cm/ 4"x 4" swatch.

Just read on for the pattern:

Cast on 6 stitches using the long tail cast-on method.
Row 1: knit, being careful to join the circle without twisting the knitting, and to mark the beginning of the row with a stitch marker. You can see that I'm using an orange thread to mark my place in the photo below.

Row 2: knit into the front and back (kfb) of every stitch. You end this row with 12 stitches.
Rows 3: knit.
Row 4: *k1, kfb next stitch*. Repeat from * to * to the end of the row. You end this row with 18 stitches.
Rows 5 and 6: knit.
Row 7: *k1, kfb next stitch*. Repeat from * to * to the last stitch, knit 1. You end this row with 26 stitches.
Row 8: purl.
Rows 9 and 10: knit.
Row 11: *yarn forward, knit 2 together*. Repeat from * to * to the end of the row.
Row 12: knit.
Row 13: purl.
Row 14: cast off knit-wise.

Darn in your loose ends and you're done! Your finished basket should measure 18 cm across the diameter of the base. The tension of the stitch-work will pull it in slightly to about 14 cm across the diameter of the mouth.

All the best for now,

Bonny x