Zero Waste Enthusiast Fixes Broken Laundry Basket She’s Been Using for Years With Creative Crocheting Trick
Weaving something out of the yarn is akin to solving a puzzle. As the needle spins forming interconnected patterns of threads, the knotty thought loops in the brain quietly resolve themselves. The result is both, a crafty piece of art and a mind inspired by creativity. Crocheting is therapeutic, no wonder, but at times, it can also be resourceful. In September 2021, a 28-year-old woman, u/bifalif, took to Reddit to share an experience about how stitching crochet straps helped her give a new life to a broken laundry basket. As a zero-waste enthusiast, she had been using that basket her whole life and chose to repair it instead of throwing it away.
“I had the same laundry basket my entire life. One of the handles has been cracking more and more for a few years. Rather than buy a new one, I made a crocheted handle to hold it together,” the crocheter described in the post caption. She also shared some photos of her laundry basket, before and after crochet fixing. Two photos displayed an ivory-hued Rubbermaid plastic basket cracked at the handles running down the lattice sides. The other two photos displayed the basket handles, fixed and decorated with artsy crochet patches of olive green color. The corner of one photo revealed a blue vintage sticker reading the year of manufacturing as 1991.
It took her an hour to complete the entire crochet fixing, the 28-year-old revealed in a comment. Instead of following a particular pattern, she said she just “sat next to the hamper and eyeballed it.” To arrive at the perfect length suited for the basket handles, she did 30 “ch,” a crocheting jargon referring to a “chain stitch.” She then followed “sc” running all the way down. “Sc,” in crochet terminology, implies a “single crochet.”
“Chain” and “Single Crochet” are two of the most basic crocheting motions that involve tasks like how to yarn over, draw yarn through the stitch, and draw yarn through two loops on the hook. Craftsy explained in a video that while turning a single crochet into a chain, one needs to pay attention to the bumps and ridges on the yarn, whereas while doing the opposite, one is required to pay attention to the V-shape of the crochet stitch. Joy of Motion Crochet explains that a chain stitch isn’t the same as a single crochet stitch. “The chain is made with two steps: yarn over and pull yarn through the loop. The single crochet is made with 3 steps: Insert hook into stitch/space to pull up a loop, yarn over, and pull yarn through the loop on the hook,” the website elaborates.
Commenting on the zero-waste advocate's method, u/battraman exclaimed, “That's a lot more elegant than the epoxy and zip tie fix on mine!” u/Cocoricou commented, “Thanks to you. I now have 2 laundry baskets!” Many people said that her method looked much more efficient than using things like zip ties or sticky duct tape. To keep everything nicer and more sturdy, the crocheter suggested “using 100% cotton, 4-weight yarn with a 4mm hook.” Also known as worsted yarn, a 4-weight yarn is the workhorse yarn popular for knitting and crocheting a wide range of crafty items from garments to accessories and home décor. And as seen in this woman's case, sometimes to fix broken things!