Create a Unique Basket From an Old Sauce Pot
3 Materials
$5
15 Minutes
Easy
Using sisal twine and a thrift store pot I created a unique "basket" with a rustic farmhouse feel. It is an easy and inexpensive way to DIY a place to decoratively store just about anything!
There are days when I want to create, but feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that I have purchased to DIY....too many choices to work on with no clue what to do with anything. Normally during those times, I go shop for more so that I can feel inspired by something new. And yes, this just makes the problem worse!
Rather than going to my local Goodwill to find something to create, though, I went to the pile of stuff in my basement that I was going to be donating to Goodwill. I got to "shop" through things that I wasn't seeing any value in anymore. Not only did this avoid adding more finds to my stock, but it was free!
Rather than going to my local Goodwill to find something to create, though, I went to the pile of stuff in my basement that I was going to be donating to Goodwill. I got to "shop" through things that I wasn't seeing any value in anymore. Not only did this avoid adding more finds to my stock, but it was free!
I chose a sauce pot out of the pile and brought it upstairs to figure out something to make.
Believe it or not, choosing a random item and forcing yourself to figure out something to do with it is wonderful for developing a little creativity. It focuses your attention on just one item and allows your mind to really ponder what could be made out of the item in front of you.
I thought for awhile about how I could transform this into something useful while sticking with my style.
Believe it or not, choosing a random item and forcing yourself to figure out something to do with it is wonderful for developing a little creativity. It focuses your attention on just one item and allows your mind to really ponder what could be made out of the item in front of you.
I thought for awhile about how I could transform this into something useful while sticking with my style.
What I decided to do with my old pot was to turn it into a storage "basket" using hot glue and sisal . Can I just say that this project took maybe 15 minutes and I am totally in love with the result? The simple DIY project created a container to decoratively store just about anything from towels in the bathroom as I'm showing here to mail in an entryway or magazines or toys on a shelf. Imagine what you need to store and it could probably go into this pot!
The handles needed to be removed from the sides of the pot. There were metal pieces attached to the pot that went inside the handles, but I just folded these over against the pot with a hammer.
Using a glue gun, wrap the sisal around the pot, gluing every so often to secure it to the metal. The pot I was using had a lip around the top, so I started gluing the sisal on just under it.
Take the sisal down to the bottom of the pot, and then cut it wherever your want the back to be.
Using a glue gun, wrap the sisal around the pot, gluing every so often to secure it to the metal. The pot I was using had a lip around the top, so I started gluing the sisal on just under it.
Take the sisal down to the bottom of the pot, and then cut it wherever your want the back to be.
It looked a little plain to me, so I decided to add two basket "handles" as well.
I glued on two sisal loops, but again it was missing something, so I wrapped jute twine around the handles so that they looked like they were sewn onto the basket. This is easier to do before the handles are glued onto the pot.
I glued on two sisal loops, but again it was missing something, so I wrapped jute twine around the handles so that they looked like they were sewn onto the basket. This is easier to do before the handles are glued onto the pot.
And about 15 minutes later your project is complete! This is such an easy project that anyone can do with a random pot or baking pan you might find (or have on hand!).
I really love the texture of the sisal and think it pairs perfectly with the metal band around the top of the pan.
I really love the texture of the sisal and think it pairs perfectly with the metal band around the top of the pan.
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3 of 276 comments
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Cyndeeon Aug 29, 2020
I think lace or dollies draped around the top rim would just the added touch a person might be looking for
- Kkcoolcrafteron Aug 29, 2020
Agreed
Your comment...
Have a question about this project?
Any ideas for the lid?
Remove the handle, add twine to match the pot. Find thinner twine & wrap/glue to the insude of the lid. You then have a matching tray for your storage pot. Could use it to store soaps, etc to go with your pot of towels :)
any ideas for the lid?
Macrame a holder for it and wrap it to match the "basket", turn it upside down and hang your new bird bath/ feeder. :-)
Or if you're handy with the drill, just drill 3-4 holes around the edges and knot the cord underneath.
if it was made into a plant pot the lid could become the drain tray
I would make a mirror
The hot glue adhered well to the metal? Thought it might not stick permanently.
I would not glue the rope to the metal. I would glue the rope to the rope.
Use a builder's adhesive such as liquid Nails to attach just bout anything to metal. There's more dry time but it's attached! I used Liquid Nails to attach silk flowers to a curtain rod nearly 15 years ago and they're still over th window in my guest bedroom.
The hot glue adhered well to the metal? Thought it might not stick permanently.
They have hot glue stick at hobby lobby for metal and wood.
This inspired me......I got an old pan that bubbled up in the center of the bottom. I finally pitched in under a plant for drainage. Maybe, I will do this or paint it. Thank you!! Any ideas for the lid??????????
I would do the lid the same way but buy a really neat knob,maybe glue some shells to it...😊
Thank you Patty for tryin' to help me......
Are you aware that the "pot" you used from the thrift store is a Vintage, almost antique, Piece of WareEver cookware manufactured from about 1932 through about 1939? You have the lid to go with it too matching. Turn it upside down ans see the Manufactures seal on the bottom. The handles are also in tact. I have not looked at the Ebay price for those pieces for quite some time but I think your pot with the lid is probably even today coveted at around $40.00. They are getting hard to find. Your basket is really a lovely idea though. I still have my mother's whole set of cookware she bought about a year before I was born. Have a great day.
That would be Wear-ever
I have an oval Wear-ever roaster that also has a lift out roaster rack. I’ve tried selling at garage sale, and FaceBook Marketplace with ZERO interest in it. Now I know I need to turn to eBay! Thank you. This is a real cute idea though. Perhaps I’ll head over to thrift store to pick one up that isn’t intact!
I noticed that too.
I still have a set of WearEver that I bought when I graduated high school in 1967!!! It went through a fire in 1986 and I contacted the company and they sent new handles!!! I’ve gone through a zillion other pan sets but this one just keeps on going!!
I love this! I have an old one that needs a new life and this just might be the life it was looking for. I can't wait to make it into this transformation Thanks for sharing
I love this! I know I have something I can use!
PLEASE don't get me wrong. I love what you did with this and that it didn't go to a trash bin. I am going to use your idea, just not a WearEver pot.
Most people who see these at garage sales have no idea what they are or the history. WearEver is like the "Bunny Batteries that keep on Ticking!" WearEver for their 75th Anniversary gave notice that anyone who shipped their "old" set of pots and pans to them for reconditioning, paying shiping and handling both ways, would get them back in "new condition". That meant body & fender work, polishing, new handles and Nobs. Can't think of another company to do that. Yes, out of a 90 year old's kitchen you might find some WearEver.
WearEver, Guardian, Wagner Ware, and a couple of others are all collectables, not worth as much now on Ebay as a few years ago but they are worth more than the re-cycler will give you for the Aluminum. Also folks who do not know what they are, are throwing them in the recycle bins or dumpsters. If you ever come across a Spring-Maid, Fantastic. That was a European treasure and not too many around due to housewives "giving" their pots and pans, especially in France, to be reformed into airplanes in the fight against Germany. They are darn near priceless.
Lovetra
Did you put any thing under the pot as not to scratch surfaces?
She did the bottom too
what does it mean? Jute twine around the handles. I didn't see it.
See the tiny loops of dark twine where the handle is attached? That is jute.
Wouldnt it look better to put the handles under the twine instead of on the outside?
This is what I would of done also with the twine handles for extra strength and les coming unraveled
It would look more finished, but as she said it was an after thought. I think it's a super great way to use a bunch of my late mom's pots I couldn't bear to pay with.
Yes it would
I just threw out one of my moms old pot. A piece of double pot I've used for 30 years after she used it for 30 years. H.im.mmm.. I
One woman’s trash ... ha ha! I need to find a use for my mom’s old pressure cooker. I’m too afraid to use it, it’s 65 years old with a good gasket, but most modern ones are so much lighter, programmable, and usually safer. I’ll experiment with rope on mine. ☺️
This is a great idea to reuse something that has served its purpose for a long time. I was thinking it would also be cute to use some pieces of an old skinny leather belt cut to a proper length and hot glued on the sides for handles. You could even put some metal tacks at the ends of the leather pieces to make it look like a brad going through the handles and the pot. Either way, it's a great project! Thanks for sharing your creativity!
Jewell, that heavy pressure cooker is the best pan ever for making peanut brittle.
Don’t part with the pressure cooker pot. I still use my mother-in-law’s pot minus the gasket for an every day pot and lid. No gasket. She used it as her bean pot for years after she stopped using as a pressure cooker!
This is a great use of an old pot; I'm not even that crafty and I'm sure I can do this. One thing I think I will change and that is the handles. The way they are put on here they are more " decorative" than " functional". If you make the handles one piece rather than cut two that are glued, one piece (still glued in place on sides) seems to me to be safer if it is lifted and the glue fails, you don't lose the balance. Do you think it would make it "wobble" to do it that way?
I would braid each handle and then unwind the open the ends and spread then out like a fan down to the bottom so they will lay as flat as possible, gluing them to the side of the pan. Then wind the sisal over them, gluing as I go, leaving the braided portion for holding.
You are putting items in so it doesn’t show?
One long handle going the length of the pot ? Wouldnt look as good and as a basket weaver i can tell you real woven baskets are not made that way. It would also look better to incorporate the handle into the weave so that it is not just glued to the outside...great idea to use an old pot.....
what did you do to the inside bottom of the pot? Anything?
Yeah I’d like to know what it looks like.
Sounds like her handles were an after thought.
Great job, nice idea, came out great.
Carolyn from N.H.
What happened to the original post handles?
Hi Mick,
She said she removed the handles (the black heat resistant part) then hit the metal part that the handles were screwed to with a hammer to flatten them against the outside of the pan. I guess she simply wound the sisal rope over top of the flattened metal part of the handle. It seems to be well disguised! Such a cute basket!
If the holes are big enough, or you can make the holes bigger, what about poking the ends of "handle" rope thru and making a knot on the inside of the pan, making a loop handle? Knots on the inside, loops on the out. Does this make sense? :) :)
It would work, but those pot handle rivets would have left small holes. You could drill them out to be big enough for the rope. The edges would be sharp, though, so maybe using a metal file or a narrow layer of glue on those edges would prevent the new rope handles from fraying against them.
I love the idea but if it’s a bathroom that’s used a lot how did you keep from getting mold in the rope? Did you spray a protectant on it?
they don't have a answer to a good question.
Honestly, I've never had an issue of mold on anything in our bathroom. We have a fan but never use it. You're not going to immerse it in water.
Hi, Yvonne. Unless your bathroom is frequently steamy or water is splashed all over and not wiped up immediately, you shouldn’t have a problem with mold or rust. But if you want to protect the project, I have 2 suggestions: first, spray the pot inside and out before wrapping, with a waterproof sealer; second, spray the sisal before wrapping it on the pot, and later after wrapping. And on a low wide shelf or table or under the sink would be good places to use the pot. That should keep the pot safe unless someone decides to fill it with bubbles in the bathtub. Restrain yourself!
Thanks, good idea. I have some old pots which I had planned to use them for planting. But this is another great idea. Did you put anything in the inside so it wouldn’t get rusty or moldy?