Bag It Up: How to Make a Basket Bag for Summer

Using a simple basket (nearly any basket will work), you can create a super cute summer bag that is totally on trend.

Inspired by these bags from Clare V that I literally have been seeing everywhere lately, I wanted to create a bag that wouldn’t break the bank, but would mimic this look. After a little trial and error, I came up with this quick and easy tutorial. And you’ll only need a few supplies to make your own!

Materials for DIY Summer Basket Bag

• cool basket with no handles (linked up some of my favorites below)
• leather scraps or straps (length dependent on preference)
• leather hole punch
• needle and embroidery floss in desired color
• ruler / straight edge
• sharp knife or boxcutter (for cutting the leather)

How to Make a DIY Summer Basket Bag

1. Start by cutting down a piece of leather to your desired handle size. For one of the baskets (the neon striped one), I cut the leather down to just one piece that is 11 inches long and 2 inches wide. And the other basket, was cut into two leather handles that are each 9.5 inches long and 1 inch wide.

It would also be cool to do a bag with really long leather straps that tape on more of a tote shape, if you have a basket that would work for that. There are lots of possibilities for this one!

2. Once the handle or handles have been cut, punch holes on each end of the leather in your desired design. For the neon striped basket, I did three evenly spaced holes toward the bottom of each end of the strap. And for the earthy striped basket, I punched two evenly spaced holes toward the bottom of each end of the leather handles.

3. Next, determine your desired placement of the handles on the basket and attach each handle to the basket with embroidery floss. Just triple knot one end of the embroidery floss and then start threading through the inside of the basket and go through the already punched holes several times each (4-5 times each  hole should be good). Then thread the floss through to the inside once more and triple knot the end before cutting off any excess.

4. Repeat this process from step 3 on all the handle holes until everything is secure and then it’s ready to use.

Need some basket inspiration before you get started? Here are a handful of baskets that I think would be perfect for this project! Roll over any basket below for more details or click to shop that item.

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When I use one of these bags, I usually carry my wallet, sunglasses, some makeup, my keys, and a few other small items. And it holds up great! But that said, these DIY summer basket bags probably aren’t meant for a ‘kitchen sink’ bag moment.

As long as you stitch the embroidery floss through multiple times, as I suggested, it’s totally sturdy for general use.

Photography Brittni Mehlhoff

Are you as excited for summer as I am? Minus the extreme heat in Atlanta, I ‘m happy to have an excuse to start with the summer project ideas!

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