Crochet the Luxe Leopard Basket: A Free Crochet Pattern
What do you get when you mix leopard, yarn, and plants?! Something fabulous, of course! I’m excited to share the Luxe Leopard Basket pattern today. This crochet basket is perfect for dressing up your plants, but can also be used for organizing or as a project basket for your crochet.
The following is a free pattern available for use on my website, if you would like to purchase a detailed, ad-free PDF version of this pattern, please visit my Etsy or Ravelry shop. All rights reserved.
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About the Luxe Leopard Basket
The Luxe Leopard Basket was designed with plants in mind. I love crochet baskets for all sorts of decor around my house, but plant pot covers is probably one of my favorite uses. I go over several ideas for crochet baskets and share some great patterns on my 17+ Free Crochet Basket Patterns post.
That being said, I created two sizes for this basket with plant nursery pots in mind. The Small basket is designed for a 4″ plant pot and the Medium is designed for a 6″ plant pot. And I have lots of notes for adjusting the size for all of you ambitious crocheters with a green thumb and larger plants.
These baskets are “lightly floppy” as I like to call them. They can technically stand on their own but do best with a little bit of filling to shape them.
About the Luxe Leopard Collection
The Luxe Leopard Baskets are the latest addition to the Luxe Leopard Collection. This series started with a desire to make a crochet leopard print beanie, and has slowly grown over the last few years. Check out the entire Luxe Leopard Collection on this round-up post. Or click the button below to scroll through all the pattern posts.
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About the Yarn
For this project, I used Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton held double. This is one of my favorite cotton yarns because its mercerized. This means that the cotton is finished in a way that gives it a special luster. And if you feel it, it has almost a cord-like texture. It also had exactly the colorways I was looking for in doing a leopard print (Hay Bale & Black).
Another one of my favorite cotton yarns is Dishie Cotton from WeCrochet. Its durable, affordable, and comes in lots of colors. They didn’t have exactly the color I was looking for in my project, but they definitely have some great combos for a less traditional leopard print color combo.
I often recommend cotton yarn from home decor items for its durability. But you could definitely substitute in another worsted weight yarn (or bulky) for this project and be just fine.
Double Stranded vs Single Stranded
To give some density as the size of the basket increased, I used two strands of worsted weight cotton yarn held together for the Medium basket. The Small basket is made with a single strand of yarn, however, it can also be made with yarn held double and less increase rounds (see Customizing Your Basket Size section).
Changing Yarn Weight
Two strands of worsted weight cotton is about the equivalent of your average bulky weight (CYC 5) yarn. Instead of double strands, you can opt to substitute a bulky weight yarn single stranded.
You can also use a super bulky yarn for a slightly denser basket; however you may need to increase your hook size slightly with the larger yarn. (Hint: Your best indicator of needing a larger hook size will be if your circular base begins to curl instead of lying flat.)
Just be aware that your gauge and finished basket size will vary if changing yarn and hook sizes.
Customizing your Basket Size
Making it Bigger…
You can customize the size of your basket by working the base increases until the circle reaches the width you’d like your basket to be. Once you’re done with the increase rows, complete step Round 13, then move onto Body of the basket.
To account for the additional stitches, you will need to repeat the color graph when you begin working your tapestry section. (Note: Additional chart rows have already been included for taller baskets.)
For a larger basket, I recommend using your yarn double stranded to give your basket more stability. You may also consider using 19 Gauge Galvanized wire in the basket edge to increase stability and keep it from falling in on itself.
Making it Smaller…
For a smaller basket, you will begin by making less increase rounds in your base. You can work either single stranded or double stranded for smaller baskets. Once done with the increase rows, complete step Round 13, then move onto Body of the basket.
When you have your desired basket size, you will take note of your stitch count. When working the tapestry section, you will stop when you reach the column that corresponds to your stitch count and begin again at column 1 for your next round.
Let’s Get Started…
Materials Needed
2-4 Skeins of Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton in 2 colors (see yardage below)
Size 4.5mm or 6.0mm crochet hook
Tapestry needle
Stitch Marker
Scissors
Stitches/Abbreviations Used
MC – Main Color
CC – Contrasting Color
Sc – Single Crochet
Sc Inc – Single Crochet Increase
Sc in BLO – Single Crochet in Back Loops Only
Reverse Single Crochet
Skill Level
Experienced Beginner
Gauge
Gauge for both baskets is SC in BLO
Small: 10 st x 9 rows = 2” square
Medium (yarn held double): 15 st x 13 rows = 4” square
Finished Measurements
Small: 5”w x 3.5”h
Medium: 7”w x 5”h
Yardage
Small: 65 yds MC, 30 yds, CC
Medium: 170 yds MC, 80 yds CC
Notes
- This pattern is worked in a continuous round. It is recommended that you use a stitch marker to mark the first stitch of the round.
- The baskets sizes are written as (Small, Medium).
- The Medium basket is made using yarn held double. The Small basket is made with yarn held single. To hold your yarn double, it is helpful to have two skeins available or to wind your skein into a cake and pull from both the inside and the outside of the cake.
- For ease of chart use, this pattern is divided into two sections. Each section begins again at Round 1.
- Some shorthand is used in the written instructions of the tapestry. The instructions note the color, followed by the number of stitches to be worked using that color. Ex: MC4, CC2 = 4 stitches of Main Color, 2 stitches of Contrasting Color
Special Stitches/Techniques
Single Crochet Increase: Work two single crochet stitches in the same stitch from the previous round.
Reverse Single Crochet: With work facing you, single crochet in the stitch to the right instead of the left. This creates a twisting effect to the stitch that is used for the border.
Changing Color: Pull up a loop for a single crochet, Then using next color, yarn over and pull through. Continue working with next color.
Tapestry Crochet: For tapestry, you will be doing color changes and working from a graph or written instructions. Each square on the graph corresponds to one single crochet stitch. I recommend carrying your unused color behind your stitches for this project. For help with tapestry crochet, check out this tutorial video.
Pattern
BASE
Using (1,2) strands of MC and (4.5mm, 6.0mm) hook. Magic circle with yarn.
Round 1: Sc 6 into Magic Circle. PM in first stitch. (6)
Round 2: Sc Inc in each stitch around. PM. (12)
Round 3: *Sc, Sc Inc.* Repeat from * to * around. PM. (18)
Round 4: *Sc 2, Sc Inc.* Repeat from * to * around. PM. (24)
Round 5: *Sc 3, Sc Inc.* Repeat from * to * around. PM. (30)
Round 6: *Sc 4, Sc Inc.* Repeat from * to * around. PM. (36)
Round 7: *Sc 5, Sc Inc.* Repeat from * to * around. PM. (42)
Round 8: *Sc 6, Sc Inc.* Repeat from * to * around. PM. (48)
Round 9: *Sc 7, Sc Inc.* Repeat from * to * around. PM. (54)
Round 10: *Sc 8, Sc Inc.* Repeat from * to * around. PM. (60)
Round 11: *Sc 9, Sc Inc.* Repeat from * to * around. PM. (66)
Round 12: *Sc 10, Sc Inc.* Repeat from * to * around. Sl st to first sc of round to join. (72)
Round 13: Ch 1. Sc in BLO in each stitch around. Continue working in continuous round. (72)
BODY
Round 1-14: Sc in BLO following color changes on graph or written instructions below. Continue working until basket the reaches desired height.
Round 15: Reverse single crochet in each stitch around to form an edge. Sl st to join and weave ends to close any gaps on the edge row.
COLORWORK GRAPH
Written Instructions
Round 1: CC2, MC2, CC3, MC9, CC2, MC4, CC3, MC4, CC2, MC, CC3, MC8, CC8, MC2, CC3, MC6, CC3, MC6, CC
Round 2: CC2, MC2, CC4, MC8, CC2, MC2, CC6, MC7, CC2, MC7, CC4, MC2, CC3, MC2, CC3, MC4, CC7, MC4, CC
Round 3: CC2, MC3, CC3, MC2, CC5, MC4, CC4, MC, CC3, MC2, CC5, MC3, CC2, MC3, CC4, MC3, CC2, MC3, CC2, MC3, CC4, MC, CC4, MC3, CC
Round 4: MC6, CC2, MC, CC7, MC3, CC3, MC2, CC3, MC2, CC4, MC3, CC4, MC3, CC3, MC12, CC3, MC5, CC3, MC3
Round 5: MC5, CC2, MC2, CC3, MC2, CC3, MC7, CC3, MC3, CC2, MC2, CC7, MC8, CC2, MC6, CC3, MC6, CC3, MC3
Round 6: MC, CC6, MC2, CC2, MC4, CC2, MC2, CC3, MC, CC3, MC7, CC4, MC2, CC3, MC2, CC2, MC2, CC3, MC7, CC2, MC5, CC4, MC3
Round 7: CC6, MC3, CC2, MC3, CC3, MC2, CC6, MC3, CC2, MC3, CC3, MC4, CC2, MC2, CC6, MC3, CC3, MC3, CC4, MC, CC4, MC3, CC
Round 8: CC6, MC2, CC2, MC3, CC3, MC4, CC4, MC3, CC3, MC3, CC3, MC4, CC2, MC2, CC5, MC3, CC5, MC3, CC3, MC, CC3, MC4, CC
Round 9: MC, CC3, MC4, CC2, MC, CC4, MC5, CC, MC4, CC6, MC2, CC3, MC3, CC3, MC3, CC, MC5, CC7, MC6, CC2, MC6
Round 10: MC9, CC, MC, CC3, MC3, CC, MC6, CC7, MC3, CC4, MC, CC2, MC8, CC4, MC2, CC4, MC13
Round 11: MC6, CC2, MC3, CC2, MC3, CC2, MC, CC2, MC3, CC2, MC3, CC3, MC3, CC3, MC, CC, MC2, CC5, MC2, CC4, MC4, CC2, MC7, CC2, MC4
Round 12: MC5, CC4, MC6, CC2, MC2, CC3, MC2, CC2, MC4, CC3, MC3, CC2, MC4, CC2, MC, CC2, MC3, CC4, MC, CC3, MC5, CC2, MC, CC3, MC3
Round 13: MC2, CC8, MC4, CC3, MC3, CC2, MC2, CC2, MC3, CC4, MC8, CC2, MC3, CC2, MC4, CC5, MC5, CC3, MC, CC4, MC2
Round 14: MC, CC4, MC2, CC4, MC3, CC3, MC2, CC3, MC3, CC3, MC, CC3, MC4, CC3, MC2, CC2, MC3, CC2, MC14, CC2, MC5, CC2, MC
Round 15: Reverse single crochet in each stitch around to form an edge. Sl st to join and weave ends to close any gaps in edge row.
Final Thoughts
I hope you love the Luxe Leopard Basket! I’d love to see some of your makes, so be sure to tag me at @craftingforweeks on Facebook or Instagram. And don’t forget to use hashtag #luxeleopardbasket to see more projects and get some color combo ideas.
If you’re looking for more home decor patterns try out my Ocean’s Breath Wall-Hanging or my Onyx Nesting Baskets!
Until next time, Happy Crafting!
