Wonderfully wired

I have an obsession with wire...it ranks right below my madness about metal...I'll pick up any random spool I spy at yard, garage, or estate sales... the more rusted, the better...

Lately I have focused on woven wire...or more specifically, hardware cloth...you know the stuff...comes in rolls, either 1/2" or 1/4" openings...very sturdy and rigid...with a lovely patina since it is usually zinc coated (and I don't know why its called hardware cloth...)

As case would have it, I had a partial roll in the basement...and after I used a bit of it for the flower frog mason jars I made (and thank you apartment therapy for highlighting them here), I was struck with the idea of making baskets...based on the idea of the charming french oyster baskets I found here.

I formulated a plan and first made a practice basket...
I had graph paper with 1/2" grid, so my pattern was drawn to size...

I cut out my pattern, using a tin snips and a needle nose pliers...you'll notice that on alternating edges, I snipped the wires close while on the opposite side, I left the wires long...my plan was to bend up each side and then hook the longer wires around the flush end...

My second basket demonstrates this technique...after I cut out my pattern, I bent each side of the basket upward, using a metal ruler to get an even line...



























and then I bent small hooks on one side of the upright wire that "looped" around the flush wire side...and once it was aligned, I squeezed the loop tight...

With the corners completed, I moved onto the top edge, bending over the snipped tops to form a loop that curled to the inside...for one of the baskets I made, I reversed the loop, and curled it to the outside.

Once the baskets were complete, I added the vintage tags I made to two of the baskets for extra embellishment...

And now they are perfect for organizing desk paraphernalia...

The small square basket is great for odds and ends...

The large "etc." basket is just the right size to hold file folders...

and the "junk" basket...well, holds junk!  its size is ideal for corralling jars...I threaded a length of linen twine through the loops on the top edge and attached the "junk" tag on the end...

There's a few things I learned in the process...wearing gloves might be advised...the cut edges of the wire are SHARP...
And don't get too carried away with making your loops perfect...bending the wire back and forth weakens it...and if you bend too far or too often, the wire breaks off...