How to make a handle for a basket of newspaper tubes?

Handmade souvenirs have always been in demand. For many, the process of making them is a hobby, creative realization, relaxation, or even a way to get additional income. Wicker products are especially popular, which can be made not only from vines, but from paper materials. These options include baskets, baskets, vases, boxes and so on. If the finished product is varnished, it will be practically indistinguishable from a wicker product made of twigs. Today we will look at how to make a handle for a basket of newspaper tubes.

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Prepare the tubes

The main materials and tools used in the work include:

• printed matter - newspapers, magazines;
• knitting needle;
• glue;
• clothespins or clips;
• scissors;
• stationery knife;
• cardboard box;
• paint;
• varnish.

To make a pen, you first need to prepare the tubes. There are 2 main options for this process.

Option number 1:

• We cut strips 10x30 cm in size with scissors or a clerical knife.
• We twist each segment into a tube. To do this, put the needle at an acute angle and wind the paper on it so that one end is longer than the other.

Important! This must be done as tightly as possible to ensure the durability of the product.

• We glue the end of the segment.

Option number 2:

1. We cut strips 10x30 cm in size with scissors or a clerical knife.
2. We fold the obtained segments several times along to get ribbons of the same width. Now you can make a braid from them.

Important! This method is lighter than the first option, but it does not look so original.

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Paint and primer tubes

To make a handle for a basket of newspaper tubes, the material must be given the desired shade and texture. To do this, use these tips:

• When using color prints, curls can be left unpainted. The product from them will turn out spicy and unusual. When working with black and white newspapers blanks require staining.

Important! This can be done both before and after weaving, or you can choose a combined method of dyeing, which involves coating the color scheme before work, and applying the pattern after.

• You can paint with any composition in which there is a color pigment. The choice depends on the desired hue and saturation. There are dyes, after use of which the tubes become hard or soft. The compositions can be used both powder and alcohol or water based.

Important! The main options include: watercolor, gouache, acrylic color, stain, spray paint, green paint, iodine, potassium permanganate, mascara.

• When pre-staining it is recommended to use a stain that gives a brown tint. For more intense saturation, you can cover the product in several layers. Only previously it is necessary to dry each layer.

Important! When choosing a method for coloring the finished product, it is better to use gouache or acrylic paints.

• Regardless of the coloring option, newspaper twists require varnish. It is better to do this at the end of weaving, so that the varnish layer does not make the paper stiff.
• If you want to make a white product, on which you can later apply patterns and ornaments - it is better to use blanks from office paper or cash register tape.To cover them, a primer, acrylic or gouache of white color is suitable.

Important! When choosing painting tools, you should choose a sponge (sponge) or a wide brush.

There are several staining technologies. The main work is reduced to the following algorithm:

1. In a deep container, prepare a coloring compound.
2. Lay in one layer of tubule on oilcloth.
3. Dip a brush or sponge into the composition and apply to the workpieces.
4. Turn the strands over after drying.
5. Repeat the process, painting all sides.

Important! You can use the vertical method - for this it is enough to fix the details in a rigid base. An alternative is the technology of lowering blanks into paint.

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Handle manufacturing methods

Now we turn directly to how to make a handle for a basket of newspaper tubes. There are also many options here - it all depends on the imagination and improvised means. Consider typical methods.

Method number 1:

1. We start work with 6 tubes.
2. We pass them through the basket in the place where the edge of the handle should be.
3. Fold them in half, 2 pieces fasten with a clothespin.
4. Weave a traditional braid to the middle.
5. Cut the excess part of the paper curl.
6. We do the same on the other hand.
7. We take the wire and insert it into an additional tube.
8. We connect the free edges, fix them first with a wire, and then with a tube prepared in the previous paragraph.
9. At the base, handles are also wrapped with tubes, the tips of which are glued and fixed with clamps.

Method number 2:

• Cut 2 wires the size of our future handle plus 10 cm for allowances.

Important! It is better to take the wire is not very thin, so that the mount is reliable.

• We thread it into two paper tubes, leaving the bare ends on both sides. Tubes are pressed as tightly as possible to each other
• Add the resulting arcs side by side and give them a round shape.
• Bend the ends. If this is difficult to do, you can use side cutters.
• Sharp tips are threaded at the base of the handle on one side and the other.
• We fix the second arc in a similar way, observing symmetry. We got a frame.
• Arbitrarily braid the frame with paper tubes. Initially, weaving will walk with a shaker until it rises above the bowl.
• Turn the basket down and press the beginning of weaving with something heavy.
• We fasten the handle to the loose edge.
• We wrap the remaining ends around the base, dropping glue on them.

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Tips from experienced needlewomen

The suggested tips will help make a beginner’s basket handle out of newspaper tubes:

1. If the strands are very stiff, dense or, on the contrary, brittle, you can sprinkle them with water, for example, from a spray bottle, and put them in a bag. When wet, they will be more malleable, and when dried, they will again become strong.
2. For increased durability, use coated paper from glossy magazines. But in this case, the tubes will be more difficult to evenly paint.
3. When using a cash register tape, the most convenient blanks are obtained. However, this is not a budget option.
4. Office paper is better than newspapers, since there is no font on it.
5. PVA is ideal for gluing tubes, unlike glue that dries instantly. Buy it immediately in bulk.
6. The optimal primer consists of a mixture: PVA, water and a little varnish.

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Stock footage

Now you know all the nuances and subtleties of how to make a handle for a basket of newspaper tubes. Go create your own masterpieces!