Cutie Utility Crochet Basket with Three-Strand Color Blends

The Cutie Utility crochet basket blends colors by changing one of three working strands at a time. Instead of an abrupt stripe, the fabric moves gradually from the base shade through a middle color to the top. Deja Joy’s design also builds two handle openings directly into the final rounds. Both photographed colorways use the same construction, with a 72-stitch body and a deliberately firm fabric.

Materials, gauge and size

The source uses three medium worsted-weight yarn colors, held as three strands throughout. Its coordinating sample uses Red Heart Super Saver in Real Teal, Jade and Aruba Sea. The contrasting sample uses Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice in Eggplant, Peacock and Radiant Lime.

The allowances are 275 yd of A, 150 yd of B and 120 yd of C. Use a 6 mm / US J hook, a stitch marker and a yarn needle. The gauge is twelve single crochets and twelve rows per 4 inches. The stated finished size is 24 inches around and 8 inches high.

The small hook relative to the combined yarn thickness is intentional. It creates the structure that keeps the basket upright. A larger hook may be easier on your hands, but the resulting fabric can be wider, softer and less self-supporting. Swatch with all three strands before deciding to change it.

Start the spiral base

US sc means single crochet, ch means chain and sl st means slip stitch. The entire basket is worked in a spiral without joining each round. Mark the first stitch and move the marker after every complete circuit.

1. Using three strands of A, place six sc in an adjustable ring.
2. Increase six times on each following base round: twelve stitches, then eighteen, twenty-four and so on.
3. By round twelve, the base has 72 sc. Space each increase with one more plain stitch than on the preceding round.
4. Rounds thirteen through seventeen work one sc in every stitch without further increases.

Lay the base on a flat surface before continuing upward. If it cups or waves strongly, check both the increase placement and your tension. A marker at the start prevents an unfinished base round from being mistaken for the start of a body round.

Blend the three colors

At round eighteen, use two A strands and one B strand, maintaining that combination for round nineteen. Round twenty changes to one A and two B, continuing through round twenty-two. Round twenty-three changes to three B strands and keeps that combination through round twenty-seven.

At round twenty-eight, use two B strands and one C, retaining it for round twenty-nine. Round thirty changes to one B and two C through round thirty-two. Rounds thirty-three onward use three C strands.

Change a strand during the final stitch of the preceding round: pull up the loop with the old combination, replace the departing strand and finish the stitch with the new combination. Continue to hold three strands, never four. Secure the removed tail along the wrong side without making a stiff lump.

Form the handles

Round thirty-five works 13 sc, ch 10, skips ten stitches, works 26 sc, then repeats the ch-10 opening and finishes with 13 sc. The two openings replace equal runs of stitches, so the round still represents 72 positions.

On the next round, work ten sc around each chain-ten span, preserving the surrounding 13/26/13 sc sections. Finish with the final plain round, using a slip stitch at the end as directed to reduce the visible height step. Fasten off and weave in every strand securely.

Before carrying the basket, check that the handle spans feel secure and that the contents suit the softness of the fabric. The design is useful for yarn and light household supplies; its structural support comes from the tight three-strand fabric rather than an inserted rigid wall.

Frequently asked questions

How many strands should I hold?

Three throughout. The color proportions change, but the number of working strands stays at three.

Are the rounds joined?

No. Use a marked spiral until the final finishing slip stitch.

Do the handles change the stitch count?

Each chain-ten span replaces ten skipped stitches, and the next round works ten sc around each span, preserving the 72-position circuit.

Original source and more crochet projects

Design credit: Deja Joy / Knit and Crochet Ever After, Cutie Utility Basket (2016–17). This article explains the supplied source and its construction; it does not claim an independently tested sample. The photographs are from that source, and the checklist is an editorial reading aid.

Open the original pattern in Drive. Source location: Whole PDF. Keep the original instructions and diagrams beside you when working the project.

For another project, explore Anima Floris crochet coasters, or Strand Basket pattern.