Rattle Snake Rattle Basket

This pattern was awarded 3rd Place Prize in Louisville Art Show (Colorado) on May 21, 2011.

This is the second piece in my “Noisy Knitting” series. I have several beautiful Southwest Native American ceramic pots and was looking for a basket to hold odds and ends in our family room. After several trips to home decor shops and finding nothing that worked for color and style, I made my own. The rattle is made by knitting covers for craft store 'jingle bells'. The core of the basket is cotton piping so it is much faster to knit then an entire basket made from I-cord. I dyed the piping with Kool-aid to soften the bright white color (directions included). I found a curved upholstery needle the best tool for assembly. I worked with stash with a variegated sock and sport weight yarns, which gave the basket a range of colors (sorry hard to see in the photos). The head and tail are easy to make and I included a photo of the head before assembly in the pattern. The head makes a handle (