My grandmother used to make ribbon soap gift baskets, and a while ago, my mother-in-law taught me how to make them. I’m enthusiastic about making them, although, I must say, it’s not easy to make these soap baskets. My "teacher" said: "Practice, practice, practice!" I’m hoping to perfect the skill and use it for both fun and profit one day.
Crafts To Make At Home - Ribbon Soap Baskets
by Jasmine
Soap gift baskets make great gifts, especially if you know how to make your own ribbon soap basket. Here's a full step-by-step tutorial.
Making of Ribbon Soap Gift Baskets
What You Need For This Ribbon Project
Material:
- Soap bar (the best size is 3.35" x 2.17")
- Straight (metal) pins, preferably glass head pins, or a combination of both – length: 1.2"
- Ribbon for crafts (satin or simple paper curling ribbon) – width: 0.2"
- Bendable plastic ribbon
Tips:
- You can find cheap soap bars online, for example, at Amazon. Choose a soap with nice fragrance, but if you plan to keep the ribbon soap basket in your wardrobe as moth protection, take lavender soap. You can decide what size to use, but the number of pins you’ll need depends on it.
- If you decide to combine straight pins and head pins, you can put the straight pins on the lower and upper side of the soap, and head pins on the side.
- Bendable plastic ribbon is not easy to find, but you can use similar material in your household and recycle it into basket handles.
Step-By-Step Tutorial
Making of ribbon soap gift baskets is done in a few simple steps, but you’ll need practice to wrap the soap with ribbon properly.
- Step #1
Put the pins on the lower side of the soap in a circular or oval form.
- Step #2
Put the head pins around the soap on the side.
- Step #3
Start wrapping the ribbon from the bottom (lower side) toward the pins on the side of the soap (or the other way around, depends on what you find practical). I usually start from the bottom toward the side by wrapping the ribbon around the bottom pin and bringing it up to the next pin on the top. If the pins are not close enough, you can wrap the ribbon around the same pin in order to accomplish the right density or full coverage.
- Step #4
Insert new pins on the upper side of the soap and repeat step # 3.
- Step #5
Decorate the top and the bottom by wrapping the ribbon around one pin, then the next one, and so on. Repeat the process until you have three rows of ribbon around the pins.
- Step #6
Make a handle from bendable plastic; cut it depending on the size of the soap and wrap the ribbon around it. Pin it on both ends on the upper side of the soap (inside the opening made of pins).
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 Steps #1 and #2: Making Of A Ribbon S... Source: Jasmine Vitarelli |
 Step #3: How to Begin Wrapping The Ri... Jasmine Vitarelli |
 Step #4: Repeat the previous step wit... Jasmine Vitarelli |
 Step #5: Wrap the ribbon around each ... Jasmine Vitarelli |
 Step #6: Make the basket handle and i... Jasmine Vitarelli |
Tips On Making Ribbon Soap Baskets
Put the pins close one to another rather than leaving too much space between them. Wrapping the ribbon will be a little harder, but the basket will look rich and much nicer.
Check whether all pins are inserted to the same depth – try to make a balance.
Watch the follow-up video to see the making of ribbon soap baskets.
* * *
In this video my mother-in-law helped me with my first ribbon soap gift basket. The colors aren’t exactly my favorite choice, but we used what we had and it served the purpose. There is always room for experiments and changes to this design.
For my first ribbon soap craft project, I used 1.2" pins, both straight and head pins and a paper ribbon, 0.2" width: 17 on the upper side of the soap, 35 head pins on the side, and 12 straight pins on the lower side of the soap.
* * *
How To Use Ribbon Soap Gifts Baskets
You can keep these anywhere you want in the house; they will make a nice decoration in your hall, living-room, bathroom or even bedroom. If you want to keep the basket in your closet to protect your clothes from moth or you’d like to try out some aromatherapy against sleeping disorders, I recommend lavender. Of course, soap gifts baskets are also nice gifts for any occasion – men may not be thrilled, but women will surely like them!
Do You Like These Ribbon Soap Baskets?
Updated: 02/16/2013, Jasmine
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Comments
@Tolovaj: Lavander against moths - absolutely! I've been using lavander as moth protection for years. Of course, it's always a good idea to take all the clothes out of your closet at least four times a year, when the seasons change. I take vinegar and water to refresh the closet and leave it open until the smell of vinegar fades away. Moths hate this smell and go looking for a new home soon, and why they don't like the beautiful lavander fragrance - beats me! Luckily for us, we can use it then, both for nice fragrance and moth protection in a closet!
P.S. Thanks for the tip on citronella and mosquitos. I'll try it out!
@Katie: Yes, I did! Thanks! The first thing I ever do on a new site is check out the forum section (to see what everybody's buzzing about :)) I saw the link to the summer contest on some pages so I went to check it out. Looking forward to the next contest!
Thanks Jasmine This is a great how to did you enter it in the how to contest? You should :)K
This is pretty simple idea for unique gift basket. I would never thought of something like that. Just with fragrances there is already enough possibilities to experiment for years!
Does the lavender soap really work against moths?
In this case citronella could be answer to mosquitos!
Thanks!
@Brenda: To be honest, I don't know about the origin of this craft. However, I remember admiring these soap baskets at my grandmother's place as a child. I used to take them in my hands and examine them carefully. When I grew up, they caught my attention again (yes, they can last for more than 30 years and they don't collect much dust) - I knew I had to continue our family tradition and learn how to make them. Thanks for commenting and welcoming me :) I already enjoy Wizzley very much - it's almost addictive lol
@katiem2: Do let me know about your progress! I'm so glad you're inspired to try out this ribbon craft project. Don't forget to post the photos you'll make - maybe even a follow-up wizz on new ideas? If you get stuck or have any questions, I'm right here :)
@wisefool: What a paradox in your username - quite eye-catching :) I'm glad you like the soap baskets. I'm hoping to create even prettier designs by carefully choosing the material to work with. It takes me about 2 hours to make one ribbon soap basket, but I believe that it will take me less time with practice. I was thinking about trying to sell them.
That is beautiful. Who ever thought that up? Welcome to Wizzley. You will definitely like it here.
@Angie: Thank you for welcoming me, Angie :) Let me know what your aunt thinks about this craft project. Material costs are low, but one needs to invest time.
I love this project, soap gift baskets are on my list of new things to learn this year. I'll be coming back here to class often till I get it. Thank you so much for sharing your beloved family tradition.