Knitting BasketsAmish Woven Wicker Crochet, Yarn & Project Storage

An Amish knitting basket is a handwoven wicker basket built around the way yarn is used. Each skein stands upright in its own compartment and feeds out through a hole in the lid, so it pulls from the center of the skein without tangling or dragging across the reed. The basket is woven from rattan reed over a furniture-grade birch bottom and hardwood poplar posts, and it stands beside your chair with the needles, the pattern and the work in progress inside it.

Every basket on this page is woven and signed by an Old Order Amish family on the Iowa-Missouri border, and arrives with a letter introducing the family who made it. If the weaver is under eighteen, their age is written beside the signature. The families do not use electricity or the internet, so their baskets are sold only here, with free shipping and a lifetime guarantee.

The knitting family includes the Knitting Basket, with three yarn compartments and a lidded project side; the Homestead Knitting Basket, an open 20 inch chest with a lift-off lid and wooden feet; The Yarn Barn, the largest, with four compartments, a project shelf and a drawer; the Vintage Yarn Caddy, the low open basket you carry to your chair; the Knitting Bag and the Knitting Project Bag, the two totes for taking a project along; and the Knitting Needle Organizer, which stands beside any of them.

The right basket depends on where you knit and how much yarn travels with you.

The Knitting Basket: compartments under a lid with feed holes

The Knitting Basket is the classic, and a favorite gift. It measures 16 x 12 x 13 1/2 inches. One side holds three yarn compartments, each 4 3/4 x 5 1/4 inches and 10 1/2 inches deep, one skein standing in each and feeding up through the hole in the lid above it. The other side is a 15 x 5 1/4 x 10 1/2 inch project compartment for needles, the pattern and the work in progress. The leather carrying strap and the legs are part of the basket, not add-ons. Woven in Plain, Wine & Blue or Wine & Green trim; an engraved brass plate is optional. Crocheters use it too; the yarn feeds the same way.

The Homestead Knitting Basket: an open chest for bulky yarn

The Homestead Knitting Basket is a 20 x 12 x 12 inch chest with a lift-off hardwood lid, wooden feet and double swinging handles, and no dividers inside, so chunky skeins, a blanket in progress or quilting fit as they are. A hand-sewn cloth liner in cream, wine, blue or green and an engraved brass plate are optional.

The Yarn Barn: the largest, with a shelf and a drawer

The Yarn Barn is for knitters with several projects going. It stands 20 inches tall on a 20 x 12 inch footprint: four yarn compartments under a lid with feed holes, an open project shelf 19 x 15 inches for patterns, tools and the current piece, and an 18 x 11 inch drawer below. It carries by a handle. An engraved brass plate is optional.

The Vintage Yarn Caddy: low, open, carried to the chair

The Vintage Yarn Caddy is a 17 3/4 x 10 x 6 inch open basket with leather carrying handles, for a project and a few skeins beside the chair or out on the porch. A cloth liner, a lift-off lid, protective feet and a Yarn Buddy are optional.

The Knitting Bag and the Knitting Project Bag: for taking a project along

The Knitting Bag is soft-sided wicker, 12 x 9 x 10 inches, with four yarn grommets built into its leather handle so you knit straight from the bag. The Knitting Project Bag is the larger open tote, 17 x 7 1/2 x 12 inches, and it stands upright beside the chair. Both take an optional cloth liner and a Yarn Buddy; the Knitting Bag also takes protective feet. The bags, the Wicker Bag and the Yarn Buddy have their own page: knitting bags.

The Knitting Needle Organizer

The Knitting Needle Organizer is an upright wicker organizer 5 inches across and 17 1/2 inches tall, for straight needles up to 16 inches and for crochet hooks, woven in the same three trims as the baskets.

How the yarn feeds without snagging

The compartments are the whole idea. A skein stands upright in its own cubby, the yarn pulls from the center of the skein, and it leaves the basket through the hole in the lid directly above, so it never drags across the weave. That is why the Knitting Basket and the Yarn Barn do not need a liner. The open pieces, the Homestead, the Yarn Caddy and the two bags, offer a hand-sewn cloth liner as an option, and the Yarn Buddy, a 12 inch leather strap with four grommets, snaps onto any bag or basket handle to feed up to four skeins without tangles.

Built to last for life

The bottom of every basket, and the lid where there is one, is furniture-grade birch one half inch thick, fastened with solid brass nails. Hardwood poplar posts carry the walls, and rattan reed is woven around them by hand and finished with a hand-applied stain. Every basket carries the lifetime guarantee: if it ever fails in normal use, the family who wove it repairs it free. Any basket can come back for a full refund, no questions asked.

Gifts for knitters

Many of these baskets go out as gifts. Add a gift message at checkout and no invoice goes in the box; the basket arrives with the family's letter and their signature on the bottom. An engraved solid brass plate, two lines of up to 22 letters, numbers or punctuation marks each, is an option on most pieces here. Buying ahead for a birthday or Christmas, choose the "Schedule a Later Delivery Date" calendar at checkout and it ships the week you pick. Delivery is free, and rush delivery is offered at checkout. More ideas by recipient and budget are in the Amish Gift Guide and our note on gifts for knitters.

Trims and care

Each piece comes in three trims: Plain, the natural reed; Wine & Blue; and Wine & Green, a pine green. The color is woven in as dyed reed, not painted on. The families weave one basket at a time. Care is simple: dust it with a soft cloth, and wipe a spill with a barely damp cloth.

What knitters say

"The large compartment holds a lot of yarn plus the 3 smaller compartments inside are great to sort all the knitting extras." Charlene, 2020, on the Knitting Basket.

"Solid, old-world craftsmanship." Sophia, 2018, on the Knitting Basket.

"I knit and crochet and this Knitting Basket is so great. It sits right next to my chair. It's beautiful and functional." Diane, 2025.

"I love handmade items and this is one to treasure." Robert, 2026, on the Homestead.