DIY Hanging Basket Bunch Light

Supplies

Baskets – I used these:
– Natural Seagrass Open Weave Dakota Basket
– Water Hyacinth Leanne Tub Basket
Twisted Rope Cord
Drill & Wire Cutters
LED Edison Light Bulbs
Screw-in Ceiling Hook

What kind of basket to look for

The best basket to use for this project is a lightweight one with a rounded bottom. And I like the ones with an open weave, so a little light can shine through. Plus, the open weave naturally means less weight. These Natural Seagrass Open Weave ones from World market are perfect! I actually considered making the light entirely of these, but spotted a couple clearance baskets, so ended up with a mix, which turned out great!

Testing the Cord

Learn from my mistakes! Test all Twisted Rope Cords before you start. I did not do do this, and ended up getting everything hung and one did not work, ugh! It’s hanging so perfectly right now that I do not want to disturb the light, so Future Jenni will have to figure our how to fix it.

Drilling the hole

I am sure there are a bunch of ways to get a hole in the bottom of the basket…I went with a drill and large bit, and it worked great. I drilled three or so holes right next to each other, then used a wire cutter to cut away any excess. You want the hole just big enough for the plug to pass through.

Thread the plug through the hole from the inside of the basket. Pull it all the way through and the light socket should seat on the inside of the bottom of the basket.

There are a couple extra steps you could do at this point. 1. Put some super glue around the hole to keep anything from unraveling. I did not really see that happening, and the integrity of the basket stayed intact, so skipped this step. But every basket is different. The vintage one I tried definitely needed some reinforcement. 2. You could add something like a lamp canopy between the socket and the basket if you are nervous about the socket getting hot. I have not experienced this and I use LED bulbs, but thought I would give the option!

Light Bulbs

Definitely use LED bulbs for this. I like these LED Edison Light Bulbs. LED bulbs stay cool to the touch and you want to avoid bulbs that get hot inside the basket.

Hanging the Light

First, find a stud in the ceiling (I recommend using a stud instead of an anchor if you are going to hang this many lights on one hook). Pre-drill, then screw in a ceiling hook. I got a heavy duty one. I loosely knotted each rope at the length I wanted it to hang from the ceiling. Then looped each knot on the hook. I kept the knot loose so I could adjust how low each light hung. Move around the basket until you create a grouping that looks good to you!