DIY Rope Tray

I’ve always wanted to make my own rope tray after seeing some in the stores.

I would often analyse them and think “I could make that!”

So I went to my local hardware store and browsed the rope and cord department. The prices varied and I was drawn to a creamy cotton sash cord- brand was called “Grunt”😜

It had a beautiful texture and tiny Criss cross stitching so I knew it was a winner!

I bought two rolls 8mm x 15metres at $16 a roll. I could have chosen 6mm or even 5mm because they were a lot cheaper but I wanted the thicker cord because of the type of tray I wanted to make.

I already had a hot glue gun and sticks - not very expensive about $8 for the gun and $2.50 for a pack of 10 sticks.

Firstly I bent the end of the cord around and placed glue on the inside - then squeezed for a few seconds.

I then kept curling the cord around in a circular pattern adding small amounts of glue. As I went I wiped off any excess glue.

Once I was happy with the size -around 35cm ,I began to glue the cord on top , creating a type of wall.

When I ran out of rope I just glued the ends together and if a little frayed I would give it a trim before gluing.

I decided to build up to 5 rows of cord before making the handles.

All I did was extend the rope out to as far as I wanted and then glued the section back onto the top - leaving a gap.

I kept gluing around until I created two handles with two rows of cord.

When I was finished I tapered in the end by cutting across the cord to thin it out before gluing .

A tip - keep checking you have the same number of rows when it comes time to do the handles. I didn’t use the whole two rolls - depends on how big you want to make your tray.

Super easy , maybe a little messy but certainly worth it in the end!

Anyone can make this - why not have a go!!!👍