Basketry Experiments

[match]

Having picked up the basics of basket-making at the end of last year, and having got a couple of books out the local library, I spent some time over Christmas having a play about and making some more baskets. I've just copied the pictures off my camera, and I thought I'd post the results here to inspire anyone else thinking of having a go. All the material was collected locally (near my parents' house in Shropshire).

Mixed dogwood and willow:

Platter of willow 'tendrils' and rods:

Dogwood with willow band:

All the baskets were woven with green cuttings, so they're now beginning to shrink and change their shape a bit, but it gives them a nice 'rustic' look - thats my excuse anyway! Definitely one of those things where practice makes perfect

 

[spamel]

They look great. I wonder, could I use brambles with the thorns removed for baskets? I have an abundant source of them at the bottom of the garden!

 

[match]

They look great. I wonder, could I use brambles with the thorns removed for baskets? I have an abundant source of them at the bottom of the garden!

One of the basket books has a whole section on materials you can collect. For brambles it says:

Brambles should be de-thorned by gripping the bramble firmly with a thick leather gardening glove, and pulling them through, then repeating in the opposite direction.

I didn't have any gloves to try this out with, but I imagine it would work. A quick test of suitability of plants is to see if you can bend it 90 degrees or more without snapping or tearing - if so, it should be suitable for baskets. If necessary, you can soak materials in water for a few hours first to soften the stems before weaving. Finally, make sure the bits you choose are thin - no thicker than a pencil ideally. The 'mixed basket' pieces were quite thick, and bending some of those round was a right pain!

 

[mr dazzler]

They look lovely, I'd say keep at it you seem to have a knack for weaving. I especially like the contasting colours although that might vanish as they dry fully? The only weaving I ever did was with various plastic strapping bands off pallets and boxes, I made some small basket things from it, but no natural material's.
Just a thought, to strip bramble couldnt you modify an old pair of pliar's (make the little wire srtipping hole between the 2 cutting blades a bit bigger, close it round the bramble branch, and pull the branch through?
In Canada I saw bears stripping brambles with there paws then eat the handfull's of berries

 

[Mirius]

Very nice baskets, almost makes me want to try it myself.

 

[Arth]

Clever might have to have a go

 

[Dave Budd]

nice stuff. Basketry has always been one of those things that I struggle with: too many ends of willow waving around!

But I have worked alongside the basketmakers down here for the last few years, so I've picked up a few things aside from whip marks in the face from that willow. You will find that the willow works much more easily and shrinks less if you season it first. Harvest the willow when the leaves have dropped and before the buds start and leave it to dry for a few weeks, then bundle it up to store it. The willow will then need to be soaked in water (old bath, trough or tank improvised from plastic sheeting) for a couple of days and then left to drain for a day before use, it is now mellowed and in a much better state to work. I know that sounds like a lot of fannying about, but basketmakers have been doing it that way for a very long time and I guess for very good reasons.

Hope that hasn't confused things, I only offer it as advice

 

[xylaria]

Match they are really very good for someone who has only just learnt the skill. The top basket is excellant as you have the upsett even and finshed rim is round. Weaving is very easy and everyone should try it but getting a even result is where the skill lies. I have never made anything that straight and being a bad workman i have always blamed the green withies, but there you have just showed that is not the withes to blame for uneven staking.

[teccy bits for those that are not read up on weaving;
upsett=the bottom rim of a basket, it is quite difficult to get this striaght so the basket does not look like it has been sat by a bear.
Staking = the upright rods
Green withies= sticks cut straight from tree used for weaving. They don't need soaking in way other types of withy do, but they shink and can lead to a fragle final piece. very good for tempory work and learning
I hope that is helpful]

 

[match]

Thanks for the complements!

Some more technical gubbins for anyone who is interested:

Both round baskets had a 4 rod wale for the upsett, then english randing for the sides, then a second 4-rod wale before the border. the yellow band is a 3-rod wale, and the mixed basket has a 4 rod 2 behind border.

The mixed basket started out life as an oval basket (see the base) but I ran out of willow, so turned it into a round one I think the large border forced it back into a round shape.


Having now done weaving with seasoned and green willow, I agree that seasoned stuff is easier to work with, and gives a better finished basket. I'm currently looking for some sources of materials round here I can cut and dry. However, green is perfectly suitable to practice with, doesn't need any prep, and is thus suitable for the impatient, as I was with these!

 

[jon r]

absolutely fantastic!! I love those baskets!! Well done!

This kind of basketary is something which i havnt tried propperly yet and the little attempts i have made, failed miserabely. You seem to be doing really well!! Respect to you!

What were the books that you got from the library?

 

[spamel]

I was watching the lady on Wild Food the other day. It seems that with some basic string and some straw a small basket could be made quite easily. I remember seeing a small basket for keeping goat cheese in in Oman, and the shop keeper put it on the floor and told me to stand on top of it. I didn't want to damage it so refused, and then this guy that was twice my weight proved how strong it was. He stood on the basket with his other foot in the air and it didn't deform at all. It had a really good fitting lid on it, and supposedly the straw keeps the cheese cool.

 

[jon r]

You can learn the basic method of coil basketary here on my website:
http://www.bushcraft.ridgeonnet.com/coil basket.htm

 

[DoctorSpoon]

They look lovely - I particularly like the colours and textures you get from using hedgerow materials. I still have a basket I made this way probably 15 years ago. We use it as a waste paper basket in the bathroom. It too looks rustic, but I too like rustic

 

[xylaria]

The lady on RM wild food was a real eye opener for me with the tools she was using. The bone bodkin was so simple, such a good tool. I had being stuggling with a bradel (sp?) because I couldn't get a bodkin.

It is a lovely bushcraft skill. I made a oatcake toasting rack at the last midlands meet. It looked like a blair witch prop but it did the job. you would be amazed at the stuff you can just weave up on the spot.

 

[Dave Budd]

Linda on the RM program has an amazing range of tools, partly becuase I've spent the last 5 years making new versions for her The tool she used as a bodkin in the show is one of a few turkey bones that she regularly uses with large diameter coil basketry becuase it can be used as a fid as well

 

[xylaria]

Did you harden the bone in anyway?

 

[Dave Budd]

nope. It was just from the roast a week or so before Got the meat off by boiling it for a while and then chop and file teh point She has a couple of others of different sizes that her husband made her in teh past too. The tips aren't sharp so they are plenty tough enough for that sort of work, especially as the coil baskets normally use soft fibres (straw, rush, sedge, grass, even long pine needles).

 

[match]

Seeing as this thread seems to have a lot of followers, I thought I'd post a link to my original thread on how I made my first basket, for anyone thinking of trying it out:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26989

I was also going to link to a thread posted by Patrick_M showing some more amazing coiled baskets he'd made, and another on birch bark baskets by Fenlander, but the photos in them seem to have disappeared...

 

[Toddy]

I like where you're going with this It's good stuff

I know basketry has become an industry, and that willow and rushes and prepared grasses are available for use all year around, but I do like using materials in their time and season.
I like the variety through the year, from docken stems in Autumn to rushes in Summer; Ivy, privet and sometimes honeysuckle, I use in Winter. Even things like the dried leaves of crocus make excellent coiled baskets.
Don't forget the little ones too, the leaf pots made just to hold a few handfuls of hedgerow fruits and just thrown away afterwards, there's a lot of skill in them and it's another part of the craft.
Did Fiona show you how to make tension trays ? They're much easier on materials than the woven ones.

Off Topic
Would you be interested in a basketry workshop with the man who made the geodesic dome we used at Loch Achray ? It might be a good way for everyone to meet and see how things go. We could make a small meet up weekend out of it. New thread maybe?

atb,
M

 

[JohnC]

I'd be intersted in that Mary...