BASKETRY

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BASKETRY
Cut 8 sections of slightly thicker material.
These pieces form the bare skeleton around
which we will be weaving.

We call these pieces the 'stakes' , 'warp' or

'spokes'

The material which we weave around

the stakes are called the 'weaves' or
the 'weft'
Make an opening at
the centre of four of
the pieces with your Insert the non-split pieces into
knife. the split pieces to form a cross

Take a long thinner piece
of material and fold it in the
centre around one side of
the cross.
'Twining'
When we 'twine' around the base we
twist the two weavers half way around
so that we are bringing the bottom
weaver to the top and sending the
top weaver to the bottom. This
should be done in the same direction
each time.
 You can see here how the
bottom is brought up over
the top and vice versa.

Work your way around the

base, going around each
set of 4 stakes.
 Weave around the stakes
twice

Try to make a tight weave

and the staves will be held
together firmly.
 If the weave is not thin add another to re
place the thin one so that the weave is e
Now open each stake ou qual. Sometimes when the weavers are n
t and and weave around ot an even thickness the thicker one tend
them individually to for s to want to stay straight and the thinner
m an even spoke structu one does all the bending.
re.
Once you get a rhythm going y
ou can make good progress. Of
ten at the start of a basket you
may think that it looks really m
essy but if you keep twining th
e chances are that it will look o
kay after a few more rows.
Bend the top weaver over the fro You can see here that it have
nt of the the other weaver, and th come to the end of both of
e back weaver up behind the top
weaver so that they swap places. the weavers.
Repeat the process around each
stake.

To add more weavers in you just lay
the new ones by the side of the old
. The ends will stick out of the front
and back and we will trim these off
later.
Cut the ends of the new and old we
avers off after you have woven arou
nd the basket again.
You should cut the ends of the weav
ers so that the new end is resting a
gainst a stake.
 When you feel that you have
Make your weave compact
woven a base big enough it is
and even.
time to start weaving the sides.
The length of the stakes is not long enough at this stage to carry
on and complete the basket so you have to insert new stakes down
into the weave next to the old stakes. Just push them in, make the
end of the new stakes into a point and it will help you to push
them in easier.
Now bend up the long stakes at
the edge of the woven base and
tie them together at the top to
You can weave the short stak
hold them in an upright es into the walls of the basket
position. or just cut them off.
To begin twining the sides of the
basket you can insert two weave
rs into the base just like you did
with the stakes
Now bend these new weavers
to the right and begin
weaving around the sides.
This picture shows how new weave
rs are added in. Its just like what
you do for the base

It is a good idea to compress the
weave by pushing it down around
the stakes to eliminate any movem
ent in the weave, this will give you
a stronger basket.
Work around the rim doing one stake
at a time. The last few will be tricky
because there will be not enough
upright stakes left so you will have
to take the ends and thread them
through the rim to gain the same
pattern.
Finished rim
If you like you can call your
basket finished or you can
add handles.
Finished basket
Bodkin/awl/fid
A bodkin is essential when basketmaking. It is usef
ul to have several in several sizes and diameters. A
good general purpose bodkin has a metal spike th
at is around 5” long and that tapers gently towards
the tip and a wooden handle.

An awl is usually all metal and does the same job.

A fid is a tool used in rope and sail making. It can

be a useful tool for basketmaking because it has a
hollow side that allows you to thread a willow rod t
hrough without taking the bark or skin off the willo
w.
 Formers
Generally made from wood, these are used as aids for shaping. They range from
simple hoops that can be attached or put around the uprights to keep them in
position to moulds that help to form complex shapes.
 Greasehorn
This was usually a cow’s horn filled with a mixture of tallow (animal fat) and horse
hair. The bodkin was inserted in this before using it and the tallow made sure that
the bodkin was ‘greased’ which helped when inserting stakes into a base or a bow
for a handle.
 Hammers
A small woodworker’s hammer is used to tap in small pins to secure the weave
on a lid or when there is a post with a discontinuous weave for example on th
e gap of a dog basket.
 Knives
When choosing a knife suitable for basketry, it should be strong and fit the hand comfortably.
An Opinel knife found in most good hardware stores is suitable, always remember to lock the
blade so that it can’t fold up on your hand. Knives should always be sharp in order to cut safely
 Picking knife
This knife with a curved or outward facing blade was used for ‘picking off’ or trimming any
unwanted ends of willow once the basket was finished. It needed skill to press down and only cu
t the rod that was to be discarded without cutting through the weave. Today shears or secateurs
are generally used instead for this job.
 These tools are used to compact the lay
ers of weaving by beating them down. A
useful weight for a metal rapping iron is
between 1 ½ – 2 lbs. Heavier irons are
used for larger work, for example, ballo
on baskets. Some have a ring at one end
that is used to straighten uneven sticks.
A wooden rapping iron is useful when
working with brown willow as it does not
damage the bark. It needs to be made
of a dense wood, box or fruit wood and
Rapping irons sometimes wooden rappers have metal
bars inserted in them to make them
heavier.
 Shears or secateurs
These are used for cutting or trimming the willow rods. The blades should be of the ‘bypass’
not ‘anvil’ design in order to make a clean cut. A narrow blade at the tip is useful so that th
e cuts can be made close to the work.
 Soaking tank
Dry willow needs to be soaked in water to make it pliable enough
to work.
 Weights
A selection of weights of between 2 – 7 or more pounds is useful. They are used to
hold the work down on the lapboard when working. If the weight has a hole in the
centre the work may be pinned to the board with a thin bodkin, still allowing it to be
rotated.
 Plank and lapboard
The ‘lapboard’ is a smaller board (sizes vary) with an extra piece of wood at one end so that
it sits higher at the front than the back and sloping towards the end of the plank when the
basketmaker has it in position. It may have a series of holes drilled down the centre where t
he basket can be pinned down using a bodkin. The basket is held on the lapboard so that t
he maker is looking at the sides and not down on the top.
Flat Reed
Flat Oval Reed
Round Reed
Half- Round Reed
Smoked Reed
Dyed Reed
Seatweaving and Nantucket Quality Cane
ash coils and ash strips
Seagrass and Seabraids
Fiber Rush
Shaker Tape
Rafia
THE END