Birch bark basket

[jon r]

This is my first little birch bark basket. I was amazed how well it turned out and how simple it was to make! I just got a section of birch with some good bark on it, and cut around and around, spiraling my way to the other end. This gave me a single strip of birch barck from which i made this basket.

Try it yourself!

 

[JimJam]

Well done

i bet its harder than it looks though

JimJam

 

[torjusg]

Very nice!

I have some bark in the shed too, I think I'll give it a go tonight!

 

[chickenofthewoods]

Love it! Clever idea to do one continuous strip too, I'm not sure that would have ocurred to me if I'd been experimenting.

A few questions for you - Did you damp the strips at all to make them more flexible whilst working, was the bark from fresh cut or seasoned timber and what lengths were the pieces?

 

[jon r]

i didnt dampen the strips at all but sometimes it can stop as much splitting along the grain if you do.

The bark was from timber which had been cut down quite a while ago, proberbly a year now. The bark was still in quite good condition.

Each strip used in this basket was about 25 cm long which was cut from a single strip.

If you spiral around a piece of wood like i did you can get a lot of bark. its quite amazing the length you can get off just a short piece of wood.

 

[fred gordon]

Great basket, looks really good. I have a couple of birch bark sheaths recently and was surprised how good it was to work with. Have to try a basket now!

 

[Brian]

Jon,

Nice work mate, looks good, how long did it take to make it?

Brian

 

[chrisanson]

nice one .
chris

 

[Fenlander]

Nice Work Jon

 

[Toddy]

Neat

Isn't birch bark a lovely stuff to work with?

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Singeblister]

very nice , I will have to try this , there were 4 birch trees hacked down by vandals last year where i walk so i might be able to make something out of their mindless destruction

 

[Toddy]

The bark lasts a lot longer than the timber, I quite often find hollow tubes of bark around here

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Goose]

Got to try that one, thanks!

 

[John Fenna]

Very nice work!
Must find some birch thet I can skin.......

 

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

:You_Rock_ Great Job, about how long did she take you to make?

 

[torjusg]

Made one myself today.

Different design, and not particulary easy to do I can tell you. Would have been easier if I hade some proper weights. Rocks or something to weigh down the middle.

 

[Fallow Way]

Birch Bark is amazing to work with, but also hard to learn some people find.


I have been lucky enough to learn from a chap called Juha whos Birch Bark craft is, well, breathtaking. Its at the level of being inspirational and soul drestoying at the same time (how on earth can i ever make anything half as good???????ever??????). I`ve done a birch bark and advanved birch bark course with him and really enjoyed it. I`m de-engineering now to use British bark as oppossed to swedish its getting a supply of the Swedish bark(with which you have the potential, note i do not say i am , to make the truely amazing objects)

 

[Hartung]

Fallow Way, does this guy (Juha) have a webside or could you post some pics of his oeuvre?

Thanks!

 

[Diederik Pomstra]

Hello,
Very nice baskets! Maybe you birchbark-lovers know about this already, but you can actually cook in birchbark-kettles. I was really happy when I did this first time: no more heavy pots or ugly metal pans! I still don't know how to add pictures, but when I find out I'll post one. Bark was Swedish though: the dutch bark is usually very thin although sometimes you can find much thicker bark. I don't know why.
Diederik

 

[torjusg]

The mountain bark where I come from is often of quite good quality too. It often have some kind of disease under the bark though (unharmful), but I think that has to do with livestock or something.

4-5 mm is about as thick as it gets, but that is thick enough for most purposes.