Hedgerow Basket weaving course at the Field Farm Project.

[bobnewboy]

Hi All,

A while back Helene and I decided that we would do something 'different' in our quest for more handicrafts. So we booked onto a 'Hedgerow Basket' making course, at Field Farm Project in Hants. Yesterday we attended, and spent the day making our thumbs and hands sore

The course and facilities were very good, and tea, coffee and cakes were provided as part of the package - you just have to provide your own lunch/sarnies.

There were a lot of handy tips and tricks passed on, and many different types of materials available to try. Helene and I ended up using hazel, willow, and clematis, but there was also honeysuckle, bramble/blackberry and so on. Splitting willow withies was a skill that took some time, patience and stems to master, but we got there eventually. We ended up with one basket each, as you can see in the pix below. These are still drying and will shrink a little. When fully dry they will be tidied up - loose ends cut off and slanted to suit the basket.

Cheers, Bob

Bob's basket:

Helene's basket:

 

[John Fenna]

Very nice!
I make a few baskets and use mainly willow from my garden for the frames and weavers from bramble.
I really like the ends you have by the handles - a nice design touch compared to my plain ends.
Keep up the good work!

 

[Robson Valley]

Size, shape, colors and design. I like it all. Hope you do more.
They are fabulous for washing carrots in the garden.

Of all the working materials, is there one that seems to have been used the longest?

My brother made a really big basket from willow. Then the whole dang thing sprouted from all the buds!

 

[Dreadhead]

that's braw, always fancied doing something like this

 

[oldtimer]

I was taught how to make baskets at the age of 9 at school and proudly brought home a waste paper basket:it came in useful later in my school life for rejected homework. I regret to report that I have never made a basket since.

Your baskets got me wondering if I should give basketry another go. I had forgotten how satisfying I found it. So many thanks for posting.

 

[Mollegabet]

They look great. Well done to you both for finishing them. I am sure you will use them with pride.

 

[Blundstoned Love]

Always good to learn new skills.

First attempts aren't always very pretty. Yours are tho' - nice.

 

[Robson Valley]

There's a great diversity of basket making in North America.
Possibly we see it because the Neolithic ended here so recently.
Black ash baskets that you can stand on. Haida waterproof hats. Plains grass baskets are exquisite.

I hope that Bobnewboy posted such a fine result that others explore these ancient skills.

 

[huntersforge]

Well done. Learning a new skill is always a pleasure. Those baskets look great

 

[bobnewboy]

Hi All,

Thanks for the comments. The design was from the instructor, and of course to capture interest and make for a successful first basket on the first try. The end piece design - apparently so-called 'God's Eye' - is there to provide a strong, bound surface for the other ribs to bear upon from the inside, under the sprung pressure produced from bending those additional ribs. The eyes also bind the handle and rim together strongly at right angles to each other. So simple but so effective like most things in handicrafts, and once shown never forgotten.

RV, it seems that willow is the most popular weaving material, because it can be re-wetted to restore its super flexibility, it grows quickly and easily, and it can be grown in long single pieces which lend themselves well to the task. It also splits happily enough even for someone with two thumbs like me.

John, the tutor had a good tip for using bramble canes: take an open, clean ordinary used tin can, and punch a hole in the base with a nail, from the outside in. Harvest the cane, and push it through the hole from the inside of the can, and then pull it through the can from the outside. Hey presto - the thorns are stripped off and collected in the can.

Helene and I are both interested in handicrafts and I'm sure we will probably make some more, but I didnt realise that there is quite a lot of prep, even in making the handle and rim loops first and letting them dry, for example. So for now it will all be about gathering and preparing some frame and weaving materials ready for the next go. We shall see what the local woods can provide....

Cheers, Bob