Prepping willow for weaving

[Bakwas]

I have some willow off-cuts sitting in my shed waiting for me to make a basket from them but I read that I should soak the willow first. I have a some quick questions about this:

1. The willow has been sitting in the shed for over a month and is dried out nicely so do I actually need to soak it?

2. If I soak it in the bath will it stain the bath tub? I'm heading away this weekend and it would be an ideal time to get it soaked but I don't want to wreck the bath!!

3. Do I need to strip the bark off? All of the willow is maybe 5mm diameter and stripping seems like it will be fiddly so how important is this?

 

[Toddy]

Yes, you will need to soak it. If you don't it's most likely to crack when you bend it tightly into shape.

Yes, it might stain the bath. Willow bast dye is a tannin rich dye that on it's own stains like a good rich red coloured tea.

Willow with the bark on, to soak properly, will need at least three days and is often better with five.

You might well get away with less, but the quality of the final product can suffer from poor preparation.

If you had wanted to strip the willow then it would have been better done in the green. Now, if it's well dried, it's unlikely to come off cleanly.

I use a drain pipe sealed at both ends to soak willow. I fill it with willow and water and close it up and leave that aside to soak.

atb,
M

 

[Dave]

If you want string/cordage from it. Best way to do it now, is to split the wand, using your thumbs, or blade, to pull one way then the other, then remove the inner bark.

[video=youtube;aYV-GClIAYM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYV-GClIAYM[/video]