Weaving with willow

[Kev T]

Thought I'd share my 1st attempt of basket making as I was really quite pleased with it.

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Took me about 4 goes to get it started but once I got going it was quite therapeutic.

The willow I used was cut about a month ago and was still very green. Does anybody know whether the basket will last or is it likely to break up as it dries out?
I have read since making it that I should have dried the wood then re-soaked it.

 

[Big Stu 12]

Nice one bud..

 

[Goatboy]

Nice wee basket that. Very good if you're off to see grandma! Or with Easter coming up. Looks very neat compared to the bad haircut attempts I've made. Cracking stuff.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Very nice, I like it. It's hard to tell from the photo's, but is it 9" or 10" in diameter?

 

[Joonsy]

Thought I'd share my 1st attempt of basket making as I was really quite pleased with it.

Took me about 4 goes to get it started but once I got going it was quite therapeutic.

The willow I used was cut about a month ago and was still very green. Does anybody know whether the basket will last or is it likely to break up as it dries out?
I have read since making it that I should have dried the wood then re-soaked it.

nice job, you have good reason to be pleased with it. i have done a little bit of weaving from baskets to eel traps. I used fresh cut green wands like you, i weaved them tightly but as they dried out the baskets became very loose and wobbly and i was at first disappointed, however after a few weeks the baskets stiffened up again and have been fine ever since, the correct way as you say is to season them then soak them before use but i was impatient to get started. I have some i made that are about 12 years old and still in good condition, i have found the base takes the most wear around the edges. Yours look sturdy enough to last many years. Have you tried splitting the wands yet, there is a knack to it to stop the split going off line by pressurising one side more than the other, and you can get double (or more) weaving material from the same amount of wands. I made some traditional eel traps from 8' lengths of split willow wands, also when you get into it you can use all sorts of stuff other than willow, i made some nice small baskets from dogwood. it is indeed very therapeutic but i haven't done any for a while now, good luck with any future weaving projects.

 

[DuckyD]

Excellent work!! Must give this a try myself one day

 

[Toddy]

For a first attempt that's superb
Seriously, it's tidy, it's even, it looks robust, and it used different techniques
That looks like an egg basket, or a good one for berries if you line it with something to stop the fruit crushing into the weave. I used one like that for years to store garlic too.

Green willow isn't the first choice tbh. There are reasons why not, but no reason not to give it a go; especially when the willow is starting to bud now (probably further ahead down South)
It peels easily when the sap's rising. The bark comes off in long lengths and it's great for cordage if you get it before the buds get too big.
If you soak those stripped wands for a couple of days, then stook them and dry them out, they'll soak up more quickly when you want to use them later, but they'll store for later too

Good to see stuff like this being made

atb,
Toddy

 

[Joonsy]

Green willow isn't the first choice tbh. There are reasons why not

i would be grateful if you could possibly expand on that please, do you mean just because it's green and unseasoned or are you referring to the actual variety of material chosen, thanks

 

[Toddy]

Basically it's often blooming hard to use it neatly. It can and does 'crack' at inconvenient moments, and the bark slips and slides off too if it's sappy. It also shrinks as it dries out and that can loosen all your neat and tidy work and leave the basketry a bit shoogely.
Not saying don't do it; just that there are reasons why it's worth considering other options.

Variety does matter, but we're not commercial basketmakers and hedgerow basketry makes use of whatever is available. From privet (which is native, is really a shrub not a hedge, and grows beautiful long whippy rods for basketry, and is among the earliest surviving baskets that we have found) to hazel, from oak to sycamore, from cherry to willow, brambles to wild roses and honeysuckle.
Usually basketry willow is selectively grown for uniformity of rods, non divided stems, for site where it's to grow and for colour. From Black Maul to Brittany Green, Caledendron and Chermesina to the contorted curly varieties
You can work with any willow though, just that some are better for certain uses than others.

atb,
M

 

[tom.moran]

very nice kev. perfect for an easter egg hunt

 

[Joonsy]

Basically it's often blooming hard to use it neatly. It can and does 'crack' at inconvenient moments, and the bark slips and slides off too if it's sappy. It also shrinks as it dries out and that can loosen all your neat and tidy work and leave the basketry a bit shoogely.
Not saying don't do it; just that there are reasons why it's worth considering other options.

Variety does matter, but we're not commercial basketmakers and hedgerow basketry makes use of whatever is available. From privet (which is native, is really a shrub not a hedge, and grows beautiful long whippy rods for basketry, and is among the earliest surviving baskets that we have found) to hazel, from oak to sycamore, from cherry to willow, brambles to wild roses and honeysuckle.
Usually basketry willow is selectively grown for uniformity of rods, non divided stems, for site where it's to grow and for colour. From Black Maul to Brittany Green, Caledendron and Chermesina to the contorted curly varieties
You can work with any willow though, just that some are better for certain uses than others.

atb,
M

thankyou for the reply, most helpful. i have experienced both a ''loosening'' of work through using green wands and also a ''cracking'' too exactly as you've explained (though the loosening did re-tighten for whatever reason after a while). One problem i did have was when forming the base by threading the first wands through each other at 90 degrees by way of a split in the middle of them, the split in their centre kept elongating through to the tips (though i got there in the end by using a pointed flat end to split the centre insted of a pointed round end) One nice thing i like about hobbyist basketry is that the finished product (at least my efforts) doesn't look commercial at all, i made a basket from ivy which ended up an indescribable but still usable shape. Thanks.

 

[Toddy]

I think it's like a kind of hardening as it settles, rather than a tightening up again. It does stay firm, just a bitty open and if pushed, it will move, iimmc.

atb,
M

 

[Joonsy]

I think it's like a kind of hardening as it settles, rather than a tightening up again. It does stay firm, just a bitty open and if pushed, it will move, iimmc.

atb,
M

yes absolutely that is a more accurate description thanks, the penalty for my impatience, talking about weaving i quite fancy having another go now i haven't done it for a while.

 

[Clouston98]

Great work! I like it!

 

[Toddy]

yes absolutely that is a more accurate description thanks, the penalty for my impatience, talking about weaving i quite fancy having another go now i haven't done it for a while.

Isn't it funny how seeing something like this puts you in the notion to go and make something ?

M

 

[Dreadhead]

very nice!

 

[Joonsy]

Isn't it funny how seeing something like this puts you in the notion to go and make something ?

M

yes, that's why this type of thread is so good, it gives the OP a chance to share with the added bonus it may spark an interest for others too, all good stuff

 

[Kev T]

Hi all, thanks for your comments.
Crosslandkelly, it was probably about 12" across, although SWMBO says I tend to over estimate and I can't measure it now as I gave it to my mum with her mothers day presents.

Toddy and Joonsy, thanks for your comments, they were very helpful as I'm definitely going to have a couple more goes with the willow I've got left, though I doubt I've got the patience to let it all season first.
Do you know how long it should be left before using?

 

[xylaria]

That is really neat especially for a first go. You could see if could get it to sprout, just partly bury it some of the whithies should grow leaves.