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When it comes to basket weaving, there is not a more interesting and knowledgeable teacher then Bonnie Gale. Bonnie not only makes baskets using the finest willow from England, she also creates beautiful live willow installations from American grown willow. Here, she uses two types of unpeeled willow: regular brown and steamed brown willow to make the perfect flower basket. You will be inspired to give it a try, though it might be a good idea to take a basket weaving course before your first try.
Finished Dimensions:
22 inches long by 19 inches wide by 17 inches tall
Materials:
Unpeeled regular brown willow (One pound of 6 to 7 foot for bottom sticks and handle bows; 3 pounds of 5 foot for weaving (pairing, waling, stakes, handle wrapping))
Unpeeled steamed brown willow (Four thin 5 foot rods for circle decoration)
Tools:
Bodkin
Knife
Grease horn
Pruning shears
Ruler
Directions:
1. Soak dry 6-foot to 7-foot willow for 5 days and the 5-foot willow for 4 days. Keep willow in a damp cloth until you begin weaving.
2. Reserve the two biggest and longest 7-foot rods for the handle bow and from the remaining 7-foot rods, choose 14 thick rods and cut 20 inches from the butt, or thick end. Take seven of these sticks and split in the middle with a knife for a distance of about 5 inches. Using a greased bodkin, insert unsplit rods through split ones. You will now have a cross or slath, which is 7 sticks by 7 sticks.
3. Choose a large handful of the thinnest 5-foot rods. Take a pair of rods and shave the lower 8 inches from the butt ends. Insert these two shaved ends in the horizontal split of the slath.
4. The next step is pairing weave. Take one of the rods up and then over the top of the seven sticks where they cross and behind the next quadrant. Hold this rod down. Repeat with the second rod and continue alternating the pairing weavers.
5. You will weave two rounds as a 7 by 7 slath and then divide the sticks in each quadrant to 2-3-2 for two more rounds. The pairing weave is then around single sticks. When you finish the first pair of weavers, you will add tips to tips and continue weaving. New butt rods will be added to old butts.
6. After six rods of pairing have been woven in and you end with tips, you can add the decorative circle of steamed brown. Add the new tips to tips, butts to butts and then go back to the regular brown weaving.
7. After the circle of color (about an inch worth), it is time to start shaping the basket. Decide on the long flat dimension (usually in the direction of the visible split sticks). This part of the basket needs to be kept flat. The other side of the basket will be curved up. To have the sides curved up, you will need to work it up assertively and then make the weavers keep the shape. Also, try to work the sticks evenly apart with the weavers.
8. Weave in pairing out to the shortest stick. Trim the rest of the sticks and add 28 thickest 5-foot rods as stakes. Slype or make a sloping cut to the butts of these rods and insert one down beside each of the 28 stick ends. These slyped stakes should be inserted for a distance of 5 inches or more into the basket.
9. The next step is 3 rod waling. It is a strong weave after adding the stakes and before starting the border. Turn the basket so that you are facing the bottom or underside and take 12 medium 5-foot rods and start two sets of 3 tips consecutively on opposite sides of the basket. Three rod waling, is similar to pairing but each left rod goes in front of two stakes behind the next one to the front on the right. Each rod is taken in turn. Butts are added to butts in the two sets and weave out to tips.
10. After making sure that the shape is good and the weaving is circular, a 4-behind-2 rod border will be made using the stakes that have been added. Take one stake and kink it at the level of the waling and take it behind two upright stakes to the right and out to the front. You should still be looking at the underside of the basket. Repeat this move with three other upright stakes to the right. You will now have four horizontal stakes and the weave now has two parts that is made with every stake.
11. The first part is to take the left horizontal in front of two uprights and behind the next and out to the front. The second part is to then take the left upright from the behind and take it behind two stakes to lay next to the horizontal, just woven. This makes a pair and should be kept flat and down. Continue this sequence to the right and you will keep making and subtracting pairs (you should always have a total of 4 pairs apparent). The right of each pair is used and the left is left behind and will be cut off. The last part of the border involves weaving the last rods through.
12. The whole basket can be trimmed at this point.
13. The final stage is to make the handle. It has two bow rods. Take the two saved rods and slype each on the inside curve for a distance of 4 inches. Using the greased bodkin, insert one handle bow butt in the middle of each curved side and curve it over and insert the tip into the other side. The total height of the handle should be 17 inches and the bow rods are inserted down beside a stake in the weaving for a distance of 6 inches. Then take 12 of the remaining long 5-foot rods, slype ends and insert 5 on the front of each bow into the weaving. Using a total of four turns, counter clockwise, take the 5 rods as a set (do not allow them to cross each other) and wrap them firmly around the bow to the opposite side, ending with the tips of the rods inside the bow. Repeat on the other side. If the bows are not filled in, then one or more additional handle wrappers will be used. To weave away the two sets of tips, each set is woven around the bow in a figure of eight move and the ends are twisted and woven along the waling of the basket.
Special Thanks:
Bonnie Gale
Basket weaving tools, materials and lessons are available from Bonnie Gale at
www.englishbasketrywillows.com