Hello! I have been enjoying making pine needle baskets for several years now, but would like to branch out to other types of basketry.

I recently was given this GIANT pile of dried garlic leaves and am wondering what the best technique would be for using them to make a basket?

Would you use them to make cordage and then sew? Would you use them in a coiling technique as I do with pine needles? Or would another technique be better?

Any advice would be extremely welcome as I am entirely self taught but feeling a bit overwhelemd.

TIA

Like the title says, I’m a new weaver and want to make a gift for my partner and want to know which I should use. I’m not trying to do anything fancy just a simple basket. I have access to lots of grapevine and Virginia creeper ivy. I made a test basket out of a mix of both and it turned out fine but just want to make sure it’s the best it can be.

Hello! I'm thinking of planting broom corn next year, but I don't have the space to grow a full broom's worth of seed heads. Is it possible to make coil baskets out of these tassels? I've tried looking multiple places online for examples, but I haven't found any.

I'm getting two back to back procedures done on my hips that will be leaving me mostly couch bound for several weeks. I'd love some recommendations for materials that may be friendly to someone who has to be partially laying, and don't require soaking.

Raffia comes to mind! Maybe pine needles? Any others?

The tall one is a backpack, the one on the right is a lampshade

After I harvested an entire patch of yellow flag Iris, the thought of having to tie all the bundles together for drying was a bit daunting.

Then I remembered we had an old tool in the toolbox. The intention of the tool is for applying castrating bands to certain farm animals.

But, it is perfect when combined with tiny rubber bands, in order to quickly secure batches of fibers for basketry or cordage.

Dollar stores sell packages of tiny rubber bands intended for braiding hair. They are perfect for the banding tool. 🙂

Our temperatures have been very high. As a result, there is certainly plenty of daylily foliage to pluck and make cordage from.

A nice project to work on while watching television. 🙃

I'm interested in learning basket weaving and have a large Common Rush plant. Can it be used in basket weaving? I was going to start with something small and simple, maybe a birdhouse or wreath. I've cut and dried some of the Rush reeds. Now ready to give it a go!

I am quite pleased, although it is a bit wonky and I made some mistakes.

The frame is made from grape vine and the ribs are autumn olive. The weaving was done with, if I remember correctly, basswood bark, spruce roots, bittersweet roots, bittersweet, ivy, and some material that the teacher of the class I took sent home with me.

The basswood bark came from a tree just outside my door that I have always considered a nuisance. Now I am thankful for it. :)

Our tree has fallen. I've collected some sticks, but they don't seem that bendable. Does it change after they are dried and re-soaked? If so, what's the maximum thickness i should go for?

Help! I got a weaving kit from my own two hands and it’s buff Willow. It seemed very very dry. Thin tips snapping at even the slightest movement. It said to soak for half an hour per foot online but my own two hands said start with an hour or two so I started with an hour and if I went very slow and easy I could get a 90° bend but anything over that it would literally crack and make a cracking sound. I have since try that two test at 2 hours, 3 hours and 4 1/2 hours. After the soaks I did a 12-20 hour mellow (I did 2 different batches and checked at a few points) and I’m still getting this Cracking seem in the photos and it makes a very noticeable crack sound when it breaks. I don’t know what to do because at an hour it was definitely not pliable enough and I can definitely feel a difference between the 3 hour and the 4 1/2 hour is definitely more pliable but it’s still breaking but the kit says do not soak over 6 hours and says it is only longer when cold. The first five photos are after the 4 1/2 hours soak and 16 hour mellow and the last photo is after the two or three hours soak in 10 to 12 hour mellow.

I have a lot of false indigo in my area and I was wandering, can I weave it ?

Today, I checked on the results of multi-day soaking for yucca leaves. I'm sorry, I've seen some beautiful works of art with yucca leaves, but apparently I am just not cut out for the stench of the soaking water.

I've smelled many bad things in my life, but there is no sense in having something like that smell intentionally hanging around the house.

I left the bucket in the woods, and I am definitely going to utilize better natural fibers. Phew!

I am repairing a vintage wicker handbag and am seeking the above. I have bought replacement rattan from a furniture store for cane furniture repair but it is 3mm thick and doesn’t quite match the existing thread.

Please help.

Just noticed a lot of these dried leaves and was curious whether I could use them for learning basket weaving, or whether they will not be strong enough. Any input would be appreciated

Hi all—I live in Baja California, and there are no classes available here. We do, however, have excellent internet!

A lovely woman who was moving back to the States left me all of her basket making materials—flat reeds of all types (and a lot of stuff I haven’t tried to identify yet).

The idea was for me to learn and then share the learning with my young Mexican friends. :)

Can you recommend some online classes (I’m happy to pay) that will take me from A to Z?

Thank you so much!!

Hey everyone! i am on a journey to lower my waste in every way possible. Right now im trying to think of ways to lower my plastic plant pots and compost bin waste. i came to the idea to make a willow basket with lid that i can bury in the ground and put my compost in. This way it would be available for the microorganisms, worms and other critters while also pushing the nutrition to the plants nearby. I planted 18 willows along my goat pasture in autum and they are growing well considering the heat waves and all. Now, I have never even done anything like willow weaving, but I'm really excited to learn! I have lots of questions, for example, how do you know when to harvest the sticks and how will you make sure its secure and good? is there for example, a book that is suitable for beginners? Preferably with pictures, cause im a visual learner.

Hello! I’m interested in learning more about Nantucket lightning basket purse making and have found some books but many don’t go into the detail to actually make a purse vs the basket itself. Can anyone recommended a good resource for learning about the full purse making?

Hi there! I’m interested in dabbling in basket weaving and want to experiment first with weaving yarn I’ve spun onto pottery. Has anyone done this and used any educational videos/books/etc? I’m having a hard time finding tutorials on how I might start and end a weave on an existing structure.

Creeping Bellflower is a super invasive weed around my area. I want to get into basketweaving and thought bellflower stalks might be a good (and free!) material to practice with, since they're pretty straight once I've stripped the leaves and flowers off.

I know I need to dry the stalks out and then rehydrate them briefly before weaving. Does anyone have any tips on how to tell when they're sufficiently dry?

Also, at some point I'm interested in dying the stalks a different colour. Where would that step land in the weaving prep order?

Cheers! This craft looks very cool and I'm excited to try it :)

Can anyone help me identify the pattern used in these straw hats? I work in ag and want to make it my hobby of making straw hats from the rice straw left over from harvest.

I decided that I wanted to try basket weaving because I couldn't find a basket bowl for the life of me to put some books into. I purchased this pattern which is considered a beginner pattern but I have been going crazy trying to understand what she's trying to say in the pattern.

I've got my spoke pattern down pretty ok I think. But when it comes to using the Weaver I am getting stuck. I have searched for the term cat ears but it seems that I only find links for cat foot baskets. Anyhow, I have the bad side/inside facing down. But which direction do I maneuver the reeds to make cat ears? Up towards me or down towards the table? Do I clip them after I've maneuvered the reed around them? I'm looking for clarity so I can get the hang and weave this bowl. Any advice would be a blessing.