Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Basketry
Basketry
CREATIVE
CRAFTS
BASKETRY
Make an opening at
the centre of four of
the pieces with your Insert the non-split pieces into
knife. the split pieces to form a cross
HOW ARE BASKETS
MADE?
'Twining'
When we 'twine' around the base we
twist the two weavers half way around
Take a long thinner piece so that we are bringing the bottom
weaver to the top and sending the
of material and fold it in the
top weaver to the bottom. This
centre around one side of
should be done in the same direction
the cross. each time.
HOW ARE BASKETS
MADE? You can see here how the
bottom is brought up over
the top and vice versa.
Finished basket
WHAT ARE THE TOOLS?
Bodkin/awl/fid
A bodkin is essential when basketmaking. It is usef
ul to have several in several sizes and diameters. A
good general purpose bodkin has a metal spike th
at is around 5” long and that tapers gently towards
the tip and a wooden handle.
Formers
Generally made from wood, these are used as aids for shaping. They range from
simple hoops that can be attached or put around the uprights to keep them in
position to moulds that help to form complex shapes.
WHAT ARE THE
TOOLS?
Greasehorn
This was usually a cow’s horn filled with a mixture of tallow (animal fat) and horse
hair. The bodkin was inserted in this before using it and the tallow made sure that
the bodkin was ‘greased’ which helped when inserting stakes into a base or a bow
for a handle.
WHAT ARE THE
TOOLS?
Hammers
A small woodworker’s hammer is used to tap in small pins to secure the weave
on a lid or when there is a post with a discontinuous weave for example on the
gap of a dog basket.
WHAT ARE THE
TOOLS?
Knives
When choosing a knife suitable for basketry, it should be strong and fit the hand comfortably.
An Opinel knife found in most good hardware stores is suitable, always remember to lock the
blade so that it can’t fold up on your hand. Knives should always be sharp in order to cut safely
WHAT ARE THE
TOOLS?
Picking knife
This knife with a curved or outward facing blade was used for ‘picking off’ or trimming any
unwanted ends of willow once the basket was finished. It needed skill to press down and only cu
t the rod that was to be discarded without cutting through the weave. Today shears or secateurs
are generally used instead for this job.
WHAT ARE THE
TOOLS? These tools are used to compact the laye
rs of weaving by beating them down. A
useful weight for a metal rapping iron is
between 1 ½ – 2 lbs. Heavier irons are
used for larger work, for example, ballo
on baskets. Some have a ring at one end
that is used to straighten uneven sticks.
A wooden rapping iron is useful when
working with brown willow as it does not
damage the bark. It needs to be made
of a dense wood, box or fruit wood and
Rapping irons sometimes wooden rappers have metal b
ars inserted in them to make them
heavier.
WHAT ARE THE
TOOLS?
Shears or secateurs
These are used for cutting or trimming the willow rods. The blades should be of the ‘bypass’
not ‘anvil’ design in order to make a clean cut. A narrow blade at the tip is useful so that th
e cuts can be made close to the work.
WHAT ARE THE
TOOLS?
Soaking tank
Dry willow needs to be soaked in water to make it pliable enough
to work.
WHAT ARE THE
TOOLS?
Weights
A selection of weights of between 2 – 7 or more pounds is useful. They are used to
hold the work down on the lapboard when working. If the weight has a hole in the
centre the work may be pinned to the board with a thin bodkin, still allowing it to be
rotated.
WHAT ARE THE
TOOLS?
Flat Reed
WHAT ARE THE
MATERIALS USED?
Round Reed
WHAT ARE THE
MATERIALS USED?
Smoked Reed
WHAT ARE THE
MATERIALS USED?
Dyed Reed
WHAT ARE THE
MATERIALS USED?
Fiber Rush
WHAT ARE THE
MATERIALS USED?
Shaker Tape
WHAT ARE THE
MATERIALS USED?
Rafia
THE END