Any basket makers among us?

[me&thegals]

Waddaya think? Do I need another hobby?!?!?!?

Sure--go for it! Gotta warn you, though, basket supplies take up a lot of room. I think one great way to start is to find a local class (they even had them in my tiny town) or join a guild. I would have had a REALLY hard and frustrating time trying to self-teach those first couple baskets. It'd be great to find someone to help you.

You mention the beauty of them. That's what I love about baskets. Sure, I could have plastic garbage cans--and that's totally fine!--but it's so much more attractive to have beautiful baskets instead.

 

[Beekissed]

*GASP!!!* .....s p e e c h l e s s .......

Ditto! Lovely, lovely, lovely!! I need a good egg basket like that! My metal one is too large.

 

[Zenbirder]

Thanks everyone for the nice compliments!

I learned basket making from an elderly relative. I do think it would help anyone starting out to take a class or do the first couple with someone who knows how. Some of the baskets are not all that easy, I have seen people in classes give up and never finish them even with help. It is not a good hobby if you don't have at least reasonable hand strength.

Freemotion, while baskets for canning jars would be stunningly beautiful, do you have that much free time? It takes me one day per basket, anywhere from 4 to 7 hours of intensive work for each, depending on size and type. Me&thegals is right, supplies are bulky. I also work in spurts, perhaps only two to four baskets a year.

Pine Needle baskets can be somewhat larger, I have seen Native American ones that were huge. The key, according to Mom, is to get the longest needles you can find. She wouldn't even attempt one with short needles. She has even ordered them in from the Internet, 10 to 15 inches is nice. She often finishes the basket with a coating of beeswax, it makes them more rigid and smell really nice. This type of basket making is probably easier, less expensive if you have the needles, and in my view less functional for actually using the baskets, but I am sure someone could prove me wrong. There is a Down's syndrome woman near here that spends her days making crude but usable pine needle baskets as income to help her family, she is a really sweet woman. Here is just one link to show the basics.
http://www.nativetech.org/basketry/coilindex.html

Beekissed, egg baskets are made very differently than a regular round or rectangular basket. Regular baskets have a "basket weave" structure, over and under and turn up the sides and weave around...

Egg baskets start with two hoops at 90 degrees. They are joined together, I use a stitch called a "God's eye". Then you insert ribs to make the form of the basket under these weavings, and then weave around the ribs to make the basket. Look closely at the one in the picture with the blown eggs in it and see the two circles, one around the rim and one forms the handle. These are very strong and handy baskets!

 

[freemotion]

Freemotion, while baskets for canning jars would be stunningly beautiful, do you have that much free time? It takes me one day per basket, anywhere from 4 to 7 hours of intensive work for each, depending on size and type. Me&thegals is right, supplies are bulky. I also work in spurts, perhaps only two to four baskets a year.

No, I absolutely do NOT have the time, space, or hand strength to spare (gotta save those hands for work to pay the mortgage!) but I am referred to (lovingly, I hope....) as a "basket case" because of my love for baskets. Actually, I love anything hand-made. My new canning obsession will likely be permanent, and I am trying desparately to come up with reasonable storage solutions for hundreds of jars. So anything that ends up stored in plain site needs to have an attempt at making it decorative.

So I have a couple of tall bookcases, one in the kitchen with jars and baskets storing all my things like pasta, grains, crackers, etc and the square baskets contain smaller items, and I have a few pretty tins, too. I really like the look of it.

Now there is a bookcase in my dining room with boxes of canning jars, baskets with cases of lids, etc. I hate the look of the cardboard boxes, so the basket idea was a late-night inspiration/whim. It would be gorgeous, dontcha think? It is the middle of the day now, and I accept that it will not happen!

Wallpaper scraps it is, then!

 

[nightshade]

why don't you try to get some nice old square tins for your jar lids and such. You can find them a lot at the flea markets and yard sales for next to nothing. I love to store my dog and car food in old Charlie's chip cans and you cold also find the old tall cracker tins they work really well for canning lids too and hold a lot of them. Plus they look nicer then boxes and would fit well on your book shelves.

 

[freemotion]

HEYYYYY! I have a couple in the basement that I got years ago when I was buying premium dry catfood, it was a special that came with the food, and they have nice cat pix on them.......see ya, I'm running off to get them now......

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Reviving this!
Free & I wanna learn!
I've made some very, very rough baskets out of wild grasses, but they didn't hold up very long. I've got some basics under my belt, the actual weaving part, I'm good on. Its making sure the base is right and turning under the top row that I have issues with.
Anybody got any tips or pointers? Instructions? How do you do your baskets, any step by step we should know?

Beautiful baskets Zen. I really like the pine needle baskets.

Edit to say: When I get back home & get my camera working again, I'll post some pics of how I start off, per Free's request
Although, like I said, its a very rough type of basket, not very decorative. Something you might make if you ran out of room while foraging.

 

[me&thegals]

Glad this thread is going again Noobie--we would love to see those pix!

I made a bunch of square-base, round-topped baskets this winter for my CSA goodies and for selling at farmer's market (to store food for sale at one market and for actual basket sale at another market). Also "made up" a pattern for a bike basket. My aunt wanted to learn how to weave and wanted a useful bike basket, but I could not find a pattern so made one up. I've had so much fun with it as I bike around the countryside hunting for wild asparagus in the ditches. So much nicer than the Wal-Mart bag I used to store the asparagus in, hanging off my handlebar.

I still can't do pix, but when I can I would love to post some pictures. It's fun to see everyone else's for more ideas!

My husband found an antler shed that I'll be using for a basket handle. I made one of those once before--similar concept to weaving an egg basket--for my son's b-day. Will have to try this again. I saw in Country Women a HUGE basket with a moose horn for the handle

 

[me&thegals]

Noobie--specific directions on weaving would depend on WHAT basket you want to make. If you can get more specific on size, shape, weaving materials, etc., I could do my best to walk you through it. It would be a bit difficult online, though. The first time I make a basket (unless I've invented it), I follow a pattern. You can find patterns online. One place is gratiotlakebasketry.com. They generally have a picture, brief description of necessary materials and then usually pretty good step-by-step directions, sometimes even with drawings of each step of the process.

Good luck!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I guess I wanted a simple general purpose basket that I could start with, without going to the trouble & expense of buying a manual or kit. There are no people around here anymore who make baskets, or at least, I haven't been able to find any. My granny passed away many years ago, she's the one who taught me to weave & braid.
Maybe I could just get started on one, take pics & ask for pointers along the way? I'll definately check that site, thanks for the link!