Basket making, or basketry, is a popular handicraft. Many people enjoy basket making as a hobby. They create baskets that are useful and decorative. People who make baskets are often called basket makers.
Basket making is one of the oldest handicrafts. Since prehistoric times, people have made baskets to use as containers. Prehistoric people wove baskets from grasses and leaves, plant stalks, and other natural materials. Some early American Indians covered tightly woven baskets with pitch so that the baskets could hold water. Basket-making techniques have also been used to make such objects as dolls, furniture, hats, masks, and saddles. Today, basket makers use many of the same materials and techniques as early people did.
Materials and tools.
There are two kinds of basket-making materials—hard materials and soft materials.
Hard materials include grasses, leaves, plant roots, strips of wood, tree bark, and twigs. These materials may be purchased at a craft shop or gathered from outdoors. A hard material requires special preparation to make it soft, pliable, and strong. First, the material is dried. It usually shrinks and becomes brittle. Next, it is soaked in water so it becomes flexible and workable. The material is then ready to be used. Hard materials must be kept moist during the basket-making process.
Soft materials include yarns and ropes made from such natural fibers as cotton, jute, and wool, or such synthetic fibers as acrylic and nylon. They are available at craft shops in a variety of colors, sizes, and textures.
Few tools are required to make baskets. For working with hard materials, a person may need an awl, a pair of pliers, and a sharp knife or scissors. For soft materials, a large needle and scissors are necessary.
Methods.
There are four basic basket-making methods: (1) weaving, (2) twining, (3) plaiting, and (4) coiling. In each method, different strands of material are used to form the warp and the weft of the basket. The warp consists of foundation strands called spokes. The weft is formed by strands that are woven with the spokes of the warp. These strands are called weavers.
Weaving
is the simplest and most common method of making baskets. In this method, the weavers, or the weft, are passed over and under the spokes of the warp. There are three basic weave patterns—called plain, twill, and herringbone. The plain weave, also called tabby, is produced by passing each weaver over one and under one spoke of the warp for each row. In the twill and herringbone weaves, each weaver passes over two and under two spokes all around the row. The twill weave results from starting each new row one spoke to the right or left of the previous row. The herringbone weave is formed by beginning a new row to the right of the previous one, and then the next row to the left. The twill weave forms a diagonal pattern and the herringbone weave a zigzag design.
Combinations of weaves may be used to vary designs of baskets. Different colors of weavers and spokes also result in interesting designs.
The base of a woven basket is made by arranging an uneven number of spokes so that they cross in the center. The weaver is carried under and over, one at a time, around and around. As the weaving progresses, the sides of the basket may be shaped by gradually bending the spokes upright around any object that has the desired shape, such as a box, can, or piece of wood. After the basket is woven, the weft must be secured in a process called finishing. One method of finishing a basket is to bend the ends of the spokes over the last weft row and to insert them between the weavers.
Twining
resembles plain weaving, but the weavers are used in pairs. One weaver is passed over a spoke, and the other is carried under the same spoke. The weavers cross each other between each spoke. In a finished tightly twined basket, only the weft can be seen. The spokes are completely covered. Twining produces a pleasing, twisted pattern.
Plaiting.
In plaiting, the weavers and the spokes are interwoven and may be of the same material. As a result, a person may be unable to distinguish between the weft and warp in a plaited basket. Most plaited baskets are made of flat materials, such as strips of leaves, paper, ribbons, or wood. They generally are not as sturdy as woven baskets. A rigid rim must be added to the top of a plaited basket so that it keeps its shape.
Coiling
is a sewing technique. The basket begins from a core that winds around in a circle and forms a coil. The coils of the basket are held together by a binding thread. Flexible materials are needed for the basket coils, such as grass, rope, straw, twigs, or yarn. Fine, thin materials, such as raffia, strips of cornhusks, yarn, string, or rope, are commonly used for the binding thread.
The base of a coiled basket is made by winding a number of coils to form a solid circle. As each coil progresses, it is wrapped and bound to the one before it. The sides of the basket are made by winding coils on top of one another and binding them together. This winding process is continued until the basket reaches the desired height.
