Basket Making and Different Methods of Weaving

Basket making is a hobby for some people and a livelihood for most, it provides many people with opportunity for creative craftsmanship. Commercially prepared material, such as rattan and raffia, is commonly used in basket craft projects. The method of basket weaving is also used to make trays, hats fish traps, mats, and various other objects.

Other uses of Basket:

• Storage for clothes
• Gift box (a special alternative to carton box)
• Use to put fruits, bread and grocery items as gift and give away.

How to make basket: Knife and Awl (small pointed tool for making holes) is the 2 tools that is needed to make a basket. Materials to be use:

1. Firm, straight lengths called warp, which will serve as the skeleton or spokes, for the basket.
2. Lighter, more flexible pieces, called the weft, which are woven around the warp.

Types of Weaving

a. Plain weaving - is the most common weaving method, the weft is worked in and out among the successive spokes (skeleton) of the warp. A basket with a wooden base is easier to use than one with woven base. Holes for the spokes of the warp are bored with an awl around the edge of the wooden base. Spokes are then inserted in the holes and held in place from underneath by weaving, an odd number of spokes - five, seven, nice, etc - must be used. Otherwise, when the weft is worked around to form the second row, both rows will fall on the same side of the spoke instead of alternating before and behind.

Weaving starts by placing an end of the weft between two spokes and by working the weft in and out between succeeding spokes. Row is added to row until the sides of the basket reach the desired height. The basket may then be finished by clipping the ends of the spokes evenly, leaving enough length to form loops by tucking the ends into the top rows if the weft. The sides of the basket may be shaped in various ways- straight, slanted, curved-by varying the tightness of the weave and pressing the ribs into the desired shape.

Continue weaving until the base is the right size. Then the spokes are bent upward and the sides of the basket are woven, while the spokes are held firmly in position.

Handles can be added to baskets after the weaving is complete or they can be made by allowing several spokes to extend across the mouth of the basket. They are held in place by inserting the free ends into the weaving and binding them in place with weft material.

b. Pattern Weaving - pattern can be woven into baskets by changing the method of weaving. Twill and herringbone weaves are two of the more common patterns. Both are made by passing the weft over and under two or more spokes at a time. In twill, each row must be started one spoke to the right of the previous row. In a herringbone, a few rows are started one spoke to the right, and then the same number is started one spoke to the left, giving a zigzag effect. Twining, another common pattern, is obtained by using a pair of weft strands.

c. Coil Winding - is a method of basket making that requires a very flexible material such as rope or reed, capable of being wrapped in coils. Strips of raffia or cornhusks hold the basket together. The bottom if the basket is made of a flat coil and the sides are built up layer on layer. Each row of the coil is stitched to the next with raffia strips. A large needle is used for this work. Many decorative stitching have been devised