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V. I. Reed & Cane at
www.basketweaving.com
Mid-Month Basketweaving INSTRUCTION
News
As promised, today,
you're going to learn to weave
a Simple Braided Border with round reed.
 ©Linda
Hebert - These instructions may not be reproduced for distribution or sale.
Permission is granted to the newsletter subscriber to print for personal use.
This border can be applied to many sizes of round
reed baskets,
but take note that it's woven with spokes that are doubled up.
That is, the base spokes are tucked in by two's.
See the exact center of the photo at left to see 2 spokes coming up from the
weaving.
We're going to use our Basketry Studio A
"Christmas Ornament Basket" as the example.
This is a basket that only measures about 3 to 4
inches in diameter, so it's an easy one to try it on. I do believe, however,
that you can just as easily do this border for the very first time on a
basket as large as a wastebasket.
The IMPORTANT thing, (we repeat), is
to have double spokes, side by side.
If your basket doesn't have double spokes, and you want to weave this border,
simply add an extra spoke next to each existing spoke.
If you can't see the photos, it's
because you don't have HTML-enabled e-mail software. You can see the photos at http://www.basketweaving.com/april_10_2002.htm.
| You're going to need
about 5" of spoke length for this border, when woven
with #0, 1 or #2 round reed spokes that are about an inch apart. I
wove this one with #0 round reed and it was heavenly to work with: like
weaving with angel hair pasta- if I could imagine such a thing! |
Finish weaving the body of the basket and then soak you
spokes well to be sure that they're flexible for the border bending.
(Soak 20-30 minutes) |
Bring a PAIR of spokes behind the pair of
spokes to its right, as shown in Fig. 1 |
Fig. 1
|
Fig. 2
|
Repeat with every PAIR of spokes around the entire basket.
Fig. 2 |
Fig. 3
|
Next, bring a PAIR of spoke ends UNDER the
spoke ends to its right and place them, pointing up, next to the curve of
the next pair of spokes. Keep them flat, and keep the bottom curve of the
border resting nicely above the last row of weaving. Fig. 3 |
Fig. 4
|
Repeat with remaining pairs of spokes around the entire
basket. All of the spokes will be pointing upwards. Fig. 4 |
Fig. 5
|
Bring a pair of spokes to the outside of
the basket by threading the pair UNDER the next spokes, keeping
them parallel to the two spokes that they rested against in the
previous step. They will now point down and to the outside of the
basket. Fig. 5 |
Fig. 6
|
Repeat with all spoke pairs. This step will give you the TOP
half of the braid border. The top half will have 4 strands as
shown. Fig. 6
Whenever the spokes get dry, re-soak for a few minutes. You want a nice
smooth curve, not creases or pinched spokes, in the your border.
|
Fig. 7
Fig. 7B
|
To complete the bottom half of the braid border, thread the
spoke ends to the inside of the basket. Do this by carrying each
pair of spoke ends OVER the next pair of spokes to its right and tucking it inside.
You may have to gently wiggle the opening bigger in order to tuck it in.
Fig. 7
Detail shown in Fig. 7B
|
Fig. 8
|
Repeat with each spoke end around the perimeter of the
basket. Fig. 8 |
 |
Trim spoke ends to a manageable size inside the basket. For
a small basket like this, about a 1/2". Then, on this basket, I
popped the inside of the bottom upwards like a teeny, tiny apple basket.
Cute! |
NOTE: To weave this border with LARGER sizes of
reed, for example, with #4 round reed, be sure that you have enough SPOKE
LENGTH to weave the border- probably 10" of length for #4- but
don't quote me! It
depends upon how far apart your pairs of spokes are. When you experiment
with this, be sure to keep good notes on the lengths of spoke ends and the
distance between the spoke pairs.
Before you know it, this will be one of those memorized borders that
you won't need a pattern for. |
On Creativity
Now that we've completed a border design,
let me step up onto the creativity soapbox. We are firm believers that you don't
need 600 patterns to learn to weave a basket! That's why you'll notice that our
website has essentially a moderate group of good classic designs to teach you
the basics.
Don't underestimate your own creativity! Once you know the basics
of the basket weaving techniques that you enjoy- whether flat reed, round reed
or a combination of the two- sit down and put together a basket without a
pattern. You don't need someone to tell you that a basket can have a stripe of
blue around its middle or a crisscross design on the handle. Patterns are good
for learning something new and intricate, but look at baskets
that you see out in the world. You'll get lots of ideas and you won't need a
pattern.
Ah, Spring! I see a house wren building a nest in
the thatched birdhouse that my husband made to hang next to my studio door. Next
thing you know- the morels will be popping. Get your mushroom baskets ready!
'Til next time, TTYOHC (Talk To You at the Online
Hobbyists' Convention!),
Linda Hebert
V. I. Reed & Cane
www.basketweaving.com
V. I. Reed & Cane has been a supplier
of superior quality basketweaving kits and materials since 1981. Guaranteed
highest quality reed with quick, friendly service and Secure Online Ordering.
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