Easy tips for preparing materials for basketry

Are you interested basketry? Experiment with whatever vines, grasses and leaves are readily available to you and try all the different methods of preparing baskets.

The easiest materials to work with are those which are long and pliable — grasses and leaves that are mature but have not yet started to brown off, first-year branches and saplings and vines picked after they have finished flowering and in which the sap is running.

• The rich colours of some of the hard-to-handle dried grasses, leaves and vines will make learning to use them well worth the effort.
• Most of the materials you collect will need some preliminary preparation to strengthen and preshrink them, since any shrinkage after a basket is finished tends to loosen the construction.

Once the preparatory steps have been completed, the materials can be used immediately or dried and stored.

• Dry plants slowly in a cool, dark place. To prevent mildew and general deterioration, store dried material in a place that is cool, airy and free of moisture.
• Brown paper bags are good for storing small leaves or grasses.
• Vines can be coiled.
• Long grasses should be tied into loose bundles and hung.

Before making a basket, soak the dried material in water until it is pliable.

• Soaking time varies greatly according to the plant but, in general, the thicker and harder the plant is, the more soaking it requires.
• Wrap soaked material in a damp towel as you work.

Even a brittle material, such as straw or grass, can be made into a strong basket when it is coiled.

• Choose long, straight, first-year willow shoots without any side branches. Weeping willow is good if gathered in spring when the sap is running. Use immediately while fresh.
• Prepare the straw by removing any short, broken pieces. Do this by taking a small handful at a time. A bunch about 40 millimetres (1.5 inches) in diameter is easy to handle. Slap it against your knee and comb your fingers through so that the broken pieces fall out.
• Soak the straw for 10 minutes until it is pliable enough to coil. Keep it wrapped in a damp towel as you work so it does not dry out.
• As you coil the basket, strive for evenly spaced willow stitches and straw bundles of uniform thickness. This technique can be used with long-leaf material such as iris and watsonia. Use cotton or linen thread for stitching.
• To split willow, cut it with a sharp knife five centimetres (two inches) into the end of the branch and pull the halves apart with exactly equal force. Pull one side with your teeth and use your free hand to help control the force. It takes practice to keep the split centred so that one of the halves does not tear off in a short piece.

Don't let the fundamentals of basketry overwhelm you. Follow these tips and learn how to select and prepare your materials in no time!