# Basketry



## RBM (Aug 18, 2011)

My baskets are made to be containers so they are not works of art. Only built to carry gathered things in. The two types commonly used are coiled baskets and woven baskets. Now it does help to first know how to make cord so that cord can be used or just lashing can be used. I hesitate to take photos of my baskets since they are rough baskets more for use than for looks but I may get around to putting a photo up sometime. I have so far done a coiled basket and am in the process of finishing a woven cone basket. These two types are to me basic baskets. The coiled can use many different materials. I used cattail leaves (warps) for the basket and yucca leaf strips (or lashing) for the weavers or wefts. It is not a thing of beauty but it works. But just cattail leaves only could be used to make a whole basket. I am using willow shoots for the woven cone basket and maybe some grape vine mixed in. I have come to the conclusion that plant shoots or flexible twigs used for weaving must be soaked so that they are pliable enough and do not break. I have had many to break. The cone basket using ribs for the warps (longitudinal) and weaving in the wefts (latitudinal) does not take as much bending and is therefore easier for me than a more elaborate full fledged woven basket where ribs (warps) must also be woven or bent. The odd number of ribs are simply tied together at one end with a cord or lashing and then the wefts can be added so that if forms a cone shape. I have toyed around with a Palmetto stem strip cone basket but it is hard to get (cut) full length stem strips but I will keep trying on that one.

Anyway here are a few links.

cordage

baskets

Coil basket tutorial

How to weave a basic wicker basket

Show us your baskets. I would really like to see them.


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## Nicodemus (Aug 18, 2011)

I make poplar bark baskets as Chehawknapper taught me. I`ll try to find some pics. Post yours up. I`d like to see em. I`m more interested in utilitarian than ornamental.


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## RBM (Aug 19, 2011)

Nicodemus said:
			
		

> Post yours up. I`d like to see em. I`m more interested in utilitarian than ornamental.



I may sometime. I would like to finish the woven cone basket first. I am running out of willow shoots that I can get to and collect so I may have to fall back on the grape vines or greenbriars. My coiled basket is about a year old already so it is even worse looking than it was originally. lol I made that one mainly for collecting Blackberries and used it for that last season. I like the coiled basket better than the woven. Less effort and I can make it tighter so it will hold even small objects like seeds unlike a woven basket.


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## TNGIRL (Aug 19, 2011)

Thank You so much for those links....I want to make baskets and quivers...just where do I find the time!!!!! But when I see this, it makes me inspired to get it done!!!! I believe I met you and your wife Rebeccah at our TBG banquet?....if I am incorrect then I apologize Lord!!!!!


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## RBM (Aug 19, 2011)

TNGIRL said:
			
		

> Thank You so much for those links....I believe I met you and your wife Rebeccah at our TBG banquet?....if I am incorrect then I apologize Lord!!!!!



You're welcome.

It was not me. Sorry. TBG banquet?


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## TNGIRL (Aug 19, 2011)

RBM said:


> You're welcome.
> 
> It was not me. Sorry. TBG banquet?



OK, I wondered. TBG (Traditional Bowhunters of Georgia)There was a really nice couple I met, his name was Bob (as in short for Robert maybe) and he posts as RPM....therefore I thought for a moment (one of my many mistakes!!)that possibly I had copied his name down wrong....coulda happened!!!!! Anyway, I still love the basketry links etc and anytime you post cool stuff I will be watching and wishing it were me!!!!!


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## GAnaturalist (Aug 19, 2011)

Here is a bark quiver/basket made out of cottonwood. I have others made out of poplar, but they dont look as nice. I would feel "dirty" if I post those photos. Working with bark is nice though, there are some tricks to it though. D


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## TNGIRL (Aug 19, 2011)

OMGoodness!!!!! what a beautiful quiver....gotta remember to try that with my next bark quiver!!! that's just plain lovely!!!!!!


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## chehawknapper (Aug 20, 2011)

I will be teaching a bark basket class next May.


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## TNGIRL (Aug 20, 2011)

chehawknapper said:


> I will be teaching a bark basket class next May.



Hi Ben....good to see you! Will your class be in conjunction with a festival or on it's own. Do you know a clear date? I'd love to take it.


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## ancienttrails (Aug 20, 2011)

Glad to see a basket thread i have been working with cabbage palm and making cord out of the fiber threads of it ,i have been looking for basket how to,s and patterns .thanks for bringing it up.


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## chehawknapper (Aug 21, 2011)

RBM - Don't ever be ashamed of a piece that is functional! Function comes first, art later. Tomi - Private class, dates will be posted as soon as I can. My plans for any classes this fall are gone. I am busy every weekend until Thanksgiving. Then I have to get serious about some venison!


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## Bkeepr (Aug 21, 2011)

count me in!


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## michael988 (Aug 21, 2011)

i will be there the quiver looks awesome and those sites are to


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## chehawknapper (Aug 21, 2011)

Just in case I have confused anyone, the bark quiver shown was made by Ga. Naturalist - not me. Fine job on the quiver! I was just adding that I teach classes in bark containers. I apologize - I didn't mean to hijack this thread.


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## GAnaturalist (Aug 22, 2011)

Naa, dont worry about. Your not hijack anything.

Speaking of hijacking.... he are some more baskets that I said I would not post.... 

Two big ones are yellow poplar, and the bark rattle is pignut hickory, and the small one is also poplar.


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## michael988 (Aug 22, 2011)

i wouldn't be  ashamed of those they look great.


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## GAnaturalist (Aug 22, 2011)

Thanks, I have always though about making a kind of trout creel out of one. So I carved a trout picture on one, but it turned out too small. 

I envision a bark basket creel as a wide strip of bark, shallow basket, drilled holes in the bottom, wet grass lining the inside, and a top that is not attached, yet slides up and down the shoulder string/rig. Someday.....


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## TNGIRL (Aug 22, 2011)

They sure give me ideas!!!
Ben, just do YOUR BEST to remember to pm me when you have a date and details set on that class in May. If at all possible, I'd love to take it. Thanks Tomi.


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## RBM (Oct 6, 2011)

I finally got photos of my baskets and got them on the PC. Like I said before, they are for using and not works of art.

With flash






Without flash





Cattail and Yucca Coil Basket





Willow and Grape Vine Woven Cone Basket


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## mtnwoman (Oct 6, 2011)

I love those baskets!!


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## chehawknapper (Oct 6, 2011)

RBM - next time you want to do a woven/wicker basket try using runners from wisteria. Extremely fast and smooth with no breakage. If you have plenty of willow available, split it into 4 sections and boil it - you will like it.


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## RBM (Oct 6, 2011)

chehawknapper said:
			
		

> RBM - next time you want to do a woven/wicker basket try using runners from wisteria. Extremely fast and smooth with no breakage. If you have plenty of willow available, split it into 4 sections and boil it - you will like it.



No wisteria found here. See geographical map link below. I may try the willow as you suggest sometime though. Thanks. Not really looking to tackle another woven/wicker for a while unless that is all I have to use and am forced to. Way too fussy and time consuming for me, finding the pliable twigs only when green or water soaked, and gaps that don't hold small foraged foods (like seeds) or small items that may fall through. Great for larger items though.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Florida&statefips=12&symbol=WISTE

Forgot to mention, the cordage (tying the ribs at the bottom) and lashing (for the shoulder strap) used on the woven cone basket is cocklebur bark. Cocklebur is great for cordage and lashing but bear in mind that the plant is toxic so no ingesting of any parts of it (clean/wash hands after if handling when green). I would be careful to keep from wiping my face if I have handled it when green/plant juice or sap just to be on the safe side. The seed burs are especially toxic/poisonous. There should be no handling problems with it though when it is dry. I will probably replace it anyway with yucca cordage and lashing when it begins to break down and rot past its season.


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## Bone pile (Oct 7, 2011)

Realy like the baskets ,the catail yuca one looks interesting.do you use the green leaves or do you let them dry some? I didn't know how or if they shrink.I have a few grapes (muskadine)I'll be cutting when it gets cold.I made a couple small baskets out of them last year .Here's a couple pine needle ones.Enjoyed looking at yours ,always good to see different ways of doing things. Bone pile


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## RBM (Oct 7, 2011)

Bone pile said:
			
		

> Realy like the baskets ,the catail yuca one looks interesting.do you use the green leaves or do you let them dry some? I didn't know how or if they shrink.I have a few grapes (muskadine)I'll be cutting when it gets cold.I made a couple small baskets out of them last year .Here's a couple pine needle ones.Enjoyed looking at yours ,always good to see different ways of doing things. Bone pile



I use green Yucca leaf strips. I just take the green leaf and slice strips from them as is. They don't shrink much even when they dry but they do turn tan/brown over time. The Cattail leaves I collected dead/dry. Green or dead/dry should not matter for either one, Cattail or Yucca. The process and result is the same. I doubt there would be much shrinkage for either. You should enter yours in the State Fair in Tampa.


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## RBM (Oct 9, 2011)

Bone pile said:
			
		

> Here's a couple pine needle ones.



I see those pine needle coil baskets a lot out west. I have always thought of those as a western style basket. Don't know why since they can be made anywhere pines grow. I guess because I have seen them predominately from folks out west. Anyway I was just curious as to how long the pine needles last before the basket falls apart? Thanks.


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## RBM (Oct 13, 2011)

On a note about shrinkage of cording, binding, or lashing. I have found that after using green material, it tends to "loosen" just a bit after it dries or after shrinkage occurs. Loosening is not a good thing but it usually is not drastic depending on how tight the material is. After the water/sap leaves the material and the material "shrinks", it will loosen somewhat but just a little. The tighter the material has been bound/wrapped, the less loosening from the small amount of shrinkage there may be. So your results may vary as to how tight your material is. That is why I say shrinkage/loosening has been negligible for me. But I doubt any of the minor loosening would cause any problems from shrinkage in any event. It didn't for me.


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## Bone pile (Oct 13, 2011)

Thanks for the info,now its time to gather and start another
Bonepile


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## RBM (Oct 19, 2011)

Here is a Woven Cone Grape Vine basket I whipped up this afternoon. It is all green Grape Vine except the cord tying the ribs. The cord is a Dogbane-like plant bark I grabbed nearby. I don't think it is Dogbane but it is similar. This bark cord is very strong and okay to tie up things with but bad if it gets abrasion or rubbing as the cord will just shred to bits. It looks like a Horn-Of-Plenty so I put it next to the Fall stuff on the table.


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## RBM (Oct 23, 2011)

RBM said:
			
		

> Not really looking to tackle another woven/wicker for a while unless that is all I have to use and am forced to. Way too fussy and time consuming for me, finding the pliable twigs only when green or water soaked, and gaps that don't hold small foraged foods (like seeds) or small items that may fall through. Great for larger items though.



Well, I wasn't really looking to tackle more woven baskets but I did and it got easier because I found out that Grape Vine runners along the ground are the most flexible and longest. This has been the main reason I have been working Grape Vine. Better vine material than the ones above ground. It has made a big difference using Grape Vine.


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## RBM (Jan 22, 2012)

New basket alert. 
Saw Palmetto Stem Woven Cone Basket





With Soft Flash





P.S.
My IMG code is turned off. How do I turn it on?


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## RBM (Jan 23, 2012)

RBM said:
			
		

> P.S.
> My IMG code is turned off. How do I turn it on?



Ah. Okay.
http://forum.gon.com/announcement.php?f=121

Well attachments it is.


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