and ♥ MAKING OUR HOME A HAVEN PODCAST ♥ where we're weaving a bit of joy into every day.
Basketmaster's Weavings is about my passions, much of which revolves around basket weaving. I weave with reed and I love teaching others to weave. Many of the patterns and styles that I show in the blog are geared to the beginning weaver, or even the brand new weaver. If you have been thinking about wanting to learn to weave, then this blog is for you. Throughout the blog and videos I take you step by step through each and every process of weaving. I want you to be successful in weaving the very first time you try. For the intermediate and advanced weaver, my wish is that you take ideas that I show, mix them up a bit, and incorporate them into your own beautiful creations.
Happy Weaving and Baskets of Blessings to all my visitors,
NancyYou may find my YouTube Videos Here.
Listen to Basketmaster's Making our Home a Haven Podcast.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Basket Weaving Tip - Balancing the Weight of your Basket
In watching my YouTube videos you have heard me say as you weave each row, rotate your basket approximately 90 degrees when you start the next row. This is with basic start-and-stop weaving (not continuous weaving). The reason I say as you begin to weave the next row to give your basket a 90 degree turn is to do the starting and stopping in various areas of the basket, not all in the same area. The location where you start-and-stop adds just a bit more weight to a basket and can add a very tiniest of bulge with the extra thickness of reed. Your basket will sit better if the weight of the reed is distributed around all sides of the basket.
There is one exception to the rule-of-thumb above. When you are weaving a wall basket, you may do all you start-and-stops on the back side of the basket. This way, the front side of your basket will be perfectly flat and pretty. Any extra weight or even slight bulge will never be noticed on the back side of your basket.
One final note...As you do your rim, on the inside and outside of your basket, do make sure the overlap is in two different areas of your basket. I usually place my overlap on opposite sides of the basket again to balance the weight and look. If I know one side of my basket will be facing outward where most people will view it, I do not place the outside overlap on the viewing side of the basket.
In the photo above, where I have my arrows, is where I've overlapped the rim. As you look at this basket head on like this, you do not notice the overlaps, as both the inside and the outside pieces of rim overlap in the direction to the BACK side of the basket. This way, you do not see the cut end of my reed which happens to be 1/2" flat/oval.
This is just one more simple basket weaving technique to give your basket that high quality you're after vs. one that is rapidly mass produced.
One more thing. This is my Kitchen Counter Basket and I have the free pattern for you HERE.
Happy Weaving Everyone,
Nancy
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Basket Weaving Handle Substitutions
Happy Weaving,
Nancy
ps. Think Pink officially starts tomorrow!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Basket Weaving - Facts about Twining
Did you know that the first use of 'twining' was probably to hold twigs and sticks together to construct shelter walls?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Today's Hand(y) Basket Weaving Tip
Happy Weaving!
Nancy
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Back to Basics in Basket Weaving - Making Reed Curls
I've had people ask, "How did you make those curls?" "Are those curlie Q's made from reed?"
Yes, those curls are made from reed. I used 11/64" flat reed and rolled it around a 1/4" dowel rod. Soak the read well first, 15 minutes at least. Then secure the end of the reed to the dowel with a clothespin and just keep wrapping. Secure the other end with a clothespin as well. Let the reed dry completely before removing it from the dowel. You can then pull on the coils slightly to give them a springy look. You can do the same thing using round reed as well for a pretty look. Once the reed is removed from the dowel rod, cut it into desired lengths and wire to your basket. Try using several colors or a color with natural for a pretty basket embellishment.
Happy Basket Weaving,
Nancy
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
A Fantastic Basket for a Gift
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Back to Basics in Basket Weaving -- Creating A Professional Finish
Happy Weaving,
Nancy
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tip Technique Tuesday - How to Handle Weak Stakes
Have you ever woven a basket and the stakes want to fold to the inside or the outside of the basket causing it not to pack tightly or look pretty? I have and it can be very frustrating.
- If you are like me and you cut an entire handful of stakes at one time to the desired length, take just a moment before hand and feel each piece of reed paying attention for flimsy pieces. Remove the flimsy pieces from your bunch and save those weak pieces for weavers.
- The opposite is true as well. If you have a weaver that seems especially heavy, don't use it to weave. Toss it aside and save it for a stake.
- If you have started to weave a basket and realize you have a weak stake, make sure that your weavers are well soaked and pliable. Then, as you weave around the weak stake, go slowly keeping the weak stake straight and make sure that your weaver is the one that bends to do the over under weaving.
- Change the pattern a bit. If you are finding that you are struggling with weak stakes, switch to smaller weavers. Take a look at the little tote bag in the photo above. The stakes are 3/8" flat reed. They are very thin. By using 11/64" flat for my weavers as well as seagrass, which is very pliable, for some of the weavers, I was able to keep my stakes straight.
- You can always insert another stake directly behind the weak stake making it a double thickness. Be sure to hide the ends of the inserted stake. This technique works well if the weak reed is caught early in the weaving process. Consider adding a second stake just slightly thinner and of a different color and place this second stake on the outside for a double thickness. This can give you a great plaid or decorative effect. My basket above is not the best example but it does show two layers of stakes. Look at the stem of the flowers. The stem is the second layer or thickness.
- 99.999% of the time I make sure that my stakes are larger than my weavers. A larger size stake means a thicker and therefore stronger stake.
Happy Weaving,
Nancy
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Tip Technique Tuesday - A Unique Basket Handle
Thank you Pam for letting me use your pictures.
Please be sure to visit Pam over at Primitive Basketcase to see more of her fun and wonderful creations.
Have a wonderful day,
Nancy
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Staining Baskets - A Reader Question and we need YOUR advice
What do all of you think? Is it necessary to add mineral spirits and linseed oil to the Minwax?
Here is my own observation of my baskets using straight Minwax....
That basket was always stuffed full and did get abused by me. Would linseed oil and mineral spirits have helped the life of this basket? Hmm....I'm not so sure it would have in this case. I've since replaced it with another basket I've woven. What about the heirloom baskets that you weave and want to just show and pass down for generations? Should those use a special staining treatment?
Thank you in advance readers for your comments and suggestions here. If you use a special treatment, would you please be as specific as possible with your staining recipe.
Have a happy weaving day,
Nancy
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Is Reed Poisonous? - A Reader Question
Yesterday I received an e-mail from a reader and it is a question that I have been asked from time to time and I thought that perhaps others of you might have wondered the same thing so here it is:
Hey, Nancy!The short answer is yes there are pesticides sprayed on the reed during the processing of it as well as for transport across ocean. Now I'm not a chemist and I have not chemically tested the reed, but I would imagine that a fair amount of those pesticides are worn off and washed off as you soak the reed before using. This is one reason why you should not let your pet drink your soaking water. (For some reason it seems that dogs really like drinking reed water and they should not be allowed to do this) Have you ever soaked your reed and felt something, not gummy, but a substance on the reed as you take it out of the water? Some of that is from the oils in the machine as they cut the reed but some of that feeling or substance is from what has been sprayed on the reed. I think you probably wipe most of it off with your towel.
I've got another question for you. I was told by someone in my guild that basket reed has toxins in it, and it should not be used for baskets that will at some time be in contact with food. At least half of the baskets I've been weaving over the last 2 months are kitchen baskets, i.e., 2 pie baskets, bread warmers, cookie keepers, silverware baskets, salt & pepper holders, coffee filter baskets, etc. Is this true? Is basket reed poisonous?
That said, lets look at what we put in our baskets that we use in the kitchen. For the remainder of this answer I'm going to refer to the results from Adam and Jamie and the interesting "Mythbusters" TV show.
Mythbusters did an episode where they talked about the 5 second rule...Drops on the floor and you pick it up and eat it within 5 seconds you are ok, no germs. Their results of the experiment were if something dry like an M&M dropped on the floor (providing the floor itself wasn't wet) so a dry M&M on dry floor then you can pick it up, eat it, and be basically germ free. Wet substances are another story. You drop a slice of bologna on the floor it picks up tons of germs instantly. Don't eat it! Of course things are in your basket much longer than 5 seconds but I feel the same dry against dry rule applies.
Speaking for myself and what I put in my baskets, food related, are dry and I put these things in a dry basket so dry on dry. I would never put something wet in my basket. Most of these items that I put in my basket have some sort of a covering such as tea bags are in a basket at my house and my Jello boxes are in another basket. My bananas, oranges and apples are in a basket. The apples I'll wash before we eat them. (I've read where you should wash your bananas and oranges too but I don't do that) Speaking for myself when I put bread and cookies in a basket I put a paper towel or napkin in the basket first to line it. (Guess I was more concerned of the oil from the cookies staining and spotting my basket) I too have coffee filters in a basket with my coffee but again that is dry on dry. Same goes with silverware. As far as your pie basket is concerned, a small edge of the pie might touch the basket, but IMHO it is such as small amount I personally would not be concerned. Plus whatever on the pie that became contaminated from the basket is probably stuck on the basket anyway as you removed the pie.
Did you know that many, many household items that are shipped over here from overseas have been sprayed with pesticides? Yes it is true. I never ever want to discount anyone's concerns regarding this topic and my answers come from books I've read so I'm only giving you my best answer. If you are still concerned, use a liner of some sort for all baskets that come in contact with food products. With your coffee filter basket, just don't use the very bottom filter and use that bottom filter as a liner. Basically I'm going to tell you to use your best judgement with all this.
A similar question I've been asked in the past is about using dyed reed and the dyed reed coming into contact with food. Same applies with dry on dry as mentioned above. My personal feelings with this, as I use Rit dye, are as follows. Rit dye is for fabric. We use cloth napkins and such that have been dyed, so I have never been concerned about my dyed reed possibly touching food products either.
Perhaps some of you readers have heard other things regarding this topic. Please leave a comment and let me and others know.
Super question and I appreciate you asking.
Baskets of Blessings Everyone,
Nancy
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
How to Dye Reed
Happy Weaving,
Nancy
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Collection of Basket Weaving Tips and Techniques
Balancing the Weight of Your Basket
The Importance of Signing Your Basket
Making Basket Curls
How to Dye Reed
Using a Spoke Weight
Crimping Round Reed
Keeping Reed and Our Hands Soft
Making a Music Box Basket
Making a Matchstick Rim
An Inexpensive Basket Liner
Make a Reed Diffuser
Twining Facts
Create Custom Rit Dye Colors
How to Stain a Basket
Weaver's Words
Seagrass
Lashing Tool
More on Lashing Tools
Zip-Ties
Basket Weaving Terminology
Make Your Own Lashing Tool
Handle Substitutions
Decorating your Home with Baskets
Reed Storage
How to Weave a Braided Rim
Make a Coiled Recycled Upcycled Basket
Making Space Dyed Reed
Basket Pattern Organization
My Basket Weaving Supplies
Shaping Your Basket
Designing Your Own Basket
Starting and Stopping a Project
Dying Reed with Tulip Tie-Dye
Basket Embellishments
Create a Professional Finish
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Technique Tip Tuesday - Balancing the Weight of your Basket
In watching my YouTube videos you have heard me say as you weave each row, rotate your basket approximately 90 degrees when you start the next row. This is with basic start-and-stop weaving (not continuous weaving). The reason I say as you begin to weave the next row to give your basket a 90 degree turn is to do the starting and stopping in various areas of the basket, not all in the same area. The location where you start-and-stop adds just a bit more weight to a basket and can add a very tiniest of bulge with the extra thickness of reed. Your basket will sit better if the weight of the reed is distributed around all sides of the basket.
There is one exception to the rule-of-thumb above. When you are weaving a wall basket, you may do all you start-and-stops on the back side of the basket. This way, the front side of your basket will be perfectly flat and pretty. Any extra weight or even slight bulge will never be noticed on the back side of your basket.
One final note...As you do your rim, on the inside and outside of your basket, do make sure the overlap is in two different areas of your basket. I usually place my overlap on opposite sides of the basket again to balance the weight and look. If I know one side of my basket will be facing outward where most people will view it, I do not place the outside overlap on the viewing side of the basket.
In the photo above, where I have my arrows, is where I've overlapped the rim. As you look at this basket head on like this, you do not notice the overlaps, as both the inside and the outside pieces of rim overlap in the direction to the BACK side of the basket. This way, you do not see the cut end of my reed which happens to be 1/2" flat/oval.
This is just one more simple basket weaving technique to give your basket that high quality you're after vs. one that is rapidly mass produced.
One more thing. This is my Kitchen Counter Basket and I have the free pattern for you HERE.
Happy Weaving Everyone,
Nancy
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The Importance of Signing Your Basket
While we are busy with company I am sharing with you another favorite blast from the past. Enjoy!
Nancy
When you weave a basket, you are an artist. You are its creator. Be proud of what you have made and let others know it was you who wove this basket.
Sign your basket.
I sign most of my baskets on the base on a spoke or a stake. If it is has a base made from twining, sign it on either the underside of the handle or on the inside of the rim. Be sure to use an archival pen that will not fade. I use a fine point Sharpie style marker. You may find that if your basket is just very slightly damp that the marker will not bleed into the reed. You may also wish to include the date that you wove it as well as what number of basket it is. Is it your first basket? Second? So forth. Early on I numbered my baskets until I reached 100 and then it just became difficult to remember.
Is your basket a gift for someone? If so, you may want to write a brief message on the bottom as well such as "Happy 16th Birthday Katie, Love Mom". This will help all know the occasion for which this basket was created.
Beyond a long-lasting signature, some artists like to further establish the link between generations of creators and collectors by keeping journals writing why they created a specific piece of work, significant life experiences, relationships involving the work, and living locations. If your baskets are showcased, It’s also a good idea to track the dates and location of exhibitions, and any accompanying press coverage from those events. Keep a list of customers that purchase your baskets—complete with their name, date, location, and where the basket resides—is also a good step toward providing the chronology of a particular piece.
You never know what future life circumstances will bring to you and honestly, you may become quite famous and your baskets may be as sought after as some paintings or sculptures. There are artists today who will even microchip their artwork. (ok, I'm not going to that extreme, but I wanted you to know some people do that)
Sign your basket.
Your great-great grandchildren will treasure it even more knowing it was you who wove it.
Baskets of Blessings,
Nancy
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Blogger: Basketmaster's Weavings - Technique/Tip Tuesday-- Making Basket Curls
The above picture is the January kit of the month. I've had people ask, 'How did you make those curls?' 'Are those curlie Q's made from reed?'
Yes, those curls are made from reed. I used 11/64' flat reed and rolled it around a 1/4' dowel rod. Soak the read well first, 15 minutes at least. Then secure the end of the reed to the dowel with a clothespin and just keep wrapping. Secure the other end with a clothespin as well. Let the reed dry completely before removing it from the dowel. You can then pull on the coils slightly to give them a springy look.
Happy Basket Weaving,
Love,
Nancy"
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
"Technique/Tip Tuesday - Basket Weaving Tips"
Another Blast from the Past.
Baskets of Blessings,"
Monday, December 21, 2009
"Technique/Tip Tuesday--A Professional Finish"
Before cutting and tucking your spokes, fold down the spokes that are to go to the inside of the basket. Measure those spokes so that when you cut them, the end will be hidden behind one of your weavers. The goal is not to have any rough ends showing to give you a professional look. This way, when someone is looking at your basket, they do not know where pieces of reed have started and where they have ended.
Happy Weaving,
Nancy"
Friday, December 18, 2009
Basket Weaving Tips and Techniques
When I first learned how to weave we would put our dishpans full of water on the table to hold our reed in place. While this worked, it was very space consuming. The spoke weight is a heavy metal weight that also is a ruler. It is perfect for holding reed in place and measuring to get the exact length of reed or space between reeds. This is a must have tool for basket weavers.
Here is my tip. What if you don't have a spoke weight and don't want to put the dishpan on the table? What if you do have a spoke weight yet your basket is large and you need more than one. Here's what you do. Go to your pantry and get out a bag of dried beans and use that as a weight. Dried beans are inexpensive, the plastic bag keeps the beans dry, and they don't take up hardly any additional table space. Use 2, 3, or 4 bags if needed. It is a handy homemade kitchen tool to make your basket weaving just that much easier!"