#812. Weave a basket

Basket weaving was one of those things that ended up on the bucket list more as a joke than anything else because as a college kid “underwater basket weaving” is an easy A. So when I wrote the bucket list in college weaving a basket just made sense to put on the bucket list. I didn’t realize that it was one of those things that required some effort to do. I think it was on the list more for show than anything else. However, thanks to the wonders of Facebook, I actually got to weave a basket.

Last year, I saw a Facebook event for basket weaving on the Oneida Reservation but I saw it too late to make any plans. So this year I was trying to see if they had another event coming up and stumbled upon Woven Blessings Basketry which offers basket making classes. Most of the classes are $35-$40 which for the size of basket you were making seem reasonable but not really in my budget. I saw they were having a basket class for $5 thanks to a grant by Thrivant. Now I find arts and crafts more enjoyable with a group of people so I went on the hunt to find someone available to come along. Luckily for me Tara was free and we signed up.

Whoever came up with Underwater Basket Weaving as a fluff class must have never wove a basket. It’s not as easy as the joke goes but it actually pretty easy once you get started. I actually found it to be much easier than knitting. The worst part was the first row… but more about that later.

Who would have thought we needed all this to make a basket

I actually get the whole underwater part of underwater basket weaving since the first step of the process is to soak your reeds in water. The water helps to make the reeds pliable and not crack. After soaking our reeds in water for about a minute, we had to find the center of each reed… by making tear drops and eyeballing it. I don’t think all my centers were perfectly centered but they were close enough and it worked.

After we marked center, we had to lay out the bottom of our basket. All it really was laying 5 reeds vertical and then weaving 5 horizontal making sure the centers were in the center. We left gaps between our reeds to make a bigger basket (I think) but to have a solid bottom, I would imagine you would use more reeds and make sure they were snug against each out. I would have liked to have a solid bottom but for the price I’m not complaining.

My bottom

Then came the horribly tricky part of starting the first row. After bending the reeds up, we started to weave the rows using clothespins to secure it the reeds. This proved a lot more difficult than first imagined because you had to make sure you ended the same way you started. Who would have though “over under over under” was such a difficult concept.

Attempting to weave the first row

After messing up twice, our instructors help us put a “binding row” at the bottom to help keep the sides upright and make it easier to do the first row.

Once I got the first row done it was pretty much smooth sailing. I did mess up a few times but since you only do 1 row at a time your mistake usually isn’t that hard to correct.

I got this!

Photo Courtesy of Woven Blessing Facebook 

I just wish I didn’t make it so tall but to have it the pattern be even I had to add the last couple of rows.

A work in progress. 3 more rows to go

Once we finished weaving our basket, it was time to put on the rim. This was a bit more difficult. It involved shaving reeds and lashing. Because my reed was too dry it cracked and I had to have 2 beginnings. I almost had to have 3 but I just started over with another new piece. After we finished our baskets, we chose a “glaze” and we all chose a clear coating.

The Finished Baskets

I don’t know why basket weaving gets such a bad rap. It is fun and relatively easy. I have to say it was the best $5 I spent all weekend and I may consider spending the $35 or $40 to make a bigger basket in the future. Now that I learned the basics of basket weaving, maybe it’s time to tackle something a bit harder like hieroglyphics.