Basket Materials and Basket Making Techniques

Recognize Basket Materials & Techniques
You can recognize a basket. And you most certainly can see the workmanship that went into creating it. But can you recognize its materials? What will you say when a visitor to your home exclaims "What a lovely basket!" and then inquires "What is it made from?"
Okay, you'll also hear a lot of "Did you make it yourself?" and "Where did you get it?" But those two answers always will glide off your tongue, even if the answer to the later question is only "It was a gift." But from what is that beautiful basket made? One way to learn the answer is simply to ask the person who sold it to you. But why not cull some knowledge on your own about this gorgeous piece of artistry you're using in your home, even if it's only to soothe your own curiosity? Many baskets are made of natural materials (perhaps things found in your own backyard) while others are made with manufactured materials such as metal or plastic. Some baskets are a combination of traditional and synthetic fibers. Below I've listed some common basket raw materials, along with trivia, brief descriptions or tips for recognizing materials. Naturally, I couldn't list everything because almost any material with which you can weave or coil can be used to make a basket----and that's a growing list, partly defined by the artisan's creativity and talent. Common basketry materials: Bamboo is a popular woody appearing basket material. It's from the grass family. It's abundant in China and certain areas of East Asia. Cane may be obtained from the flexible outer bark of the stem of rattan plants and then split for use in wickerwork, chair seats and baskets. Coconut Leaves, from the coco palm tree, are a flexible material used in forming baskets. Hardwoods (Ash, Oak, Poplar) are cut into splints, or flat thin strips, and then soaked in water to create flexibility for weaving. Raffia is fiber from raffia palm leaves. It's soft and pliable but strong. It's torn into thin strips. Many stores sell it. Rattan has a solid core. It grows in Southeast Asia. It's from the palm family. (It has some resemblance to bamboo.) Reed is actually a term for more than one type of material. It often refers to rattan core or various plants from the grass family. Rope can be formed using natural fibers such as manila hemp and sisal hemp or with synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester. Straw is dried stalks of threshed grains, such as wheat or barley. Wire is made from metal. And you also will hear grapevine, palm leaf, paper, pine needles, plastic, wicker, willow and wood chip. In general, the terms bark, branches, grass, twigs and vines are often heard in basketry. Another thing to realize is that a single basket can be comprised of multiple materials. Left: This large bowl is comprised of coconut husk, palm leaf and gugo vine. Right: This big magazine basket has rope and rattan (including a rattan base not visible in the photo). Embellishments are the wood dowel side handles and dried coco flower decorations on both the front and back. A word about a few embellishments... Gugo vine is a splendid naturally curvy vine, sometimes used in the workmanship of the basket and often as handles. Gugo vines grow in the mountains of the Philippines. Pole handles are indicative of their name; they're like poles (such as the pole on your broom handle) that are often left unfinished and natural, but not always, and sanded smooth. You see them a lot as side handles on some baskets. They form good grips for picking up the basket by its handles. Coco flowers are three dimensional brown dried flower blossoms that are often glued onto the outside of the basket as decoration. They add a very unique and rustic or natural touch to the basket. Basket Anatomy 101 The ribs are connected to the... A bit of structural background about baskets may come in handy. Here are some basic terms: Ribs: Also known as spokes or staves, these are the vertical, or longitudinal, pieces that form the upright skeleton of the basket. They're the framework. You may hear spokes referred to as the warp of a basket. Weavers: These are the horizontal pieces that move laterally around the ribs or spokes in twining. They form the weave of the basket. You may hear horizontal pieces referred to as the weft of a basket. Rim: As you might guess the rim is the rim of the basket, which of course is the upper edge. The rim may be comprised of weavers that have been trimmed and folded over. But it also could be a separate piece of material that is then woven around the basket edge. Or it could be a new already woven piece that's added. Base: That's the material that forms the bottom of the basket. Handles: Baskets come with a variety of handles, or sometimes none. Handles can swing on hinges so you can fold them flat against the basket for convenience. Or they can be fixed handles, on the top or side, that don't flex. Weaving Techniques 101 A talented designer can find multiple ways to differ each of the four basic weaves. Or the weaver could combine multiple types of weaves into one basket. Here are the basic weaves defined so you'll know a bit about what you're looking at: Plaiting is a weave in which two pieces of material are criss-crossed. So the weaver would take a horizontal and vertical element and weave it over and under each other at right angle intersections. (Picture a checkerboard.) If the horizontal material is woven over more than one vertical element at a time, then it's called a twilled weave, or twill plaited. Plaiting can be woven into a diagonal pattern too. Twining is when two or more of the horizontal elements, or weavers, are woven over and under rigid vertical spokes. The weavers can be separated and brought around a rod and then brought back together again and twisted. You can have open-work twining or tight weave twining. Two variations of twining can be braiding and diagonal weaves. Wicker is weaving whereby a weaver passes one material over and under a warp, or spokes, comprised of a stiffer material. Coiling entails sewing techniques and more pliable material. It utilizes sewing strands, which can be material such as plant fibers. Flexible materials are looped into forming spiral rounds that attach to each other, each one further enlarging the overall spiral shape of the basket. Designs are made by changing thread colors. Of the four techniques listed on this page, coiling differs from the others because it doesn't involve the interlacing of the weaving elements.