BasketWeaving for Beginners
Basketweaving has a long and varied history in most cultures across the world. As a decorative artform and as a practical craft. It’s even had a history as a therapeutic process for the mentally unwell and infirmed. We’ve all heard the term ‘basket case’. I can attest to finding it a calming process. There is something about keeping your hands busy that helps an active mind to still, the repetition and action forces you to stop. All those knitting Grannies are onto something. The lost art of the hobby, particularly arts and crafts, not as a sidehustle or to post on instagram but for the pure relaxation and calming effect on the nervous system, is worth revisting in our fast paced, overstimulated lives.
I have also seen students with ADHD and boisterous behaviours unexpectedly find flow in weaving. As it’s easy once you get going, it makes it very accessible. It’s also pretty instant gratification, as you can literally see it growing bigger before your eyes the more you weave. The satisfaction level is high as you see it take shape and produce something both attractive and useful. Once the basic skill is mastered, creative can take hold.
There are amazing works to inspire: from the woven masks of Papua New Guinea; the colourful vessels, animals and figures of Central Australia’s Tjanpi Desert Weavers; to the delicate woven mats, hats and temple offering baskets of South East Asia.
Basketweaving doesn’t have to be restricted to traditional raffia or grasses. I’ve woven with cotton twine and sash cord, added paint, added wire, thread wrapping, ropes, beads and habidashery items. I’ve created practical forms and impractical sculptural figures. I’ve been excited to see plastic bags, cut up fabric strips from T-shirts and found objects woven in. You really can experiment and getting sustainable and upcycling materials is a great cost effective way to explore.
To get started all you need is some raffia and a blunt, large eyed embroidery needle. I bought my raffia online from the raffia connection, I really love the colours they offer, the quality and quick postage, however raffia is also available at craft and variety shops. You may even be lucky enough to find a natural source you can harvest. You can dye it or handpaint after.
If you’d like to give it a try, I’ve created a video to get you started. There are also some YouTube Shorts as a quick refresher before each weaving session as you gain your confidence.
I’ve also outlined the basic steps below here: Thread raffia on an embroidery needle. Loop 5 strands. Needle up through the loop. Back through the next loop you created. This is known as a blanket stitch. Do this 8 times. Then pull the loop closed. Adjust the stitches around the tightened centre. Needle up as before, but this time go through a previous stitch. Blanket stitch as before. And off you go... Around and around. Keep re-threading as needed, leaving a tail of raffia to wrap as you go. And that's how to get your basket weaving started.
