A Tisket, A Tasket

Do you want to make a basket? I am in the mood for basket making instead of plaster work today......I can sit and watch TV and relax while I do that. So....You get to try your hand at it too.


Here are some that I made with the coiled method. When I work on these in miniature I use #32 cloth covered wire that comes on a spool and cover it wit two strands of embroidery floss. I use a #26 tapestry needle to do it. If you use over dyed thread you will get interesting patterns without trying. That is how the wall hanging in the center is done. If you want to do a design on your own like the one on the right you use two separate colors of thread and carry the one that you aren't wrapping with inside the wrap beside the wire. The main things that it takes to make these are good eyes and a lot of patience.



The second photo is of a group that I made with overdyed floss. The design just forms naturally as you are coiling. The feathers are parrot feathers from a friend's bird and the turquoise is real.



Rather than try to show you how to do this myself I will send you to a couple of websites that have excellent step by step instructions for full sized wrapped baskets. This is how I learned. If you follow their directions, substituting wire and floss for cording and yarn, you will get the hang of it in no time.


The first one that I am sending you to is for the basic basket instructions. It is the most clearly illustrated instructions for coiling that I have found. http://www.maizehutton.com/coilbasket.html


This second one has some more complicated stitches and a lot of background on real coiled baskets. It's very informative.
http://www.nativetech.org/basketry/index.html



Now go find some covered wire and some floss and make yourself a basket. That's what I am going to do. I will show you the results of my basket making tomorrow.



See you then.