Dream weaving
Abbie Miller makes the exact basket she’s always wanted
I love storage, and I’m particularly partial to a woven basket. With three kids, they’re pretty handy for hiding toys, carrying laundry and holding the gazillion pairs of shoes that we seem to have acquired. So this one-day basketweaving course caught my eye.
Run by Louise Brown, a professional basketmaker, and held in Farnham Pottery buildings in Surrey, the course was described as ‘suitable for absolute beginners’ – and I certainly fitted that bill. There were eight of us – some serial workshoppers, others treating themselves to a girls’ day out. Louise kicked off with an introduction and a simple demo on how to start your basket, her warm rapport filling us with confidence. We all then grabbed the supplied tools and materials, and set to work.
With a relatively small group, it was easy to shout out when you needed help. Louise also circulated around the studio, checking that everyone was on track.
Willow weaving is a step-by-step process, creating the base and framework first before starting to weave the rods. This meant we could all master each step before stopping to watch Louise demo the next stage. Any antique terminology was well explained. Did you know that you use a ‘bodkin’ to make a ‘smile’ in the first three rods of the base? In layman’s terms, that’s a sharp, stabby tool to make a hole in the willow.
Once the frame was made, I had thought the weaving would be the easy part… but how wrong I was. In theory, it’s like braiding hair, but the strength and dexterity needed to manipulate the willow is quite considerable.
I soon got into the rhythm of it though, swapping in the ‘butts’ and ‘tips’ (alternating the thick and thin ends of the willow) whenever I needed to add a new rod, and regularly ‘rapping down’ (giving the willow a good old bash to stop it from getting too gappy).
After eight hours work, I was exhausted, but happy. I couldn’t feel my fingers, but I did feel incredibly proud of my little basket. Asymetric Basket Weaving workshop with Louise Brown costs £75. farnhamsculpture.co.uk
In theory, weaving is like braiding hair, but the strength and dexterity needed to manipulate the willow is quite considerable