CHAPTER XVI

BASKET-WEAVING

In and out, in and out; under and over, under and over; around and around, again and yet again; widening and narrowing, and, lo! a basket is woven. A child of eight can learn it, a woman will find the work a charming pastime; so this is written for girls of all ages.

Dye your reeds, put all the bright colors you like into your baskets, and see if they are not much prettier and more substantial than the so-called “Indian work.” Red, blue, green, yellow, black, purple—a butterfly’s wing need not be gayer nor an old-time work-basket more useful. Large, small, medium-sized, deep or shallow—only one’s desire need determine the question.

=Materials for Weaving=

A variety of materials are adapted to basket-weaving, but the most substantial baskets are made of reeds. When the principle is mastered you may use anything you choose which will lend itself to the work.

The basket-reeds can be purchased from any reed and rattan manufacturer, and come in various sizes. Nos. 2, 3, and 4 are the ones to use, and as No. 4 is quite heavy you will need that only for large baskets, such as waste-paper baskets, flower-pot cases, etc., and even for such purposes No. 3 will answer. No. 2 is the finest, and of that you will use the most. The prices range from twenty-three cents to thirty-five cents a pound, No. 2 being the most expensive. Beside the reeds you will need a twist of raffia; this is a soft material used by the florist for tying up plants, and may be obtained from him at little cost, probably eighteen or twenty cents a hank.

=To Prepare the Reeds=

The reeds come in bunches of five pounds each; separate these, and taking each reed wrap it loosely around your hand to form a coil, twisting the ends in and out to hold them in place. This puts your material into a convenient form, and you need unwrap the reeds only as you have use for them, one at a time. Have ready a pan or pail full of water, for the reeds must be soaked awhile before they are used to make them more pliable and to keep them from breaking.

Try a small basket at first—let us say a rather flat, shallow one—and for this one coil of No. 3 and several of No. 2 reeds will be enough. When they have soaked for about five minutes take out the No. 3 reed, unwrap it, and cut six pieces twelve inches long and one piece eight inches long; then untwist your raffia and cut off one strip.

=Weaving the Basket=

The reeds you have just cut are for the ribs of your basket. Lay the short rib to one side within easy reach, then take three of the ribs in your left hand and cross them with the other three, as in Fig. 382. Be sure the reeds lie flat and side by side; do not bunch them. Hold the ribs where they are crossed between the thumb and first finger [Illustration: Fig. 382.] of your left hand, the vertical ones on top, as shown in Fig. 382, and with your right hand place one end of the raffia on top of the reeds, under your left thumb, leaving the free end to fall to the left, as in Fig. 382. Hold the ribs securely now, and bring the raffia up under those on the left-hand side close to the crossing, then over the upper ribs (Fig. 383), under the right-hand ribs and over the lower ones, going [Illustration: Fig. 383.] around twice and catching down the end of the raffia in the process; then trim off the remaining short end of the raffia. Do not loosen your hold with your left hand, but with your right separate the ribs as well as you can and begin to weave the raffia, starting at the left-hand rib of the upper group, as shown by letter A, Fig. 384. Bring the raffia over [Illustration: Fig. 384.] this rib and draw it down close to the centre, then under the next, over the third, under the fourth, and so on until you have been once around, when you will find another rib necessary to make the weave come out properly. Here is the place for the short rib; place one end of this rib across the centre of the others, as shown by letter B, Fig. 385, and hold in place with your left thumb. Bring the raffia over the new rib, and continue [Illustration: Fig. 385.] weaving as in the first round; when you reach the short end of the rib bind it down with the raffia as you carry it over one of the other ribs, as shown by letter C, Fig. 386. Weave steadily with the raffia now, and keep your mind on separating the ribs until they are of an equal distance apart; also remember to draw the raffia down firmly each time you pass it in and out between the ribs, first on one side, then on the other. Of all parts it is most essential that the centre [Illustration: Fig. 386.] of the basket should be firmly and strongly woven. Be careful not to weave under or over two ribs at one time. Under one, over the next, is the rule; and when you find, as you will occasionally, that something is wrong, and alternate weaving has become impossible, look back over your work and you will discover that you have somewhere crossed [Illustration: Fig. 387.] two ribs at once. In such a case pull out the work and correct the mistake.

Weave the raffia until the centre is about two inches in diameter, or until you have used up the raffia, then take from the water a coil of the No. 2 reeds, unwind it, and placing one end across the end of the raffia, hold it with the thumb of your left hand, and proceed to weave with the reed just as you did with the raffia (Fig. 387). In all cases the joining must be done on the inside of the basket.

=Weave Your Reed=

as closely as possible, and when you have a disk about four inches in diameter begin to shape the sides by bending the ribs upward toward you (Fig. 388) and drawing your reed tighter. If this slips up in the process, push it back in place and hold it down by passing the fingers of your left hand between the ribs from the inside. Indeed, this is a good way to hold your basket as soon as the ribs are sufficiently separated. Your left hand follows your right always in [Illustration: Fig. 389.] basket-weaving, holding in place what the right hand commits to its care.

=When the First Reed is Used Up=

take another, cross the ends, and continue as you did when beginning with the first reed. As your weaving progresses do not forget to keep the distances between all of the ribs equal, and try to avoid the tendency they have to curve spirally. When your basket has slanting sides you will find it will almost shape itself after you have given the ribs a sharp bend at the first and started them in the right direction. By bending the ribs too much you will make straight sides to the basket or have them slant in instead of out. Two inches is a good depth for a small basket, and when you have woven that much, cut off the ribs, allowing them to extend about two inches beyond the edge, as in Fig. 389, and trim the ends slantingly, as shown in the same diagram. Bend the end of one rib down, and push it into the basket on the farthest side of the next rib (Fig. 389). Do this with the second rib, and so continue around until the edge is “bound off.” When the ends of the ribs do not slide in easily, pry open the space with a pair of closed scissors, turning them slightly.

All the baskets shown in

=The Photographed Group=

are woven in exactly this manner from start to finish; the shaping is done by bending the ribs this way or that, and by [Illustration: Fig. 390] tightening the weave when narrowing and loosening it when widening. There is a difference, of course, in the length of the ribs, the larger baskets requiring longer ribs and more of them, but there must always be an even number to start with, the odd rib being added after the first round of raffia-weaving.

It is difficult to handle more than ten ribs at the start, but where the basket is large or a close weave is desirable you may double the number when the disk for the bottom is almost complete. To do this, cut a number of the ribs one-half the length of the ones you have started with, and after trimming the ends as in Fig. 389, insert one at the right of each of the original ribs, as shown in Fig. 390, pushing each well down toward the centre. This will give you an even number once more, so a third rib must be added to one of the groups, and should be inserted at the left, the original rib being between the two new ones (Fig. 390). Separate these ribs as you weave until all are of an equal distance apart, and continue the shaping of the basket.

=The Covers=

are pretty and useful additions to some baskets; they are woven in the same manner and are shaped according to fancy. The saucer shape is the most common style and requires no sudden bend in the ribs, but rather tight weaving and an indulgence of the natural inclination to curve from the centre.

It is only in adding the rings for the

=Fastenings=

that you need make any change in the weave, and that is but a slight one. When your cover is almost large enough, [Illustration: Fig. 391] bring your reed up to form a small ring on the outside, crossing one of the ribs, as shown in Fig. 391; push the end of the reed through the ring several times, making a twist as in Fig. 391, and continue weaving as before. This ring should be about one-fourth of an inch from the edge of the cover. The corresponding ring in the basket is made in the same manner, and should be placed one-half inch from the edge; it must be a trifle smaller than the one on the cover, that it may be slipped through, and so form a fastening.

=Make a Hinge=

by threading a strip of raffia through the basket near the edge, and tying it on the inside, then through the lid, making a stitch across the reeds, back to the under side of the cover, bringing it around the loop of raffia to form a twist, and finally into the [Illustration: Fig. 392] basket, and once more tie on the inside (Fig. 392).

You may revel in

=Color=

if you like, in the pretty work of basket-making. The soft broken colors, brightened at times by touches of more brilliant tones, are really beautiful, while even those which, alone, seem crude and glaring, by some happy accident of combination often produce charming effects. A fine line of black is sometimes effective and looks well next to the whitest of the natural-colored reeds.

It is

=A Law in Decoration=

that bands of color should be so placed as to give the idea of additional strength to the object decorated—that is, on the most exposed parts, such as the fullest swell of a curve and the base and edge. You will find that this rule is observed in most decorated pottery, and it is a good one to follow in basket-weaving; the nearer one comes to embodying it in the work, the more satisfactory are the results.

Another style of decoration is to start with a dark color at the base of the basket and gradually work in the different shades up to the lightest color at the edge. One color need not be used in this, such as red running up to pink, but gradual blending of one color into another.