Basketry and weaving

In the last two years of my primary school, during craft lessons we were taught basketry and weaving. To begin with we made simple holders for indoor plant pots. Their construction was relatively easy: upright stakes were placed in the pre-drilled holes around the circumference of the 3-ply wooden bases; underneath the bases, short lengths of the stakes were plaited together to hold them firmly in place; lengths of pre-soaked thin willow were then woven around the stakes until the desired height was reached, then the tops of the stakes were either plaited or hooped into the top layers of weave. The main skills needed were the ability to make the plaiting tight enough (something which usually foxed me), ensuring that the beginnings and ends of the added weaving material were only visible from the inside of the basket; and, most importantly, trying to achieve a symmetrical result. As you can imagine in a class of children, the variation was enormous. Finally, the container was tidied up by clipping away at pieces of cane. Sometimes, the finished item was varnished.

Following this we made tea trays, large rectangular shopping baskets which already had a strong framework within which we could work and, the only deviation from the use of natural materials, we used strips of coloured plastic to decorate the handles. Lastly, we progressed to weaving seats out of seagrass for stools.

Needless to say, most of us took pride in our work and the best examples were chosen for the annual arts and crafts exhibition. However, the real joy was being able to give someone in the family something that was of great use in the home.

When I myself became a teacher and was sometimes involved in running craft lessons, no longer were the natural materials of willow, ramin, rattan and seagrass used: all the materials were some form of plastic. This meant that without the pre-soaking, the plastic materials could not shrink to a nice tight finish like the natural materials did when they dried out.

My late friend John Gleed making a skep during one of his visits to our home.

This skep made of straw and baler twine in its shelter at his home in Nairn.

Colonies in skeps can produce excellent table-ready combs of natural honey.

I never thought that one day I would find those early craft lessons of much practical use to me - that is until I took up beekeeping. Now when I see how wonderfully and skilfully modern skeppists work and produce beautiful well-insulated, weatherproof homes of all shapes and sizes for their bees, and I remember my modest efforts of trying to accomplish an acceptable standard of symmetry, I feel too chastened to try. I have a complete sun hive kit and huge bundles of long rye straw lying in wait for me: one day I will just have to bite the bullet.

Baskets in Europe

Maurice Bichard

Fyfield Wick Editions 2008 Paperback, 275mm x 210mm Illustrated in Colour and B&W 272 pages, ISBN 978-09560249-0-9, Available from Northern Bee Books

This large full-colour book is most certainly the definitive work on basketry and weaving in Europe. Region by region the author has delved into the history of this craft, citing which materials are used in the construction of the enormous range of artefacts and the use to which they are put. Whilst he draws from some historical documents his main sources are the result of his extensive travels, the people to whom he has spoken and seen at work, and the museums he has visited in order gain a real sense of the craft’s history.

Seeing so much at first hand, he is able to give vivid, detailed descriptions of a vast range of techniques which will be of much interest and practical use to his readers.