Any basket weavers out there?

[Seaweed]

I need a new washing basket. I got a whole stack of supplejack which is ever so bendy & I found this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/murrayneill/3141443723/

I can weave but I have no idea how to do the base. Any ideas?

[Quickening]

Afraid I can't help you there. It is something I've always wanted to learn but haven't set out to do so yet.

[MinorityView]

About 40 years since I did basket weaving, but you start by crossing several pieces of the heavier, stiffer stuff you are going to work with and then binding them together in a sort of star. Sometimes you have to work wet to get things to bend. Anyway, once you have your star you have your base. Then you weave around and around and fill in the base. With basket weaving you shape your form as you go. Your base pieces have to be long enough for your sides, although it is possible to add in additional pieces if needed.

Can you get a book on basket weaving from your local library? Or a video? I can't even remember the terminology, so I'm having a very hard time describing how this is done.

That particular basket looks very easy, though.

[Seaweed]

I've got books on basketry coming out of my ears but I can't seem to find one with a simple basket like this in. My main issue is it looks like there are 8 verticals at the bottom which bend around for the 4 handles. But if you look at it, it looks like all 8 bits have been joined together to make the beginning, not 8 pieces crossed over ( 4 x 4 ) & bound around. I've done that already & then wove around & up into a basket shape & am about to bend the pieces around to make the handles but it looks wrong. I am off out now anyways so maybe it will be clearer when I get home!

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

ISP is blocking the basket. Can you email me the picture, and I'll put it on photobucket and put it up here?

[MinorityView]

I took another look. I think the pieces are bent over for the handles and then joined at the bottom. Are your pieces long enough to do that? You would take one very long piece and bend each end so they meet at the middle, overlapping by a few inches. Then take a second long piece and do the same. Lay them on top of each other facing opposite ways. You have two doubled handles. You also have two pieces going all the way across and two "broken" pieces crossing slightly in the middle area.

Then you repeat the process again and lay the second set of handles on top of the first set at right angles. You should have something which can be bound together.

Clever design, actually.

[Seaweed]

I have a few really long pieces left so I can try that. I have to work tonight & I am out tomorrow so it probably won't be till at least tomorrow evening or wednesday day I can experiment again. The doubled handle bit btw looks to me almost like it is woven in as the basket gets closer to the top or even threaded in afterwards?

[MinorityView]

Possibly. But you were wondering how they ended up with so many ribs and that seemed to me to be one possible solution.

[Seaweed]

I still haven't got around to undoing the tangle of supplejack I started on. I am going to have another go when it is daylight & I am home again.. which probably won't be till friday now :eyeroll: