Weaving a basket

For a nature reconnection day with our course we had the idea to weave little baskets for collecting herbs with our mentees.  

We were trying different materials. Blackberry vines seemed rather suitable after getting rid of the stings. For that we were using an empty tin in which we had drilled a 5mm hole into the base. We cut long blackberry vines and pulled them through the hole. While doing so we had to move the vine into all directions and the stings fell off.

Now we could bind the vines into a ring (wreath like shape). Then 4 rods were pulled from one edge to the other edge of the ring. They later formed the base for the grid. Start the next vine from outside crosswise to the 4 base stems and weave it in turns (alternating) over and under the base stems. At the edge just wind it around the wreath and secure the end within the wreath. Go on witn this until the whole base is covered. At the beginning you can define the shape dy moving the basic framework.

It was similarly by using hop vines whereas even here the more sturdy blackberry vines made the base grid.

Stinging nettle is a good material for weaving small baskets. I picked some taller grown nettles with gloves and took off the leaves. They can later be used for tea or soup. After that I beat up the stems with a stone until they got soft. Hence the fibres broke and the stems could be bent or woven more easily without breaking. Again a ring was shaped and here I included a little handle. As for the other baskets put stems from one edge to the other edge of the ring and hide the ends. SG