Category: Materials

Baskets From Found Materials 19 – Grass

February 18, 2015 / Julie / 0 Comments

This month my basket is made from materials obtained during my trip to Scotland last October.

There are two different types of grass in the basket. The darker one is one that was cut from Dundee Botanic Gardens where I had been demonstrating at an open day. My friend Clare, the gardener had saved it when working in the gardens. I twisted this one into a length of cord.

The other lighter coloured grass is marram grass (I think) collected on the Isle of Arran when I was back there visiting friends. I split this into finer strands and used it to tie coils of the other grass together to form a basket.

I need more practise to get it less wibbly wobbly shaped but it is useful as a pen holder!

Baskets From Found Materials 18 – Wrapping Paper

January 2, 2015 / Julie / 2 Comments

This basket was made using used Christmas wrapping paper.

After Christamas everyone has a pile of used wrapping paper. For this basket rather than just throw it away, I thought I would try and use some of it. After ripping the paper into strips I twisted them into a length of rope.

Then, using some bits of raffia that had been used to tie one of the presents I coiled the paper rope into a small basket.

You can see the coils clearly spiralling up when looking down on the basket.

Baskets from Found Materials 17 – New Zealand Flax

November 1, 2014 / Julie / 0 Comments

Basket from New Zealand Flax (freshly made)

This is a small basket I learnt to make years ago. It is made from New Zealand Flax (phormium tenax) and is a traditional basket made by Maori’s in New Zealand.

Underside of Basket made from New Zealand Flax

I got the materials from Dundee Botanic Gardens when I was working there demonstrationg basketry with natural fibres at an open day they had.

New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax)

The long leaves are split into strips to make the basket. I was told by the person that taught me how to make this basket that it was used as a sort of disposable bowl. It is made fairly quickly with fresh leaves from the plant and can be used for eating out of. As it dries however the strips of the leaves shrink and the basket gets very gappy so is no longer as useful.

Basket from New Zealand Flax (a week after making it)

Baskets From Found Materials 16 – Bindweed and Cordyline

October 10, 2014 / Julie / 9 Comments

My latest basket from found materials uses cord made from bindweed and fibres from cordyline leaves. To get from my house to my workshop in Hastings I have to walk down 300 steps to the bottom of the hill I live on. These steps are overgrown with a variety of materials that I might be able to use in the future.

But in particular there seems to be an abundance of bindweed growing over and down the walls and fences on each side.

After harvesting I left the bindweed to dry a little and then stripped the leaves before making it into a cord.

I then coiled the cord sewing the coils with fibres from cordyline leaves that I found in the street near my house.

This is a small sample but I hope to make bigger baskets with this material in the future

Baskets From Found Materials 15 – Bindweed and Mystery Plant Material.

August 20, 2014 / Julie / 1 Comment

Well after having settled in, in Hastings, I am back with my Baskets From Found Materials project. As I am now busy with my business here I am not committing to a basket a week, but hope to do one at least one a month, if not more often!

My latest ‘found materials’ basket is made with bindweed and another plant I found the dried remains of growing in the hedgrows.

Bindweed is a plant I do not remember seeing in Scotland, where I used to live, but around here it is a curse to gardeners, its long tendrils winding their way up and around other plants. There is loads of bindweed growing in various places here in Hastings and I will be using it for my next basket as well and so will talk more about it, and show pictures of it, then. Meanwhile I’ll just explain that for this irregular dish shaped basket I used cord made from the bindweed and combined it with the other mystery plant material in a random weave. It’s not particularly strong so probably not very functional but was an interesting experiment and the result is quite decorative.

A New Start In Hastings

July 6, 2014 / Julie / 4 Comments

You may have noticed I have been a bit quiet on the basketmaking front over the last few months. I have been busy moving and have had to have a break from making baskets and my Baskets From Found Materials blog.

After 21 years in Scotland, 14 of them as a basketmaker on the Isle of Arran I have recently made the transition ‘down south’! I am now in Hastings in East Sussex, by the sea again but a much more urban environment. Its a small town though and doesn’t take long to get out into the countryside, and I hope to do lots of exploring soon. Things have fallen into place for me here in Hastings and I already managed to get myself a workshop space for my basketmaking. Its at a place called Brittania Enterprise Centre in central Hastings where there are spaces with loads of small businesses including joiners, furniture makers, blacksmiths, curtain makers, a jewellery maker, a surf board maker, mechanics, boat builders, graphic designers, and sign writers and lots more. Its got a nice friendly community feel and it will be good to be working nearby other people rather than on my own all day as I was when I had my workshop on Arran.

After cleaning out all the clay dust left by the previous resident who was, yes you’ve guessed it, a potter, all my newly acquired workshop needed was willow. I hope to find somewhere more local to get willow, or grow my own eventually, but I needed to get a good stock to get me going so a trip to Somerset was called for.

It’s always good to see a big willow farm and how it is all harvested and processed. When I was there the main activity was stripping willow for white willow rods. The willow harvested in winter is stood in troughs of water until leaves just begin to sprout. The willow is then put through machines that strip the bark off and then the willow is stood outside in the sun to dry out before storage.

Freshly Stripped Willow Drying In The Sun At Musgrove Willows

I had a wee camping break while in Somerset and came back with a load of willow to fill up my new workspace

It feels good to be all set to go and I already have a couple of orders. Going to start my Baskets From Found Materials blog again soon as well. I’ve already been spotting some interesting materials that I want to experiment with!