Spending a day with basket master Peter Greer at his Golden Bay, New Zealand studio was a wonderful experience. He’s an amazing craftsman and an excellent teacher.
He grows his own willow near his studio.
Once cut the willow is sorted by putting it in barrels and pulling it out and bundling it by height. He soaks the dried willow then wraps it in wet material to keep it flexible.
Here’s a hand peeling tool to strip bark from boiled willow.
To get started choose eight pieces of the same diameter and length.
Peter showing us how to start the base.
Make a cut in the middle of four pieces and feed the other four through.
Once you’ve gone around twice with four start weaving over and under two.
Once you’ve done a few rounds of over two go to over and under individual pieces until you reach the desired base size. Let this dry and set for a few hours.
To begin the upright weaving cut the rod right next to the base and use an awl to open a space.
Bend the rod over the awl tip to correctly position it.
Gently bend all the rods up right into a birdcage shape and tie a string to hold them st the top.
Set a heavy weight on the base to hold it in place. Use a 3 rod wale to stabilize the base.
Here’s how to do this weave.
A French weave is used for the body of the basket.
Putting down the border is next
Here’s a video by Hanna Van Aelst on how to do these.
Last comes the handle. Insert a thick rod then wrap and tie it off.
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Once you’re done, you can pack up your basket and head out for a picnic in the glorious NZ countryside!
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