Basket making tips from Willow with Roots

Welcome to the Cosy Craft Club's basket making month! We really want to encourage you to have a go at basket making yourself, and we'll be sharing the key things you need to know to get started. You can find all our basket making posts in one place here.

Today we are so privileged to have Issy from Willow With Roots here to give you some great tips to get you started in basket making! Here she is to tell you more…

Hello, My name is Issy Wilkes, the daughter part of the mother and daughter partnership and business, ‘Willow with Roots’. My mother Jenny Crisp, basket maker of 30 years, and I have joined forces to design and weave bespoke work from willow, anything from 9m tall willow sculpture for festivals to lampshades for high end restaurants. But we also love keeping in simple and teaching the basics!

Starting to make a basket from scratch can be an intimidating thing, and trying to learn new techniques, control shape and produce something sturdy is a real challenge. Here are a few basic tips you can follow to help with your weaving projects. The two keys thing to consider before you even start to weave is your choice of materials and your preparation of the willow!

Where do I get my willow from?

You can buy or grow your own willow.  Our company has two willow beds with many different varieties of willow. Willow is grown from cuttings that have been planted in rows and cut once a year in the winter.  If you would like to try and grow your own willow bed, the book “Willow” by Jenny Crisp is a great resource. It shows you a step by step guide to planting your own bed from taking cuttings, growing, harvesting, drying and storing.

You can of course skip this process and buy your willow from willow suppliers. Our recommended suppliers would be Musgrove Willows and Somerset Willow Growers. They grow variety of willows, from green, browns, buff and white and sell it in different weight and length bundles.

Different types of willow

Willow comes in four different conditions:

Brown Willow: This refers to willow varieties that have the bark left on. They come in a spectrum of colours, from the deepest reds, rich mahogany to green and yellows. All ‘brown willow’ has been cut, dried and is ready to be soak. Soaking time: the longest time -  approximately for 10 days per bundle

Green Willow: This is freshly cut willow, it's usually reserved to make into cuttings for planting or can be used for living willow sculptures when put in the ground. Often green willow is too fresh to make baskets as it can ‘shrink’ too much when dried. Soaking time: Cannot be soaked.

White Willow: This is brown willow with the bark striped off. It's a very different material to brown, and is considered to be more refined. Soaking time: Roughly a few hours.

Buff Willow: This is brown willow that has been boiled with the bark on. The tannins in the bark dye the willow a dark tea colour. Soaking time: Roughly a few hours.

Preparation for basket making

Before you starting trying to weave a basket you must soak and sort your willow to make sure your willow doesn’t snap when you bend and kink it. If it does you need to soak it for longer.  Sorting your willow is the MOST important part of starting a basket. Your willow rods need to be the same length and size to make the most consistent basket.

HOT TIP: Sorting your willow bundles into thin, medium and fat weights will ensure your weaving looks the most professional.

What can you make?

The first thing you need to master once you’ve prepared your materials is weaving and wrapping your rods around a stake without kinking. The best project to start this with is making a flat star, tree or fish. These projects can be found in… you guessed it … Jenny Crisp book called “Willow”.

You can buy signed copies directed from her here or from many book stores (Amazon being the biggest elephant in the room).

Thanks Issy for all your insights! And that does look like a great book :) You can find out more about Willow with Roots here.

I hope Issy has inspired you to give basket making a go. I personally found this ancient craft to be very relaxing. If you’d like an easy way to get started, our mini basket making kits can be found here.

Rachel x