Basket Weaving, On a Winter’s Day

Yesterday we took a walk along the creek and gathered willow branches.

There are two different types of willow (at least) that grow along our creek. The one that I use for baskets is called coyote willow, Salix exigua.  Many years ago I taught myself to make baskets from this book:

Willow Basketry of the Amana Colonies by Joan E. Shanz is a history of basket making as well as a how-to manual. Here’s a basket I made following the instructions in the book:

An interesting thing about these baskets is the bottom rim. It’s made to be replaceable because the bottom of baskets wears out before anything else.  Here’s the basket, upside down, showing the rim.

It’s kind of rustic looking, but I like it. It’s sturdy, too. The Amana colonists used baskets for gathering eggs, apples, and carrying laundry, and they had a different shape and size basket for every tasks. Even though the Amana Colonies were a religious group from Germany, they were not related to the Amish. They have their own beliefs and culture–and baskets!

I love making things from native plants, and I am not alone in this–willow was very important to all the native American Indian tribes, too.