The future harvest must be taken care of in advance. It is important not only to grow strawberries, tomatoes and potatoes, but also to collect them, take them to the city and save them. Peasants have used wicker baskets for this for centuries. And if you worry about the material in advance, then the required number of beautiful durable baskets can be woven with your own hands just in time for harvesting.
It is necessary
- Willow rods;
- A saucepan equal in size to the future basket;
- Knife.
Instructions
Step 1
Remove the bark from the twigs. If you cut the twigs in the fall, soak them in water for a few hours and then steam them. Put them back in cold water. After cooling, remove the bark.
Step 2
Start weaving the basket from the bottom, from the bottom. Select 8 roughly the same twigs. They should not be too thick or too thin. It is better if you can pick up the rods of the same length. Take 4 rods and mark the middle of each. Use a sharp knife to cut the slots so that 4 other rods fit in them. The slots on the rods must be aligned with each other, otherwise the basket will turn out to be uneven. Insert the 4 remaining rods into the slots. You should now have a cross.
Step 3
Start braiding the cross with two thinner twigs. Make 2 loops. Spread the rods that make up the cross so that you get 16 rays. In order to obtain the interlacing, the number of rods of the "base" must be odd, therefore it is necessary to attach another rod to the bottom, equal in thickness to the rods of the cross.
Step 4
Make 1-2 turns with one rod and adjust the distance between the “base” rods. Weave the bottom until you have a circle of the correct size. Lay two more rods of approximately the same thickness to the 16 beams, and braid 1 rod to the additional seventeenth rod to make an odd number of beams again.
Step 5
Place the pan on the bottom of the basket. Press the rods, which will be the racks of the basket, to the pan. Braid the uprights with a double "rope". The rod with which the racks are braided is drawn from the inside of the basket by the first rod of the rack and brought out, then between the first and second rods it is again inserted inward, then brought out between the second and third rods. The second rod from the inside of the basket is brought out between the first and second rods and in the same way the rods are braided in turn. You can also make a triple "rope", then the basket will be more durable.
Step 6
After making a few turns with the "string", do a simple weave. Remember only that the rods must be introduced from the inside of the basket and in a certain sequence. Press the coils tightly against each other. If you have enough physical strength, you can do it simply with your hands. But you can also use a special mallet, like the one used to beat meat.
Step 7
Weave the sides to the desired height. Then close them up. Start each rack in sequence for the next two. Start the first one for the second and third, the second for the third and fourth.
Step 8
Attach a handle. Take a rod a little less than 1 cm thick. Sharpen it at both ends and insert it into the sides. Pick up thin rods, connect them in bunches and insert next to the first rod. Twist each bundle around the handle and tie a knot at the other side.
