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| Basket made from reeds and sweetgrass. |
Basket weaving (also basketry, basket making, or basketmaking) is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibres into a basket or other similar form. People and artists who weave baskets are called basketmakers and basket weavers.
Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials•anything that will bend and form a shape. Examples include pine straw, stems, animal hair, hide, grasses, thread, and wood.
Basketry Comes in Four Types:
- "Coiled" basketry - using grasses and rushes
- "Plaiting" basketry - using materials that are wide and ribbon-like, such as palms, yucca or New Zealand flax
- "Twining" basketry - using materials from roots and tree bark. Twining actually refers to a weaving technique where two or more flexible weaving elements ("weavers") cross each other as they weave through the stiffer radial spokes.
- "Wicker" and "Splint" basketry - using reed, cane, willow, oak, and ash
More About Basketry:
- Natural Vine Baskets
- California Indian Basketweavers Association . website
- The National Basketry Organization
- The Book of English Trades, and Library of the Useful Arts, page 17-22 Google Books
- Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico V. 1/4, page 132-135 Google Books
- Spons' Workshop: Basket hand-making
Video About Basketry:
- Basketry: Swill Memories
- Jane Wilkinson Teaches Basket Making
- Making Traditional Irish Flask
- Basket Making in Mapaki, Sierra Leone
- Pine Needle Basket Maker
- Sweetgrass Basket Weaving
- Prepare Yucca Fillamentosa for Basket Weaving
- How to make split white oak baskets
- Native American Basket Makers From Great Basin
- Julia Parker's Baskets
- Alicia Nelson's Baskets
Basketry Lesson Plans:
- Basket making by Sue Stewart
- Weaving with plastic cups by Susan Holland
- Basket Weaving from Craft Revival
- Fiber Arts Curriculum from Basketweaving.com
- Reeds and Rainwater Make Baskets
- Lesson on basket coiling
- Choctaw Baskets: Weaving the Past and Present
- Telephone wire basket
- Fiber Coiled Baskets
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| South American Native weaves a traditional pattern |
Weaving is a textile craft in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced to form a fabric or cloth. The threads which run lengthways are called the warp and the threads which run across from side to side are the weft or filling.
Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. Weft is an old English word meaning "that which is woven". A fabric band which meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with a weft thread winding between) can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving, back-strap, or other techniques without looms.
The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is called the weave. The majority of woven products are created with one of three basic weaves: plain weave, satin weave, or twill. Woven cloth can be plain (in one color or a simple pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic designs, including tapestries. Fabric in which the warp and/or weft is tie-dyed before weaving is called ikat.
Though traditional handweaving and spinning remain popular crafts, nowadays the majority of commercial fabrics in the West are woven on computer-controlled Jacquard looms. In the past, simpler fabrics were woven on dobby looms, while the Jacquard harness adaptation was reserved for more complex patterns. Some believe the efficiency of the Jacquard loom, with its Jacquard weaving process, makes it more economical for mills to use them to weave all of their fabrics, regardless of the complexity of the design.
In general, weaving involves the interlacing of two sets of threads at right angles to each other: the warp and the weft (older woof). The warp threads are held taut and in parallel order, typically by means of a loom, though some forms of weaving may use other methods. The loom is warped (or dressed) with the warp threads passing through heddles on two or more harnesses. The warp threads are moved up or down by the harnesses creating a space called the shed. The weft thread is wound onto spools called bobbins. The bobbins are placed in a shuttle that carries the weft thread through the shed.
The raising and lowering sequence of warp threads in various sequences gives rise to many possible weave structures:
Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. Weft is an old English word meaning "that which is woven". A fabric band which meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with a weft thread winding between) can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving, back-strap, or other techniques without looms.
The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is called the weave. The majority of woven products are created with one of three basic weaves: plain weave, satin weave, or twill. Woven cloth can be plain (in one color or a simple pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic designs, including tapestries. Fabric in which the warp and/or weft is tie-dyed before weaving is called ikat.
Though traditional handweaving and spinning remain popular crafts, nowadays the majority of commercial fabrics in the West are woven on computer-controlled Jacquard looms. In the past, simpler fabrics were woven on dobby looms, while the Jacquard harness adaptation was reserved for more complex patterns. Some believe the efficiency of the Jacquard loom, with its Jacquard weaving process, makes it more economical for mills to use them to weave all of their fabrics, regardless of the complexity of the design.
In general, weaving involves the interlacing of two sets of threads at right angles to each other: the warp and the weft (older woof). The warp threads are held taut and in parallel order, typically by means of a loom, though some forms of weaving may use other methods. The loom is warped (or dressed) with the warp threads passing through heddles on two or more harnesses. The warp threads are moved up or down by the harnesses creating a space called the shed. The weft thread is wound onto spools called bobbins. The bobbins are placed in a shuttle that carries the weft thread through the shed.
The raising and lowering sequence of warp threads in various sequences gives rise to many possible weave structures:
- plain weave,
- twill weave,
- satin weave, and
- complex computer-generated interlacings
Both warp and weft can be visible in the final product. By spacing the warp more closely, it can completely cover the weft that binds it, giving a warp faced textile such as rep weave. Conversely, if the warp is spread out, the weft can slide down and completely cover the warp, giving a weft faced textile, such as a tapestry or a Kilim rug. There are a variety of loom styles for hand weaving and tapestry. In tapestry, the image is created by placing various colors of weft only in certain warp areas, rather than across the entire warp width. (Wikipedia)
- Encyclopædia Britannica 1911 – Weaving
- Resource collection
- Card Weaving
- Oriental rug weaving
- Irvine Weavers
- The Worshipful Company of Weavers
Weaving Lesson Plans: