Any Dopers into basket weaving?

Cafe Society
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Mods, move this to MPSIMS if you so deem. Seemed to fit the “creative” bit in the CF content discription though.

I have a need for a rather specific large basket*. Seems there is no local basket maker, and a search on the web turned up a fellow in Norway (or was it Finland?) who could make what I want, but for several hundred dollars plus shipping. So I’ve decided to learn enough about basket weaving to make this thing. Seems like it could be handy to be able to make a custom container of arbitrary dimensions when the need arises. I have some ballonist friends, so I could also swap them some repair work (to be signed of on by a A&P of course) for whatever.

Basically I’m not interested in it as a hobby, but as a craft in the old sense of the word: A few years back, I needed a leather case for a radio, and learned to saddle stitch well enough to do that, as well as a few holsters, dog collars etc. It’s been pretty useful knowlege. I have a bunch of tooling punches I inherited from my dad, but I’ve never used them. I don’t make any gifts, or pieces just for practice. I guess I can work with leather but I’m not into leatherworking?

Back to baskets:

I’ve been able to find some info online, but not a damned thing in the craft stores. They have a vast selection of baskets, but no stock with which to make my own. It seems so wierd to me. All the people I have known who are into “crafts” love baskets and have tons of them…but none actually make them. I know people who made one in scouts, 4H, or at summer camp, but no adults. When I was at the craft stores, there were women picking over the baskets, looking for just the thing they had in mind, but no interest in making it.

I DID find a local lady on criagslist who is selling all her basket stuff, so I’m going to take a look tomorrow, but beyond that it looks like I’ll have to buy supplies online. A bummer because with natural material like this I really need to to touch it to know what I am are buying.

So any dopers have basket knowlege, warnings, etc? Willing to field questions from a newb who has nobody local to learn from?
*I’m modifying a bicycle trailer made to haul a toddler to better carry two dogs, groceries, or misc. Wicker would seem to be ideal for what I want to accomplish, but it will need to fit the existing trailer frame just so, as well as keeping the dogs clear of the spokes.

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I am not a basket weaver by trade*, but I did spend many summers teaching arts and crafts at scout camp and have made quite a few small/medium baskets using just flexible reeds. I’ve never done any basket weaving on the scale you’re talking about, but if you want to start small and work your way up, which would probably be a decent idea just to get the knack for making baskets, I would start by getting a kit or two with a wooden base to give you an idea of shaping the vertical portion and then just some coils of reed so you can do it all on a smaller scale. A common tendency with new basket weavers is to pull the reeds too tight as they weave, leaving them with a teepee shaped basket. That tendency is why I would suggest practicing on a small scale first.

Here’s a company I ordered from when I was teaching arts and crafts. They have single kits and coils of reed for decent prices. Unfortunately, the thickest reed they seem to sell is 3.5mm, which doesn’t sound like it will quite work for what you have in mind.

Here are some photos of itty-bitty baskets I’ve made. The middle one is the type you could make with a wooden base kit.

*After writing this post, I wish I were a basket weaver by trade. It’s lots of fun to do.

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Thanks for the input MissMossie I was planning to do a few small baskets just to get the hang of it, and maybe a scale model of the trailer basket before diving in.