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Basket weaving (or basket making, basketry, or basketmaking) is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibers into a basket. People with the profession of weaving baskets are basketmakers. Basket weaving is the craft of weaving together fibrous or pliable material—anything that will bend or form a shape. That is including but not limited to: pine straw, animal hair and/or hide, different grasses, thread, branches, and wood.
Basket weaving might seem like an outdated or antique craft, but it has never left the eye of public interest or demand, and for good reason. Frequently vendors are seen on the side of small country roads, especially in tourist areas, or at the farmer’s markets around the country. Regardless of where they are seen, baskets are still as popular today as they ever were—but for less functional reasons. There is a certain aura of quaintness surrounding basket making—probably because it is one of the only crafts that has never been modernized. While there are weaving machines that make cloth, basket weaving has never been done successfully on a machine.
Erdly reports that the oldest known baskets are (according to radiocarbon dating) between 10,000 and 12,000 years old, earlier than any established dates for archeological finds of pottery, and were discovered in Faiyum in upper Egypt. Other baskets have been discovered in the Middle East that are up to 7,000 years old. However, baskets seldom survive, as they are made from perishable materials. The most common evidence of a knowledge of basketry is an imprint of the weave on fragments of clay pots, formed by packing clay on the walls of the basket and firing. Still, the technique of weaving has been passed along, re-discovered, and expanded upon throughout the years, and is still being expanded upon today.
Baskets were at one time used simply for storage and transportation of goods—decoration being an afterthought at best. While people still enjoy a functional basket today, our society seems to be interested in baskets that serve a more decorative purpose than those of our ancestors.
While many people might initially think of Indian baskets, Indian basket weaving is not the “genre” of basket weaving attracting the most interest today. Actually, weaving with rattan core—or what is known as reed, is one of the more popular techniques being practiced. That is because reed is easily available from basket weaving supply stores.[3] It is pliable and when woven correctly, it is very sturdy. Also, while oak, hickory, and willow might be hard to come by—reed is plentiful and can be cut into any size or shape that might be needed for a pattern. This includes flat reed, which is used for most square baskets; oval reed which is used for many round baskets; and round reed which is used to twine. And reed can also be dyed easily to look like oak or hickory.
Native Americans in New England wove their baskets from swamp ash. The wood would be peeled off the felled log in strips, following the growth rings of the tree.[7] They also wove baskets from sweetgrass. Northwestern tribes used spruce root, cedar bark, and swampgrass. Southeastern tribes like the Cherokee used bundled pine needles. Southwestern tribes coiled baskets from sumac, yucca, and willow. In northwestern Mexico, the Seri people continue to "sew" baskets using splints of the limberbush plant, Jatropha cuneata. Arctic and Sub-Arctic tribes use baleen, and incorporate ivory and whale bone. Birchbark was used by Northern tribes like the Dene. Birchbark baskets are often embellished with dyed porcupine quills.
