Back To Basics of Basket Weaving - Tools Used in Making a Basket

Good Morning Friends,
Lately I've been receiving a number of e-mails with questions related to beginning basket weaving.  I'm thinking its time to get back to the basics because I want to encourage all you new weavers that basketry is something you CAN do.  Some of my posts in this series will be new, some you may have seen before.  Hopefully you will be reminded and refreshed with new ideas once again.

Today I want to share with you the tools I use in weaving baskets.  For those of you just starting out, I'm going to begin by listing just the basics you need.  The wonderful thing about basket weaving is that you can start weaving with tools you most likely already have at home.  There is minimal investment.

• Something to hold water.  At home I use my kitchen sink.  When I weave elsewhere I take a dishpan.
• Tape Measure
• Old Bath Towel
• Dozen clothespins
• Old Heavy Duty Kitchen Scissors
• Small Flat Blade Screwdriver

That's it!  For those of you wanting to give weaving a try, did you realize that basket weaving only needed these few tools?

Now, I've been weaving a long time so I have added a few tools to my collection to make weaving a bit easier, but all the extras are not necessary.

I carry all my supplies around in an old dishpan that I use for water when weaving. Everything fits nicely in it.

Now I wanted to show you what I keep in my work basket. I wove my work basket and attached the blue leather handles with rivets. The handles are just the right size to hold my spoke weight and the leather keeps the spoke weight from slipping out of the handles. Here are its contents:

• My old towel that sits in my lap when I weave
• Spoke weight
• Packing tool
• Awl
• Tape measure
• Glue - to attach embellishments
• 2 Lashing tools
• Mini electrical clamps (those are in the zip lock baggie)
• Pencil
• Nail clippers- to trim the hairs off the basket
• Reed gauge - to measure the size of reed (I eyeball my size most of the time)
• Exacto knife
• Lighter (I don't smoke, but I do use this to singe the hairs on my baskets)
• Wire - also to attach embellishments
• Sharpie - to sign my baskets
• Twist ties - to bundle spokes for kits together
• Clothespins
• Large electrical clamps
• Needle nose pliers
• Zip ties
• Samples of hair conditioner - keeps reed and my hands soft
• Band aids (you never know)
• Old kitchen scissors (not shown, children must have taken it)
• Squirt bottle with water (also not shown, again I'll blame it on the kids)

Of course I have more in quantity of some of the items show, this just is a sampling. What is in your work basket?
Blessings,
Nancy