In the UK willow was the main material traditionally used for basketmaking. Rush was also used, as was cane from the rattan plant imported from the tropics during colonial times.
Our basketry willow has grown well so far this year here at Marsh Willow at Iden Lock. The winter’s harvest has dried and is ready to be brought indoors for storage. Weaving with willow takes a bit of planning as it has to be soaked for several days in a tank of water and then wrapped in cloth to mellow for a day or two. There is then a few days during which it can be used to make something before it goes off.
Historically, willow baskets were used for everything from shopping to fishing. They were used for fruit and veg harvesting and for taking the harvest to market. The Post Office used big hampers to move the post about and big baskets on bicycles were used by butchers to deliver meat to customers. Different basketry styles developed in regions across the UK, which often depended on what the basket was to be used for.
In the south of England for example, there were specific baskets for hop picking; big baskets that could hold a large quantity of a light crop. Another basket was called a Kibsey and was, and still is in some places, used to collect cherries. It has one side that is flat with holes so that it can be attached to your belt while harvesting. Another basket had big gaps to drain water when collecting watercress. Others were specific measures like the bushel basket used for apples going to market and the quarter cran for measuring the herring catch.
I learnt basketmaking while living in Scotland and visiting Ireland. There they have a tradition of pony creels and back creels that were used to carry things across the rough boggy ground that it was impossible to wheel carts across. Some were designed as panniers for ponies but others were for people to carry, if a pony wasn’t available. Women mainly carried these with great loads of peat or potatoes in them. Today they make great kindling collecting baskets.
Techniques vary too, for example many baskets are made by making the base first and then adding the sides, while the Scottish and Irish creels are made upside down with the base being completed last.
Others are created by building a frame of thicker rods around which finer rods of willow are woven.
Unfortunately, with the advent of modern materials like plastic and cardboard, and changes in farming methods, many baskets became obsolete. This combined with the increase in cheap imported baskets meant that there was less work for traditional basket makers in the UK. Many of these basket makers would have served apprenticeships up to seven years long, and were extremely skilled craftsmen. In the UK the craft nearly died out in the 50s and 60s. Fortunately thanks to a few dedicated people who kept the craft alive in the 70s and 80s, skills were not completely lost, and now basketry is undergoing a bit of a revival.
Over the last 50 years many traditional techniques have been passed on and documented, and many basket makers are continuing to make some of the traditional designs. Some techniques are still in danger of dying out however, and are on the Heritage Craft list of endangered crafts. As well as reproducing traditional baskets, many basket weavers produce sculptural and contemporary work that incorporates many of the traditional skills used previously. Basketry techniques and designs from other countries can now also be learnt and many basket makers, myself included, combine these with UK basketry styles to create new unique designs. Basketry is finally being recognised as a highly skilled contemporary craft and is gaining its rightful place among applied arts in the UK.
If you would like to learn some basketry skills, I have classes coming up in September in my studio in Iden. More info here https://willowweaver.com/tuition-courses.
Image Credits: Julie Gurr .