Threads 13: Coiled Baskets

This issue of threads comes to you on a snowy winter’s night. The world outside sleeps, no harvesting and no gathering. What better time than to pick up a needle some thread and some type of cordage and make a coiled basket?

Coiled baskets are typically made in desert like conditions or the Arctic, where the grass is the main natural material. Long pliable material is used for wrapping. Tightly stitched and wrapped, these frail materials can make surprisingly big strong and heavy baskets, some can even be made waterproof. 

In Victorian days, ladies in the southern U.S. made coiled baskets using the long pine needles which fall from the trees and wrapped them with raffia. Since then, pine needle baskets have taken on a new life, and a popular art form involving sculptural shapes, colour and decorative stitching. In Canada we can use the long needles from the Ponderosa pine tree, These can be gathered in the Arboretum in Ottawa. 

On this wintery night, it is easier for you to find a large darning needle and some knitting yarn and for the wrapping. For the core, a long piece of thick string or fine rope. But nothing soft or squishy.

First of all, practice wrapping the core with the yarn and you will see how hard and strong it becomes. Now thread the needle, wrap an inch or so, curl it into a little circle for the centre and stitch it tightly together. Now build onto that first circle by wrapping and stitching to the row below, The great trick is to keep it very tight. You can wrap and stitch each time, or wrap two or three times and then stitch. You can make a flat mat or build it up a container.

If this type of basketry is your thing, you can move on to using all sorts of different materials for the core and wrapping. Pinterest and YouTube have many ideas too.

Here are a few ideas of tiny coiled baskets I made using beads for decoration.