Threads 90: The wonderful world of Willow - The history and traditions of Willow.

I wonder how many readers know the country dance “strip the willow”. It is a traditional dance with lines of people skipping up and down and twirling their partners. Stripping the willow was a big event every spring in England and on the continent. This was because basketry was a huge business. White willow was produced by stripping the bark and was considered for refined uses such as domestic use, hospitals and butchers, et cetera.

The bark on the willow rods could only be stripped when the sap was rising and the bark was easily removed. This only lasted until the weather warmed up and the sap dried up. It was so important that the children would be given time off from school to help with the bark stripping.

There are three different types of willow used for baskets, although they all start from the same genus. The first type is the basic willow rod and it is collected each year. These rods are known as brown Willow, with the bark left on each rod. The second type of willow is known as white willow. This is the colour of the rod when the Willow bark is stripped in the spring. The third type of willow was a big discovery in the 1800s. It was noticed that when willow was left lying in puddles, the bark became loose and could be pulled off. This led to the idea of steaming the willow and loosening the bark. The dye in the bark caused the white willow to turn off-white during the steaming process. It was known as buff willow. This willow was also considered suitable for domestic use and was always used for things like shopping baskets and other household uses. However, white willow is always considered superior,  buff willow was second, and brown willow was used mainly for agricultural uses.

For basket makers, there is a difference between using peeled willow and unpeeled willow. The peeled willow soaks up the water much more quickly and can be prepared by soaking overnight. The brown Willow which is covered with peel can take up to a week to become completely pliable and useful. This makes the use of peeled willow easier for basket makers, although it equally dries up much more quickly and has to be kept damp while weaving otherwise it tends to split and crack. 

The willow rod can be split into smaller sections using a splitting tool called a cleve.  It is shaped rather like an egg and carefully carved so that it divides a round stake into three equal parts. See photo below. The three parts are then drawn under a knife to remove the sharp edge and make a nice flat Weaver.

A set of tools used to prepare Willow for basketry, showing the Cleve in front with the tools for sizing weavers.

Another special tool is used to make the split piece have an even width. This is an adjustable tool so that the width can be varied depending on its use. Perhaps these are the most useful tools for a basket maker after a sharp pair of secateurs (hand pruners) and a good sharp knife. Traditionally, workmen used a hook tool to cut the willow and had a sharpening stone close by to keep it sharp. It was probably easier on the hand. They also wrapped each bundle with a piece of willow which was twisted together and then pulled back through the center of the bundle, or else tied together with a twist knot. They did not use string. I had the chance to see willow cutting during a visit to Somerset and was surprised at the speed at which they cut each piece, stacked them, and wrapped them all together. I am not sure how much Willow is cut by hand these days as I think machines are used instead.

If you are interested in starting a willow bed, cuttings for growing willow are available at

https://www.lakeshorewillows.com/site/home, or by emailing lakeshorewillows@gmail.com

If you are looking for a really good book on willow basketry, I recommend “Willow Basketry” by Bernard and Rag.  Interweave Press. Another interesting book for using willow is “Willowcraft.  10 Simple Projects”, by Jonathon Ridgeon  www.jonsbushcraft.com

The above books are also available from amazon.ca.

To learn more about willow, come to one of the 2024 workshops in McDonald’s Corners. See the poster below.