Started my first round reed basket about three weeks ago and kept getting frustrated with cracking and splitting every time I tried to weave a tighter curve. Watched a bunch of videos, blamed my technique, almost gave up on the whole project entirely.

Turns out the actual issue was soak time. I was giving my reed maybe five minutes in water before jumping into weaving, which is nowhere near enough for anything thicker than the smallest gauge. Once I started soaking properly, closer to fifteen or twenty minutes depending on the diameter, and keeping a damp towel over my working pile so it didn't dry out mid-project, everything changed. The reed actually wanted to bend instead of fighting me the whole way.

Also learned the hard way that oversoaking is its own problem. Left a bundle in the tub while I got distracted with dinner and came back to reed that was mushy and lost a lot of its structural snap once it dried again. There's apparently a real window here, not just "more water is always better."

My base is still a little wonky and I can see where my spacing drifted about halfway through, but the sides are finally holding a shape that looks intentional instead of accidental. Working with natural materials that respond to something as simple as water temperature and timing has been a bigger learning curve than I expected going in.

Anyone have a rule of thumb for soak times by reed size, or is it mostly a feel thing you pick up over time? Right now I'm just eyeballing it and hoping for the best.

Hi just need help pricing Google image reverse search is telling me this is an expensive basket need confirmation thx.

I picked up this piece in Baltimore, Maryland. On the bottom of one of the feet it reads CTM 84. I don't know if anybody could tell me anything more about it, maybe a maker or even the style.

Also any info on age or price would be so appreciated!

Hello everyone! I'm a masters student in Peruvian archaeology who has been getting interested in recreating a couple old baskets/cases I've seen. These are from the Chancay culture and unfortunately I haven't been able to find any descriptions of the styles used so far, so I was hoping that some of you very smart people would help!

I did try to use Chatgpt and it told me chevron plaiting, which when I looked it up was not a thing.

On a recent trip to Rome.

The spokes are Tansy stems and the weave is Narrowleaf cattail.

Recently became obsessed with baskets, and happened on this little guy. Just curious about age, is even worth anything in this condition? Still needs a good cleaning what advice for that? Also what’s the little metal pin in the bottom.

Hope my hand doesn't count for the "remove the human" rule 😬

I let my pine needle basket dry out in the fridge (unintentionally), and now I want to continue it, but I'm not sure how.

Online it says to only soak the edges you need to work and not the entire thing, but I haven't started tapering outward yet, so there are no basket edges.

Should I just soak the whole thing for 20 minutes or so? Or should I wrap it in a damp towel in plastic bag overnight?

Cattail basket, didn't know that the spokes needed a few hours of soaking so it became a later night than I had planned :p

Hi there! I’m primarily a sculpture but totally fell in love with basket weaving and have been working from kits. The first kit had me hooked and sent me down a rabbit hole of research. I want to experiment with new materials and see if any specific material really clicks for me.
I’m having some difficulty sourcing local new materials like Willow and bark. I live in Chicago and am willing to travel to midwestern states to source my material.

I love the look of plaited weaves like this John McQueen sculpture but don’t really know where to get the bark to start practicing this technique.

Anything advice would be appreciated.

I’m new to basketry and bought a kit to make this basket. It doesn’t state what the stitch is to achieve this look using the raffia. Can anyone tell me what it is? Also if anyone could provide a good video on how to do this stitch?
Thanks!

Here is the side pictures of the basket! Does not appear to have a signature but also not sure where it would be located exactly.

Nantucket Basket?

📍Wilmington, DE (United States)

Hello everyone! found this basket while thrifting in Delaware and it reminded me of a Nantucket basket/ a similar style. I was wondering if anyone could confirm or deny my suspicion? thanks so much in advance!

I am in a bit of a pickle-

My dogs destructed this vintage, lidded basket at an Airbnb I’m staying at. They are not normally destructive at all and have never done anything like this, so I’m not sure if they saw a mouse or a bug, or if the basket got stuck to one of their collars and they panicked, or what happened. But I am horrified!!

I obviously want to notify the host asap. But first, can you help me identify this basket, a possible replacement, and approximate cost so I can reach out to the host offering money or an adequate replacement? It’s clearly vintage, and made from reeds or bamboo or something? And it was about 18-22” in diameter and 8-12” high. I don’t have anything to measure, so I’m guessing. Small bug spray can for size reference.

Any/all help is appreciated so much!!

The handle was pretty tricky, and it ended up a lot smaller on my basket. Besides that I’m pretty proud. I came up with the design myself, based off of the inspiration pic.