A School Memory
I studied in a girls’ school that typically had a mandatory “art and craft” class. I was lucky enough to have teachers who were passionate about teaching me art and crafts. Of the many crafts I learnt, one such craft was basket weaving.
One bundle of basket wire is roughly around 80 meters, good enough to weave one small basket. The skill here is to cut them to a length so that one basket can be completed in a single bundle. It was all about math and skill.
While measuring and cutting the wire is one part of it, weaving it with correct tension is another part of it. While my teacher taught me the right method to hold the wire and weave the basket, I was naive enough not to understand the tension and the stiffness with which I had to weave the basket. The outcome: I was unable to complete the basket in one bundle.
My friends completed the baskets with handles, carried their lunch in them, while I was still figuring out how to complete or undo the work. It would have been easy to buy more wire and weave the basket to completion, but by then the interest was lost as there was no more determination towards it!
Full Circle
A few years back, I saw these baskets back in trend in some markets. The ban on single-use plastic has brought these baskets and artisans back into trend, I assumed. I observed a few ladies weaving them by hand. When I checked the price, the baskets were heavily priced as they were completely handmade.
That sparked something in me!
An incomplete childhood craft of an unfinished basket lying in the attic at my mom’s place just flashed in front of me. This time I was determined to weave a basket and bring it to completion. It was almost 3 decades since I did the last one. I was nervous about my own challenge.
Now the question was whom to ask, where to learn. There is no better teacher than your own mother! I approached her, and she helped me understand the technique, measurements and tensions of the weaving itself. Again, it was all about math and Skill. To my surprise, this time I was very focused on the result. I made sure to complete the basket, and here you see one!
Beyond the basket itself
If we look deeply into the weave of this basket, it is very important that
every strip is prepared correctly
tension remains consistent
one mistake early on affects the entire basket
The pattern has to be maintained thoroughly
It’s very easy to theorise about this but is incredibly a very tough skill to achieve.
Weaving patterns
There are several patterns with which these baskets are woven. It’s called knots and is mostly geometrical patterns. There are square patterns, hexagonal patterns and many more.
Below are a few handmade woven basket by me with different pattern knots.
Closing reflection
The basket that I could not finish during my school days became one of my proudest handmade creations years later. More importantly, it taught me what classroom teaching did not really cover - patience and determination. Now, while I am in the market and I see someone selling these kinds of baskets, they are not just another basket; they remind me of something more important - determination to complete an unfinished project and feeling happy!