Instructions

Weaving the Base

1. Mark the centers of the 13 stakes on their wrong (rough) sides. Work the materials while they’re damp. Lay out the bottom of the basket in a plain weave with the five 26" (66 cm) stakes in one direction and the eight 21" (53.3 cm) stakes plus the handle in the other direction. The handle should be in the middle of its set and all stakes facing wrong side up. The center 26" (66.0 cm) stake should lie on top of the handle (see photo), so the first round of weaving will run along the outside of the handle.
    
   
2. Weave in all the stakes, adjusting the bottom to 5-1/2" x 9-1/2" (14 cm x 24.1 cm). Make sure the base is square and all stakes are centered (see photo). Mark the corners.
    
   
3. Twine two rows around the base. When you reach the handle, treat it as another stake (see photo).
    
   
4. Hide the twining’s ends between the layered stakes (see photo).
    
   

Upsetting the Stakes

5. Fold and crimp the stakes at the edge of the basket base, and use start-and-stop weave to upsett them.
6. Use the 1/2"(1.3 cm) flat reed, the 1/4" (6 mm) flat-oval reed, and the 3/4" (1.9 cm) flat reed to weave up the sides of the basket. Weave the different weavers up the sides in any order desired, but you may find it easiest to put the 3/4" (1.9 cm) piece in the middle.
7. Use the 3/8" (9.5 mm) flat reed to weave the last row of the basket. Adjust the sides, tightly packing them and making everything even (see photo).
    
   
8. Fold and tuck the outer stakes to the inside, and clip off the inner stakes.

Attaching the Rim

9. Use the two pieces of 1/2" (1.3 cm) flat-oval reed to form the rim plus the seagrass filler, all fitted to the top edge and held in place with cable ties. Put the overlaps on either side of the handle, not right on top of it. Place the seagrass to the outside of the handle, to be spliced anywhere along the same side as the overlaps.
10. Soak the piece of 1/4" (6 mm) flat-oval reed for a minute. Start the lashing at the handle on the side of the basket where there are no overlaps.
11. Thread the lashing into the hole just below the rim and to the left of the handle, pulling it through until the end inside the basket is 2’ (61 cm) longer than the end outside.
12. Run the inside lashing diagonally behind the handle and up to the right, making sure the rounded side of the flat-oval reed faces out. Take the end that’s now to the right of the handle, cross it over the front of the rim and into the same hole where you started, just below the rim and to the left of the handle.
13. Take the same end up to the left of the handle, down across the front, and into the hole below the rim to the right of the handle. You’ve now created an X over the rim at the handle.
14. Using the end of the lashing on the right side of the handle, lash around to the overlaps on the opposite side, pulling everything snug. Stop at the overlaps and hold the lashing in place with a clothespin.
15. Use the other end of the lashing to lash around the other side.
16. Scarf and shape the rim so it overlaps smoothly. Use the longer piece of lashing to work across the overlaps. Make an X over this side of the handle as you did in steps 12 and 13, and continue lashing until the two ends meet.
17. Finish off the ends of the lashing.

Making a Market Basket Variation

• Basket Base: 6" x 10" (15.2 x 25.4 cm)
• Handle Size: 6" x 10" (15.2 x 25.4 cm)
• Stake Width: 5/8" (1.6 cm)
• Number of Stakes: 5
• Length: 25" (63.5 cm)
• Quantity of Stakes: 8
• Length: 21" (53.3 cm)
• Twining: 12' (3.6 m) #2 round
• Height: 5" (12.7 cm)
• Weavers: 41" (104.1 cm)
• Lashing: 9' (2.7 m) of 1/4" (6 mm) flat-oval
• Rim*: 1/2" (1.3 cm) flat-oval