Basket Making for Fun & Profits E-Book

Ruediger Kuettner-Kuehn

• Herausgeber: neobooks
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Deutsch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 163

Beschreibung

THE twisting and weaving of Nature's materials, grasses, twigs, rushes and vines, into useful and beautiful forms seems almost instinctive in man. Perhaps it came to him as the nest-weaving instinct comes to birds—for at first he used it as they do, in the building of his house. Later, shields and boats were formed of wicker work, but how long ago the first basket was made no one is wise enough to tell us. To-day Indian tribes in South America weave baskets from their native palms, South African negroes use reeds and roots, while the Chinese and Japanese are wonderful workmen in this as in other arts and industries; but basketry has come down to us more directly through the American Indian. Generations of these weavers have produced masterpieces, many of which are preserved in our museums, and the young basket maker need not go on long pilgrimages to study the old masters of his craft. Here at last, as in England, the value of manual training is being realized, and basketry is taking an important place; following the kindergarten and enabling the child to apply the principles he has learned there. He still works from the centre out, and weaves as he wove his paper mats, but permanent materials have replaced the perishable ones, and what he makes has an actual value.

Leseprobe

Ruediger Kuettner-Kuehn

Basket Making for Fun & Profits

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Titel

FIG. I.—TWIST OF RATTAN

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FIG. I.—TWIST OF RATTAN

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Kuettner-Kuehn Ruediger: Wilkau-Hasslau, November 2017 Alle Rechte am Werk liegen beim Autor:Ruediger Kuettner-KuehnSchulstraße 35a08112 Wilkau-Haßlau

Basket Making for Fun & Profits

PREFACE

THE twisting and weaving of Nature's materials, grasses, twigs, rushes and vines, into useful and beautiful forms seems almost instinctive in man. Perhaps it came to him as the nest-weaving instinct comes to birds—for at first he used it as they do, in the building of his house. Later, shields and boats were formed of wicker work, but how long ago the first basket was made no one is wise enough to tell us. To-day Indian tribes in South America weave baskets from their native palms, South African negroes use reeds and roots, while the Chinese and Japanese are wonderful workmen in this as in other arts and industries; but basketry has come down to us more directly through the American Indian. Generations of these weavers have produced masterpieces, many of which are preserved in our museums, and the young basket maker need not go on long pilgrimages to study the old masters of his craft. Here at last, as in England, the value of manual training is being realized, and basketry is taking an important place; following the kindergarten and enabling the child to apply the principles he has learned there. He still works from the centre out, and weaves as he wove his paper mats, but permanent materials have replaced the perishable ones, and what he makes has an actual value.

Basketry also fills the need for a practical home industry for children; so not only in school, club and settlement, but on home piazzas in summer young weavers are taking their first lessons. Though they are unlearned in woodcraft, and have not the magic of the Indian squaw in their fingertips, they can, and do, feel the fascination of basketry in the use of rattan, rush and raffia. It is hoped that this book may be a help in teaching them "Basket Making for Fun & Profits."

CONTENTS

Preface ................................................... v

CHAPTER I

Materials, Tools, Preparation, Weaving…… 3

CHAPTER II

Raffia and Some op Its Uses ……………… . .11

CHAPTER III

Mats and Their Borders……………………… .21

CHAPTER IV

The Simplest Baskets ……………….. .... 27

CHAPTER V

Covers . 33

CHAPTER VI

Handles 51

CHAPTER VII

Work Baskets 65

CHAPTER VIII

Candy Baskets 83

CHAPTER IX

Scrap Baskets 101

CHAPTER X

Birds' Nests 113

CHAPTER XI

Oval Baskets ……………………….... ...... 127

CHAPTER XII

The Finishing Touch 149

CHAPTER XIII

How to Cane Chairs………... . . .159

CHAPTER XIV

Some Indian Stitches 169

CHAPTER XV

What the Basket Means to the Indian……… . 181

HOW TO MAKE BASKETS

CHAPTER I

MATERIALS, TOOLS, PREPARATION, WEAVING

Materials.—We shall use a great deal of rattan in making these baskets. It is a kind of palm which grows in the forests of India, twining about the trees and hanging in graceful festoons from the branches, sometimes to the length of five hundred feet, it is said, though seldom over an inch in diameter. It comes to us stripped of leaves and bark, and split into round or flat strips of various sizes, which are numbered by the manufacturer from 1 up to about 15, No. 1 being the finest as well as the most costly. Rattan can be bought (usually in five-pound lots) at basket factories in our large cities. Numbers 2, 3 and 4 are the best sizes for small baskets and 3, 5, and 6 for scrap baskets. Raffia, which is woven into small baskets, dolls' hats, etc., comes from Madagascar. It is a pale yellow material, soft and pliable, the outer cuticle of a palm, and can be bought at seed stores in

hanks of about a pound each. Either braided and used by itself or woven flat on rattan spokes, it is easily handled by very young children, whose fingers are not strong enough to manage rattan.

The flat or braided rush which is imported by wholesale basket dealers comes in natural colors, dull green and soft wood-brown. The flat rush is sold by the pound, and the braided in bunches of ten metres each. Woven on rattan spokes, it makes beautiful baskets. Braided rush is a good material for scrap baskets, while the flat, being

finer, is successfully woven into candy, flower and work baskets. The leaves of our own cat-tail furnish a material almost as pliable and quite as attractive in color as the imported rush; in fact, Nature's storehouse is full of possibilities to the weaver with a trained eye and hand.

Tools.—A pair of strong, sharp shears, a yardstick, and a deep paper pail for water are needed at first, and later a short steel knitting-needle about the size of No. 4 rattan, and a sharp knife. Rubber finger guards for the right forefinger and thumb will be found almost a necessity where much weaving is done.

In raffia work, tapestry or worsted needles, No. 19, are required.

FIG. 2.—UNDER-AND-OVER WEAVING

Preparation.—-The rattan, as it comes from the

manufacturer, is in long twists or skeins. (See

Fig. i.) It should be drawn out, as it is needed,

from the loop end; otherwise it will get tangled

FIG. 3.—DOUBLE WEAVING

and broken. In preparing it, the spoke or heavy material which is to form the ribs of the basket (and which should be at least two numbers coarser than the weaver, except in small baskets, where a difference of one number is enough) is cut into lengths of the required number of inches. The weaver is wound into circles of about seven inches in diameter, the ends being twisted in and out several times to prevent unwinding. As rattan is very brittle, it should be put to soak, before using, for an hour in cold water, or fifteen minutes in hot. Rush will not need to soak as long, and raffia will become pliable in a few seconds.

Weaving.—Under-and-over weaving, the simplest form of all, is the one most used.

Double weaving is done in the same way, except

FIG. 4.—PAIRING

that two weavers are used at once. This is an effective weave on large surfaces, and in bands or patterns of the same or a contrasting color on plain rattan baskets.

Pairing may be used either with an odd or even number of spokes. Two weavers are started behind two succeeding spokes, and crossed between them, so that what was the under weaver becomes the upper one each time.

In the triple twist, three weavers are placed behind three consecutive spokes and brought in succession, starting with the back one, over two and under one spoke, each on its way to the back of the third spoke being laid over the other two weavers. In turning up the sides of large baskets where separate spokes or additional spokes have

FIG. 5.—TRIPLE TWIST

been inserted, or as a strong top for scrap baskets, this weave is invaluable. It entirely hides the spokes it crosses, and therefore is often used to cover places where broken spokes have been replaced.

CHAPTER II

RAFFIA AND SOME OF ITS USES

It is a rare thing to find a material at once so soft and so strong as raffia; and it could hardly be better fitted for the work of children's fingers if it was made for the purpose. With a pound or two of raffia (there is about as much as this in one of the hanks that can be bought at seed stores or of dealers in kindergarten supplies), a paper of tapestry needles, a pair of scissors, and several flat sticks about a yard long and half an inch wide, you are well equipped. Given in addition to these some children fresh from the kindergarten training of eye and hand, and you can accomplish wonders. Indeed, so many charming things can be made from one of the great, yellow coils of raffia that it reminds one of the fairy tale in which the little gnome spun a roomful of straw into gold for the

miller's daughter.

First of all, the children may braid some raffia, —we will use so much of it in this form, and now, as later in rattan work, it is well for them to learn to prepare the materials they are to work with.

Three single strands of raffia may be used in

braiding, if the plait is to be very fine; two pieces of the raffia in each strand makes a better size for general use. If the raffia is slightly dampened before the braiding is begun, it will work more smoothly. The ends are tied together and attached to a hook or chair back, and then the child braids to the end of the strands or until they become thin and spindling, when other strands are laid in, always on the under side, so that the little ends will not show on the upper or right side.These ends may be cut quite close when the braid is done.

It is hardly necessary to say that the braiding

should be even and firm.

Knotted Work Bag

Materials:

24 strands of raffia

a stick about a yard long and 1 ½ inches wide

a pair of scissors

a tapestry needle

The stick is held by the left hand at right angles with the body, the end resting on a chair or table. A strand of raffia is doubled and tied around the stick, as shown in Fig. 6, the knot being drawn up quite close. Twenty-four strands are knotted on in this way; they are then placed about an inch apart, and beginning with the inner one of the two strands nearest the workman, it is knotted, at about an inch from the first row of knots, with the strand nearest it in the next pair, making an even mesh. This is continued across the stick, and another row is knotted and another until ten or twelve rows have been made, when the work will tend toward a V shape (see Fig. 7, which for convenience is drawn with fewer strands),

The stick is now slipped out and the bag finished (see Fig 8) by knotting first the two loose strands at the top together, then the two pairs following, and so on until the bottom is reached. The two sides are joined at the bottom by placing them with the meshes and knots

Fig. 6

evenly together and knotting two strands from the front and two from the back together each time in a last row of knotting. The ends of the raffia when cut to an even length make a fairly satisfactory finish, but the following is a better one: Wind a strand of raffia over a card, about two and a quarter inches wide, five or six times, then slip it off and bind it around several times near the top with the end of the strand, sewing it fast with a tapestry needle; this forms a little tassel, such as are made of worsted. A row of these across the bottom of the bag, a cord of

twisted raffia (as worsted cords are made), drawn through the top loops and an inner lining of turkey-red cotton will complete this pretty and serviceable bag.

Knotted Bag for Twine

Materials: 17 strands of raffia,

A stick the size of a lead pencil,

A pair of scissors,

A ball of twine,

A tapestry needle.

It will be well to get your ball of twine before beginning this bag, to make sure of its fitting. A common lead pencil, provided it is a long one, will do quite as well as a special stick, and the raffia is knotted on it as described in the directions for a work bag, only there are seventeen strands instead of twenty-four; they are placed closer together, not over a quarter of an inch apart, and the rows of knotting are about a quarter of an inch from each other. When twelve rows are completed, the work is slipped off and finished as in the work bag. The bottom should be drawn up tightly, with a needleful of raffia, and a ball of twine of some bright harmonious color slipped in. A cord to gather up the loops at the top and a large tassel at the bottom will be the finishing touches to a dainty gift that any child may be proud to offer as his own work

Book-Mark

Materials: 1 spoke 10 inches long of No. 6 flat rattan,

3 spokes 31/4 inches long of No. 6 flat rattan,

1 strand of raffia,

A tapestry needle.

A book-mark that is pretty and easily woven is made on an Indian pattern, with the Indian arrangement of spokes and weavers. After soaking the spokes for an hour in cold water, the long spoke, No. I, is laid on a table vertically; No. 2, one of the short spokes, is then placed across it horizontally, at a distance of a little over an inch and a half from the end. Number 3, a short spoke, is laid across the other two obliquely, to the right of the upper end of spoke No. 1, and between it and the right end of spoke No. 2. Number 4 crosses from the left of spoke No. 1 obliquely, completing the star shape. A strand of raffia is doubled at its centre around spoke No. 1, with the ends toward the right. It is woven by pairing (see Chapter I) to a distance of one inch from the tip of each spoke, when the ends of the raffia are threaded through a worsted or tapestry needle and sewed off under the weaving, and the tips of the short spokes are cut in points.

Raffia Mat

Materials: 6 yards of braided raffia,

Several strands of loose raffia,

A tapestry needle,

A pair of scissors.

The braided raffia previously prepared now comes into use. A tapestry needle is threaded

with a fine strand of raffia, and the mat is begun by winding the end of the braid several times with the end of the strand which is threaded through the needle. A coil is then started with the end of the braid, the edge of the braid being up, not the face, and it is sewed through at least three braids at a time in stitches which run in the direction of the twists in the braid. The needle is run in slanting down from right to left and then up from right to left, forming a V within the coil. The mat is coiled round and round in this way till it is about four inches in diameter, when a border of the braid, sewed on in loops, completes it. These mats may be dyed or stained, or a large, colored bead is sometimes sewed in each loop of the border.

Dolts Hat

Materials: 2 yards of braided raffia, A tapestry needle, Several strands of loose raffia, A pair of scissors.

The idea of making her own doll's hats will be a delightful and novel one to the small girl, and hats of all sizes and shapes are possible when she has

once mastered the sewing together of the braided raffia. Just as in large hats we will start with the very centre of the crown, and that is coiled and sewed in the same way as the raffia mat was done, till it is an oval mat about one and a half by two inches; the coil of braid is then brought round with its upper edge just below the centre of the previous row. The next row is sewed around in the same way and the next until the crown is the desired height. We shall have to be careful to draw the braid tight, and in sewing to make the stitches run like the twists in the braid so that they will show as little as possible. The brim is made by flattening out the braid and letting it go more easily, taking care, however, to see that it overlaps the last row nearly to the centre of the braid in each case. When the brim is about an inch wide, one or two rows are drawn quite tightly as they are sewed on, which gives a roll to the edge of the brim, and it is finished by sewing the end of the braid firmly down on the under side of the brim. Many soft raffia baskets, oval and round, can be made on the principle of the crown of this hat, and we shall learn in subsequent chapters how to make more elaborate baskets of this material.

CHAPTER III

MATS AND THEIR BORDERS

THE centre, which forms the bottom of the basket is the starting-point, and it is such an important part to master that we will make at least two centres in the form of mats before beginning a basket.

Mat with Open Border No. I

Materials: 4 12-inch spokes of No. 4 rattan,

7-inch spoke of No 4 rattan,

1 weaver of No. 2 rattan.