My gardeners hat is off to you for continuing this ancient tradition! December 2016 The iris varies greatly in size, from the smallest dwarf variety, which only grows to 6 inches tall, to the tallest variety which is up to 4 feet tall. Europeans first introduced the rib or melon basket to Native Americans living along the eastern seaboard, according to Sarah and William Turnbaugh, authors of the book Indian Baskets. This form was adopted by many other groups, including the Cherokee of todays southeastern U.S. and the Iroquois and Algonquians of the northeast. Do it! It often gets commented upon, as you can imagine. Sigh~~, Hi Lisa, thanks so much, you are too sweet. The clue to that decision is the pale to white edge to each damaged area. Also, very glad I read the comments and learned that all baskets are hand made. Adding just a little something to a bud vase design to connect them and make it special. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Palm leaf Hopper-flies (grasshoppers and butterflies), A plait, a braid or a French knot grass collar, Tradition and Technique, Technique and Tradition, "On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me two turtle doves". Matt Tommey is a sculptural basketry artist working in Asheville, North Carolina's River Arts District. My Mom was a great basket maker and used many unusual materials to make her baskets. November 2016 Have you tried that? Ill have to see what other basket makings I can find. My daughter has a book on this topic: Baskets from Natures Bounty She made me a basket from multiflora rose branches. It's High Time for Tea: from craft to art, taking a delicious floral journey with weaving techniques, Floral Trends Design Group Opening Demonstration: 2010, How to avoid your wedding treasures from becoming after the event trash, Magic Flying Floral Carpet Ride -Collaborative Workshop, Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: Snow Globe. Iris leaves are a very good basket material. Braided Iris germanica, tall bearded iris leaves. Wild Iris by Sivia Harding. I was obsessed. Twining using iris leaves. They can be spread out on a clean, dry surface in a shady area with plenty of air movement. And that surely isnt enough I just saw some on the 50% off table at the garden center today. Can you weave with iris leaves? I learned something today about an old art. I was hoping someone might be inspired to give this a try, using iris leaves or whatever is available. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. I love baskets but have never successfully made one, although I have tried several times. Turn the weave to form a diamond shape. Let me know if, make that when you do! 1. You have to have stamina to do all that braiding and then your artistic eye to actually put it together. HA If they are on hand, most craftspeople are happy to answer questions. Thanks Cameron. Echo and Iris twill - M and W design line 40 sett with 4 colors of 10/2 tencel threaded in this order: red purple, variegated teal green/yellow, turquoise, and purple warp. I suggest you take a course with some friends at a shop that sells the materials. Braid with a foldover, not a twist as you go. 20 stitches and 32 rows = 4 inches in Wild Iris Rib Pattern worked in the round Needle size. Pine needles, for example, can be coiled and stitched into tight, compact layers. This is just what we want, still intact and completely tan, no green. Can be used stripped or unstripped best stripped when green. As with most things in art, there's rarely a "right way" to do anything only the way that works for you. Weaving baskets is making a comeback into fashion! Bend the next end piece from the same side as the first piece and weave across. Discard damaged leaves. Any suggestions? Thanks Jen. Yarn weight Fingering (14 wpi) ? Frances. This is a great "space-keeper" design. It took me several evenings to have two bobbins of this, and then to ply. Thanks! Frances, Dear Frances, I am so glad you shared your basket making history with us. Hi Beth. Now when I clean up I can do something constructive with the remains. The flowers of a crested iris have a ridge-like crest on their falls. December 2016 , Hi RG, thanks, so nice to see you! If you can braid hair, you can braid leaves or stems. Flax Christmas tree "cake" for the Floral Trends Design Group end of the year function. harvesting plants for woven baskets takes a little know how to do. 721 Haywood Rd. June 2017 trailer Plants were also used to weave mats for sitting and sleeping on. Frances. Explore. Fresh and naturally wilted day lily foliage for basket weaving. June 2015. Depending on the region, available resources and needs, they take different shapes and forms, each unique to a culture or peoples artistic embellishment. Japanese and Louisiana irises can tolerate moist soil and are excellent for areas near ponds. Loosening the soil in the spring and adding a healthy layer of compost will help give your irises the nutrients they need to grow healthy and lush. My name is Frances and I am a lifelong gardener, having lived in various parts of the USA over many years. In this tutorial I mainly used a balanced plain weave pattern that looks like a checker-board and is often described as a "one-up-one-down weave" or "over and under" pattern. I do love Old House Gardens! I was looking for any uses for pampas grass canes. February 2016 If you need to stop before all the leaves have been used, because your hands are hurting or there is something else that needs your attention, clip the braiding end with the clothespin. The time is right, now is when to look for iris leaves at the peak of perfection for making braids to be used now or later for basket weaving. Turn the leaf over and do the other side. With its wide range of varieties and growing zones, the iris is a hardy plant that can tolerate fluctuations in temperature and humidity. It sounds like the perfect, if longterm project! You would be extremely useful to be stranded with on an island. Its one I set up several years ago and havent gone back to until recently. need to get started are basket weaving plants. (2009), How to Cut Back the Too Tall Late Summer Bloomers, An awkward title that explains about making those very tall asters, mums and others shorter by cutting them down by half in May. Awesome! This week Weave an all natural net to place over a vase to keep your flowers above water. I love making those but the basket making is very enjoyable as well. Ill have to start posting again! This design and Tutorial is a bit of inspiration what will you Weave a trap to keep your floral details suspended in a square container. Jun 13, 2021 - This Pin was created by much nita on Pinterest. A design so fine you can easily miss it if it were not for the interwoven pebbles catching your eye. All Right Reserved. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Start weaving your strips by laying out a row of 6 strips and then weave the other 6 strips through them by going under and over the first set of six. For bearded irises, position rhizomes horizontally in the soil, leaving the top of the rhizome partially exposed. Beargrass Gather a couple of dozen more or less to begin. Just Right! 0000005610 00000 n A blog about weaving, dyeing, knitting, spinning, sewing, and the related fiber arts. The characteristics of an iris petal further segment the plant into three types: bearded, crested, and beardless. Hi Steve, thanks. Frances, this post is wonderful! Enjoy the season and take time to walk through your garden to harvest materials for basket weaving. 0000000796 00000 n Siberian, Bearded, and Japanese irises typically are hardy in USDA zones 3-9; Iris reticulata and Dutch iris are hardy in zones 5-9; and Louisiana iris prefers zones 6-9. Used as an occasional ornamental in gardens and perhaps a symbol for something else (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2017/may/31/pampas-grass-secret-symbol-swingers-turn-off-sales-plummeting ! Put the basket weave inside the egg instead of putting the eggs in a basket. You want it as long as possible so there are fewer joinings, always a weak point in a basket and the idea is for it to be strong. I would just start with the iris leaves, they kind of need to be used at the right moment, not green but still intact is best. It may take a little trial and error to properly prepare and Frances, Pingback: Tweets that mention How To Make Iris Weavers For Basketmaking Fairegarden -- Topsy.com. I became interested in baskets in the mid 1980s. But I L-O-V-E that broom. I would love to know how Plantain/Plantago stalks are used. , Hi Lythrum, thanks. Leave the leaves for an hour in the sun to soften- but no more as this will cause the leaves to roll up or become brittle. This will give you a diagonal weave pattern. The blue is purchased reed, what most baskets are made of, that has been dyed using Rit Dye. 0000005673 00000 n Depending upon the material, you may want to Wait for 6 to 8 weeks after your irises have finished blooming. The grass should just snap but not brake. Frances. Jun 13, 2021 - This Pin was created by much nita on Pinterest. Finally, fresh dogwood branches are gingerly woven around the frame to make the walls. Have you managed to try anything? Some have sharp points on the edges like a holly, and some are deeply lobed like an oak tree. 0000037451 00000 n 0000006732 00000 n Iris germanica Champagne Elegance. Not bad, not bad at all, I must said to you a big bravo. Frances. Hi Ginny, thanks for visiting. How many of you eat lettuce, collards, mustard greens, spinach and chard? August 2015 <> There are many different shapes and sizes of leaves. I have lots of em and may give it a try. Nice site! One of the stands featured baskets made from landscape materials, some made with pine needles. We could not afford the baskets, but did purchase a book about baskets made from natures bounty. Floral Art demonstration: Just Right! When you have used all the leaves, tie the end into a knot. If you can draw and paint, you could certainly make baskets. Go free yourself from dis-ease in your body by grabbing my ebook: MY RAW TILL 4 EBOOK : https://. See honeysuckle for how to peel. It is best to pick only what you are going to use at one sitting and work straight through, with rest periods for sore, aging hands of course. It would be good if you were trapped in a tall tower like Rapunzel: instead of using your hair you could make an excape rope out of Irises. Basketmaking is an art Ive never attempted; I had no idea you could use so many different materials. Take the end blade from the horizontal pieces and weave it over and under across the horizontal blades of iris leaves. However, do not be tempted to remove the foliage before then, as the greenery is still performing photosynthesis, providing the plant with energy necessary for next years blooms. Most baskets are constructed using three basic techniques: the stitched method of coiling and the plaiting and twining methods of weaving. I usually add the pointed end of the leaf to the existing piece, then you will have a double thickness for the more narrow part of the leaf. The flat leaves of cattail and long strips of cedar bark can be folded or plaiteda technique that is also used for making mats. I actually coiled a single daylily leaf around a stack of daylily leaves (the base) for the 1st basket.When I run out of base I just keep adding new leaves into the stack. 0000000015 00000 n It is not ready. No one human group can be credited for their invention, but baskets and containers were valuable items born out of necessity and universally used to gather, carry and store essentials. Hide an egg inside a interwoven nest for a dainty Easter decoration design. Irises that grow from bulbs include Iris reticulata, Spanish (Iris xiphium) and Dutch varieties (Iris x hollandica) and bloom earlier than the rhizomatous irises. November 2021 %PDF-1.4 Some floral fashion inspiration: weave a pretty clutch purse. Jul 16, 2022 - This Pin was created by much nita on Pinterest. - When you reach the place you began, trim the tail and tuck it in to where you started. There is a plastic trash can in the garage that holds my basket making materials. Here is the finished product, about six feet in length. Because some varieties bloom twice, once early in the season and once later in the season, these varieties will appreciate another dose of fertilizer before their second bloom. I became friends with the teacher and continued taking the class for quite a while for the friendship and camraderie. Something very simple. Jul 16, 2022 - This Pin was created by much nita on Pinterest. It, the grass like plant, was difficult to braid, using handfuls of the blades and stems to have enough thickness to be strong. Start weaving a basic weave pattern for the gift box. This basket is messy, always leaving debris wherever it is resting. Accept Read More. As long as the plant bends easily and is not too green, it 9 0 obj You can leave space between the strips or tighten them up close together. Required fields are marked *. Thanks Meredith. You have such an artistic eye, such patience and attention to detail and the final results are lovely. Hours: 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM daily . It should be firmly rigid - if it isn't, add more canes until it is. Did You Really Think I Bought All These Plants? In the eastern part of North America, splits from ash 0000036849 00000 n Before long, I had some extremely ugly, spiny looking string forming. . That is so cool, I bet they sweep stuff very well, and look pretty to boot! We consider this to add character and simply braid around it, letting it stick out, braiding firmly but with not too much pulling to break or tear the leaves. The ring and stakes are grape vine, or the stakes might be WordPress.com 2M followers More information Follow these basic steps to propagate iris plants: Learn tips for creating your most beautiful home and garden ever. You never what can be used for anything until you try! It was made a long time ago. I may never get around to weaving iris leaves, but you have given me a very practical idea for next yearplants gourds next to my compost bin! Cut any extra length. I made a small pine needle basket, it was harder than I thought and didnt turn out that great. Sign up for our newsletter. Place the Kenzan (pin cushion) on the edge of your working surface. Those iris leaves do made beautiful weavers, if you can find the time. August 2015 Gently lift the iris out of the ground and shake out the dirt. Leaves are the plants food factory.