Products woven from vines can serve their owners for many years, performing not only a practical, but also a decorative function. As an interior item, they are successfully used both in the village and in the metropolis.
Weaving baskets of willow with our own hands is a science mastered by our ancestors a few millennia BC. In historical documents from around the world there are references to various wicker baskets, fences, baskets and much more. Products that can be made by learning how to weave are beautiful and diverse. Now weaving from willow is not connected with everyday needs of a person, rather, it is a fashionable hobby and a way to bring beauty and style to the interior.
General weaving
Modern willow baskets are not only accessories for a summer residence, they are full-fledged inhabitants of apartments. They not only bring practical benefits, but also are a highlight, a kind of emphasis in the design of the apartment.
It is important to note that the collection of vines for weaving does not cause any harm to nature, but, on the contrary, rejuvenates the thickets.
Willow weaving is popular today both in rural areas and in large cities. Another advantage of such a hobby - there is no need to purchase materials for work. You can easily prepare them yourself. Willow is a very common plant and grows in almost all regions of Russia. If you like walks in the fresh air, then going for the willow vine will be a pleasant and interesting adventure for you. In some large cities, shops that provide goods for various hobbies begin to trade in wicker vines. There are not many such stores yet, but this is a great option for those who do not know where to find willow thickets in a large city.
Harvesting willow vines for weaving
For weaving, not only willow vine is suitable, but also vine of nut, other flexible species of shrubs and trees. It is better to choose thin long shoots. Take those twigs that do not branch.
For this kind of hobby, both vines that are not peeled from the bark and peeled are suitable. Large items are woven from uncleaned ones: fences, large baskets for fruits and vegetables. Vases, trays, boxes for linen, bread bins and much more are made from peeled vines. An unpeeled vine is called unrooted; a peeled vine is called rooted.
The procurement of materials for weaving is carried out in autumn or spring. In summer, willow shoots are very brittle due to active growth, and are not suitable for weaving.
Harvested in spring shoots clear of bark immediately, without additional preparation. Harvested autumn shoots are boiled before cleaning. Harvesting and preparing the vines for weaving is a simple matter, but it takes time and effort.
But when willow weaving for beginners step by step captivates you and drags, and the finished wicker thing becomes your pride, the time and effort spent will be fully paid off by the charge of positive energy that you will receive.
Necessary tools
What do we need in the process of work? Weaving willow for beginners, step by step described in the article, requires at least a good margin of patience. Making a basket from a vine is more difficult than weaving it from newspaper tubes. Natural material is less malleable and can break.
Some tools are needed for work.
Prepare:
- Awl.
- Stationery knife.
- Secateurs.
- Side cutters.
- Spray bottle filled with water to spray the vines.
Technology
Classically weave baskets starting from the bottom. Then weave walls, a bend. Pens - last.
To begin weaving baskets of willow for beginners step by step it is advisable with models of round products. To make it, you will need to learn just a few tricks:
- Technology manufacturing a round bottom.
- Weaving rope.
- Layered weaving technique.
- Bending
Work in the weaving process must be tamped and crushed so that the basket does not turn out to be too shaky. The rods must be laid tightly and evenly, without covering each other.
After the technique of manufacturing a round basket is mastered, you can move on to more complex lace products from twigs. Experienced craftsmen decorate their baskets with braids, weave birch bark, straws and wooden beads into them. The design and shape of such baskets are limited only by the imagination of the master.
The finished thing is varnished. It is recommended to use water-based varnish. It is odorless and environmentally friendly. Products coated with water-based varnish can be safely used in the children's room or in the kitchen.
Interesting willow weaving ideas
Weaving from the vine can be almost anything. Often, landscape designers order wickers made of twigs made of twigs to decorate the garden. The garden is decorated with wickers, and it is quite possible to place a rocking chair on the open veranda. You can weave and stools, a small table of willow vines for gatherings in the open air.
This affordable eco-friendly material makes even decorations and New Year's gifts. For a children's room, a cradle of untreated rods is suitable. Children enjoy sleeping in such natural, environmentally friendly cradles.
Rectangular wicker baskets arranged on shelves and racks are suitable for storing clothes, magazines and newspapers, all sorts of household items.
Any housewife will be able to find application for wickerwork in her home. The ability to weave from a rod will surely come in handy in your life at least for arranging your own life, and maybe it will become a source of additional income for you.
Now that you have learned about what weaving is, how to weave from willow, the workshop below will teach you how to weave round baskets from vines. With such a basket it will be possible to go on picnics with friends or to the country with children.
Weaving baskets of willow for beginners (master class)
Let's start making the basket with the preparation of willow vines. The vine is best cut in May, before the willow begins to bloom. You can cut the vines in August, when new willow shoots grow on the willow.
Preparing willow twigs
We immediately remove the bark from the cut branches and leave our vine for five days in the shade in the open air.
After the vine is prepared and laid down, we begin weaving baskets of willow. The technology is this: weave the bottom and edges of the product with round whole rods, the walls with a vine split into several parts.
How to split a vine
To split the vine into pieces, you will need a special cleaver of hardwood. An incision is made at the end of the vine with a knife, a cleaver is inserted into it, and the vine is split into 2, 3 or 4 parts.
The split branches are soaked in water for several hours, and then the brown center is removed. For processing a split vine, a planer is recommended.
Before weaving from the vine, it must be moistened. This can be done using a spray gun or dropping branches for several minutes in the water.
Having prepared a sufficient amount of vines, we begin weaving baskets of willow.
Tips for beginners: how to weave a basket
Carefully consider the process of creating the basket in the figure. First, the bottom of the basket is woven, then ribs are added and the sides are woven along them. At the very end is a pen.
If you know the technology of making baskets from paper tubes, then know - weaving from willow for beginners is almost the same step by step.
We carry out the work in the following order:
- To make the bottom of the basket, split the five rods in the middle with a knife and insert five other rods into the holes. In the same holes we insert the tips of the first two.
- We make a braid of the bottom. The first rod needs to cover the split rods from above, and the second to cover those that are threaded into the split rods from below.
- We also perform the third and fourth round.
- We spread the rods of the cross in the form of a fan and braid with two branches of willow.
- We press the rods to each other with the help of an awl.
- When the bottom reaches the size we need, we set the edges of the basket in our weaving of willow. For beginners, step by step explain this process. For the ribs we use round twigs. The ends of them are obliquely cut to a distance of about 5 cm. The sharp ends are inserted into the braid of the bottom. We cut off the excess ends of the vine. The bottom edges are braided from four round rods that are inserted 4 cm near the side ribs of the basket. To give the basket the necessary shape, we make a blank, as in fig. 9. We beat the bottom of the basket to it with the help of small cloves.
- We finish the braid of the bottom, cut off the excess twigs.
- We turn to weaving the sides. Cut the ends to new twigs. We take twigs of medium thickness. Along each twig of the base we insert new branches.
- We bend new rods under two adjacent left, down, and then up.
- We also bend the remaining branches of the vine. The last two branches can not be bent. We simply wrap them around the first. We weave the sides of the basket until they reach the height we need.
- We begin to weave a pen. We take thick shoots of vines, bend them and determine the length of the handle. We cut off the excess vine.
- We sharpen the ends of the vine and insert them into the walls of the basket. Next to the handle we insert five branches, and wrap the handle around them. We hide the excess ends of the vine between the walls of the basket.
- Take a thin twig and wrap it around the edges of the handle. We hide the tips of the twig and cut off the excess.
- Do-it-yourself willow basket completion. A simple round basket of willow vines is ready.
Follow the procedure shown in the figures. A little training - and you will succeed.
Conclusion
Having mastered the technique of weaving round baskets from vines, you can then learn how to weave square and oval baskets and boxes, learn how to weave willow hedges for beginners step by step, then proceed to the manufacture of wicker furniture and more complex products. The growth of your skills and mastery depends only on the amount of your free time and the desire to engage in weaving. Weaving from willow vines is an interesting and accessible activity for everyone.