Weaving from straws: types, techniques, a detailed master class with a photo

Weaving from straws is an old type of folk craft, widely used in Russia. Household items, shoes, toys and much more were made from it. As raw materials, stalks of rye, barley, oats and wheat were used. When dry, the straw is very brittle, but after steaming it acquires plasticity and softness, and when dried, it becomes stiff and retains the shape of the product.

Many books have been written about this needlework. Weaving from straws was paid attention to such authors as O. Lobachevskaya, A. Grib, collecting many copyright schemes in their publications. In the article, we will consider needlework techniques for beginners.

Material preparation

For weaving from straws (a master class will be presented below), a rye stalk is best suited. Of all cereals, it is distinguished by the greatest length and strength. When soaked, the stalks of rye acquire softness and plasticity. Other types of straws are also suitable for weaving, but have their own characteristics. For example, a wheat stalk is much thicker, tougher and shorter, but has its own characteristic golden tint.

Material is prepared for weaving articles from straws in late July - the first half of August, when the spikelets begin to ripen. A section of the stem is made under the root. If the workpiece is wet and green, it will begin to rot and blacken. To avoid this, it must be thoroughly dried.

Do this by spreading the stems with a layer of medium thickness on a flat horizontal surface. From time to time they are turned over to improve the quality of drying. The green stems, kept in the shade, excellently retain color. The straws dried under the sun burn out a little and acquire a rich golden hue.

After the initial preparation, the stems are cleaned of unnecessary leaves. Do it as follows. The stalk is cut into pieces at the nodes. Moreover, cutting off the knee, at the same time remove the sheet connected to it. After completing this procedure, they proceed to sorting by length and thickness. Selected, peeled and dried straws are placed in boxes. In this form, it can be stored for several years without losing its external qualities and plastic properties.

For weaving from straws (photos of the work are presented in the article), it is advisable to use the three upper, thinnest knees, the thickness of which is evenly distributed along the entire length. Before starting work, the straw is soaked or steamed with boiling water. The approximate number of stems necessary for creativity is selected and immersed in a basin with water or another container of the appropriate size. If the raw materials were prepared recently, it is enough to soak the stems for 30 minutes in cool water. Old straw is poured with hot liquid and pressed with a press. In this form, the material is aged until it becomes flexible. However, it is worth remembering that if you leave the straw in the water for a long time, it will begin to blacken.

Then, still wet material is wrapped with a slightly wet cloth or plastic film so that it remains wet during weaving. The excess can be dried and used in the future.

Further in the article we will consider straw weaving techniques. They are not very complex, but require attention and perseverance.

Direct weaving

There are several basic techniques for working with straws. Each of them allows you to get a unique pattern at the output and is suitable for the manufacture of an object. Before you start working directly with the stems, you can apply weaving from paper straws. This will be a great visual training, especially for beginners.

Direct weaving resembles the process of weaving the fabric on the machine. This technique requires flat, flattened stalks of straw. For this, the soaked thick stem is ironed with the blunt side of the knife or with a needle, pressing and straightening on a hard surface from the front and back sides. Manipulation is continued until the straw becomes flat.

This simple technique is suitable for weaving from straws beginners to comprehend this needlework. The process is carried out according to the scheme in the following sequence:

1. First, lay out the required number of ribbons from straw (it is determined by the wicker scheme).
2. Vertically, their beginning is glued or pressed by a press.
3. Then, even straws are lifted from one end through one, and a stem is threaded between them in the horizontal direction.
4. After this, the steps are repeated, but already with odd vertical stripes. Stack the next horizontal stalk.
5. In this way, weaving is continued along the entire length of the straw.
6. Then the strips are more closely adjusted to each other and dried under a press.

If weaving is performed at an angle, the straws are laid not through one, but through a pair of vertical stems. In each row, the strips are slightly shifted to one or the other side by one element.

Spiral weaving

This is a bit more complicated work than the previous one, but quite doable even for a beginner. The basis of the technique of this type of weaving from straws is a tourniquet. In the process of manufacturing an object, volume and shape are formed. The tourniquet is laid in a spiral. Due to this, at each turn there is the possibility of increasing the height or reducing the size of the product. Using the technique of spiral weaving, objects of rounded or spherical shape or a similar base are made.

From moist stems form a bunch of a certain thickness. Its end is wrapped with tape or thread, bent by two centimeters and pulled together. Then the bundle is wrapped once more, forming the first spiral coil. So repeat three times and spread the second loop. At the same time, each turn is connected together by a thread and tied with a needle.

Then the thread is pulled through the first loop, in this way the outer turn is connected to the inner. To create a tight weave, at each subsequent hauling, the thread is pulled as tight as possible. Next, the product is expanded and continues to be laid in a spiral, sequentially pulling the loop.

The thickness of the tow, first of all, depends on the size of the manufactured item. For large items, long stems are used, and for smaller items, pre-sorted straw slices.

Volumetric weaving

This is a more complex technique compared to the previously described methods. Braids made in volume are used as cords, decorative elements or parts for assembling an integral composition. Depending on the final shape of the product, a rigid frame made of wire, rods and other materials can be used during weaving from straws.

One of the simplest options for such work is a double pigtail. Weave it from one stem, which in the process bends at an angle of 45 °. The fracture line is slightly shifted to the side, then one half will be longer and it will be easier to build straws. The ends of the pigtails as a result will be at right angles to each other.

First, the left part is bent at a right angle, and the right one is behind it. The end, which turned out to be from below, is thrown from top to bottom, after which another is taken and bent from right to left. In this way, the steps are repeated until the braids of the desired length are made.

Weaving a pattern of two stems is performed counterclockwise. The product should be dense, uniform, with a triangle in cross section. After weaving, the pigtail is stretched like an accordion, then it will take the form of a spiral.

Flat pigtails

Using this technique of weaving from straws, you can create durable ribbons. Subsequently, various objects are made of them: decorative panels, hats, accessories and even straw sculptures. If the stem length was not enough during the weaving process, it is lengthened in one of three ways:

1. Another, thinner or thicker stem is inserted into the slice of the straw.
2. At a distance of two centimeters from the end of the straw, a new element is superimposed on it and weaving continues.
3. The end of the stem is split with another straw.

In order to get a clear and even pattern, you must adhere to the following instructions:

1. For braiding, you need to choose straws of the same length and thickness. As a rule, such a straw is harvested from the middle part of the stem. If there is not enough material, and the tape needs to be made long, proceed as follows. Before you start weaving from straws, the stems are folded at different ends, one with the thicker part, and the other with the thin one. Such a trick will allow you to perform the product evenly.
2. Straw builds up only after weaving the previous joint.
3. The bends should be fixed at the right angle, for the clarity of the lines they are stroking with your fingers.
4. The weave should be tight, as it weakens as it dries.
5. Immediately after completing work on the product, it is rolled several times with a rolling pin to give it the same shape.

Weaving “catfish” from straws: master class

Such an element can be made of two, four or six straws. Consider the simplest execution scheme:

1. We take two stems, put one on top of the other and bend it back. The upper element is directed to the left, and the lower one to the right.
2. Then we grab the upper right straw and bend it back (we get two elements lying in parallel). Then again we take it and we wind it back under the first to the second tube. It turns out on the left are two parallel and on the right are two parallel stems.
3. Again we take the same straw and put it back behind the distant straw. Now it is located horizontally.
4. And again, we take this same straw back to the nearest tube. Now she is already running diagonally and parallel to the right stalk.
5. Now take the leftmost straw and plant it horizontally back behind the distant stem. Then she diagonally leads back to the neighbor.
6. After that, take the tube to the far right and take it horizontally back behind the distant straw. Then we start it diagonally back behind the near tube.
7. Then we repeat similarly from the sixth to the ninth row.

The work is done.

For a better understanding of the process, you can study the weaving pattern of “catfish” of four straws, presented in the photo below.

Fragment Stitching

To obtain a product, the whole braid or individual parts are sewn together. Depending on the type of franment and the product itself, the method of fastening is selected:

1. Butt stitching is suitable for creating flat objects: mats, panels, rugs, etc. It is performed as follows: pigtails alternately grab the needle by the edges and pull it together. The threads must be strong so that during the manipulation they do not break, and the product lasts a long time.
2. Cross stitching is suitable for the manufacture of voluminous things and compositions, for example, hats, boxes, baskets, lampshades, bowls, etc. Most often, round products are fastened in this way. Starting from the center, stitching is done in a spiral. Each subsequent turn is superimposed on the previous layer by one third of the width of the braid and attached. Before starting stitching, the tape is well moistened to make it softer and more plastic. The finished product is ironed through a wet cloth or tapped with a hammer.

Triple and quadruple pigtail

These are two more varieties of straw elements. The triple braid is braided according to the same principle as the usual one, by alternately overlapping the ends of the straw. One stalk is placed vertically and alternately with the left and right duct weaving a fragment at right angles. When one end ends, it is being expanded and work continues. An important nuance: you need to weave in the direction away from you.

The quad braid looks like a ribbon and is flexible. The technique of its implementation is similar to the previous type of weaving, but in this case four ends are involved, which form two bent straws. One is placed horizontally, and the other is bent through it:

• the second end is started for the fourth parallel to the third;
• then the fourth from yourself is passed under the second on top of the third end and parallel to the first;
• after that, the first is laid on top of the fourth, the second is passed on from under the third and laid on top of the first and fourth.

In this way, weaving continues further, while it is important to ensure that the extreme straw on the right side is bent away from itself, and the extreme one on the left is bent toward itself.

Making finishing lashes

Such elements are necessary for the edging of sewn parts from straw and decoration of wooden, cardboard and other types of products. They come in two types: flat and screw. For their manufacture, the latter requires at least four straws.

Flat weaving from straws of braids is carried out as follows:

1. Four straws bind at the base. Two stalks in the middle are the basis, throughout the weaving they will remain close, and the two extreme ones will braid them.
2. Starting from the right extreme straw, one end is planted under the central stems, and then the other, the extreme left.
3. The right straw is laid on top of the central parts and pressed from above with the far left end, bending down and conducting under the middle straws.
4. On the opposite side, a stem laid on top of the main tubes is pressed in the same way.

Screw finishing weaving is as follows:

1. Four stems are tied together.
2. The rightmost tube is inserted under the two central ones over the leftmost one.
3. Then the leftmost element is passed over the central straws and under the rightmost one.
4. The resulting knot is tightened and weaving continues, but now the right and left stems are changing roles.

Weaving continues according to a similar pattern. In the process, each new assembly forms twisting along a helix. If you start the execution from the left stem, twisting will occur clockwise.

Weaving from straws: master class

To make a flower you will need:

• straw;
• willow twig;
• PVA glue;
• threads.

The following is a step by step weaving:

1. The weaving of flowers from straws begins with the fact that you need to cut a thread one meter long and bend four times so that when folded, a 25-centimeter length is obtained. For the stem, take a willow twig and dip the end in PVA glue. 20 straws 15 cm long are applied to the rod and wrapped tightly with folded thread. It turned out a stamen.
2. Now you can start making petals. For this, nine straws of the same length and thickness are selected. Two of them are laid crosswise and bent. Then the right end is brought back, and the left is bent forward.
3. Then continue the opposite. The left end is pushed back, while the right end is pushed forward.
4. Now you need to add the straw so that the cross is on top of it, and both ends are left behind.
5. The resulting crossbar is bent back over one end of the cross, and then the other. Weaving continues until a flower of the desired length is obtained.
6. An extreme straw is planted for the next straw. Then they do the same on the other side, and in the middle they cross.
7. Weaving continues until the straw is over. If the stems dry out during weaving, they are additionally moistened.

To make a flower, you need five to seven petals. When all the details are ready, proceed to the collection of the flower:

1. The thread is folded four times, so that as a result, a length of 35 cm is obtained.
2. The end of the finished stamen is dipped in glue and two petals are glued.
3. They are wound at the base with thread and tied in a knot.
4. Then stick and attach the remaining petals.
5. The ends of the thread are cut and hidden inside.

Weaving the bottom for the basket

The shape of the future product determines the number of stems crossed at the preparation stage. For example, for a hexagon, three crossed straws are sufficient, while for an octagon four are needed.

Weaving from straws - a master class for beginners to weave a basket:

1. Prepare four identical in length and thickness of the stem.
2. A thin, stiff wire is inserted into each of them.
3. Then they are crossed and connected in the middle with a thread in tone of straw.
4. The stems are distributed so that there are equal gaps between them. In the center, a straw is fixed, which will braid the frame. In order to get as few connections as possible, the tube must be the longest of those available.
5. The braid is carried out in a circle, skipping the end alternately on top and bottom of the cross. Each turn should pass as tightly as possible to the previous one.
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