Basket Making Tutorials

I have developed my own way of doing things. in this video I show you how I make the checkerboard patterns with alternating wrapped and unwrapped sections with secure connection to previous row while hiding the jump stitch with a hidden stitch. I share my process of designing a basket and why I make the decisions that I do. I also share some helpful tips while working a pine needle basket. I have included time stamps for your convenience. 00:13 Introduction 3;52 Ending & Starting a Thread 7:33 How to do the Checkerboard Stitch 16:33 The Hidden Jump Stitch 18:07 About Needles and Keeping the Gauge 22:07 Short Review of Process 24:14 Short Review of Hidden Jump Stitch 25:09 About Artificial Sinew 26:05 The Wrap Up ~ Finishing For more Pine Needle Basketry tutorials you will find more videos on my Rumble Channel devoted to nothing but Pine Needle Basket Making. The channel is called CarmonaArts with tutorials you won't find on my YouTube Channel.

I like to design a coiled basket in a way to disguise the abrupt start and finish which is often seen in oiled baskets. So I worked out this star design to do just that.

In this video I discuss the different thread options possible for making pine needle baskets and the qualities of those threads so you can make your choice of which thread is best for your project.

How I made a twisted handle for a berry basket.

Sometimes it is desired or necessary to create large opening or windows when shaping a basket. The Faggoting Stitch is a great way to fill in those gaps and lends to a unique design. In this video I teach how to do the faggoting stitch, how to prepare an area for it and show you why the order of things done is important.

I like to have a center to start my baskets. Sometimes I cut them from wood and sometimes I buy them. Some of the bought ones needs some modifications such as wood burning touches, staining, and drilling holes etc. I show you my process in this video.

In this video I share how I add embellishments with a wood burning tool on molded wood centers in preparation for making centers for baskets. You can purchase these at craft stores such as Hobby Lobby but you will have to drill the holes yourself.

When pine needles are put through a Glycerin Bath they will have more flexibility and are less likely to break when bending them to shape your basket so it eliminates the need to soak them before coiling. In this video I show you my process to prepare the needles with a Glycerin bath and also how I dye them. I also share tips about bundling and storage of the needles.

The ti stitch is great stitch for creating a sturdy basket because it has what I call a locking stitch that holds the stitches in place. When done correctly it can prevent the coiled needles from slipping. I am working with waxed sinew but I also show you how this stitch looks using cotton thread as well.

In this video I share my special technique in completing a wrapped row forming a continuous circle from start to finish and transition into the second row so that I have a smooth non abrupt transition from first to second row. It takes some practice to get good at this. The more I do it the better I have become. In some of my more recent videos you will see the improvement. In my next video I will begin teaching stitches such as the "Ti Stitch" and after that I will teach how to do the "Wheat Stitch"

This video will get you started in pine needle basket making. With this video I am starting with a 4" wood center that can be purchased from a craft store. I drilled the holes myself with a 3/32" drill bit. The holes are drilled between 1/4" - 1/2". The closer the better because as the basket diameter expands your stitches will grow further apart so get the holes as close as possible from the start. After drilling the holes lightly sand the back of the center. Then you may stain and or varnish if desired. My first row is a wrapped row. I like to start with a wrapped row for the first row. Look for part 2 "Finishing the Wrapped Row" to complete this first row. The needles are dyed green not naturally green. They were light brown when I dyed them. Fresh green needles will turn brown. I will upload a video how to prepare and dye pine needles.

In my pursuit of perfection in basket making I prefer my baskets to have smooth transitions from start to finish. I have developed a method of what I call a continuous circle even in a coiled basket. In this video tutorial I show you how I create such a finish on the final wrapped row where the beginning and the end are indistinguishable. I will be uploading a series of pine needle basket making tutorials I am an award winning basket maker. I will be sharing my tips here on this channel. Subscribe to be notified when my videos post.

In this video I show how to do the Wheat Stitch which can be a decorative stitch. In the last video I created stems with the Ti Stitch in brown sinew. I changed to the natural color sinew for the tops of the wheat stems. The Wheat stitch can be a useful stitch when your spokes become too far far apart as mine was in this basket. The holes were just under 1/2". I would have been better if they were closer to 1/4" apart. But anyway I used the wheat stitch to look purposeful in my design and to help have stitches closer together for the strength of my basket.

The tree round is oval shape but I want that basket to be heart shape so here is how I prepared the heart shape to fit the oval. I invented a new tool to help me.

When my sister cut down a tree she made a discovery of a heart in the center of the tree so I offered to make her a basket with it and of course it had to be a heart shaped basket. In this video I show you the process of preparing the tree round as a basket center.

In this video I share my process of collecting, cleaning, drying, and storing pine needles in preparation for basket making. The reason they should be cleaned is you never know if an animal has urinated on the needles being picked up from the ground plus they could have bugs. I only pick from freshly fallen needles after a recent wind or rain storm. I do not pick from the bottom as they will have lain a while and may have mold growing on them. Sometimes I gather needles from freshly fallen branches. In that case the needles will be green and will need to dry out. I pluck them from the branches and lay out on my front porch in shallow layers to dry. The needles will not remain green. They will turn to a rust-brown or a light brown color as they dry. You can also purchase needles online from those who sell them. I do not sell needles. Not all sellers do a great job of cleaning, drying, and bundling them so you may need to clean purchased needles from some buyers. The further south needles come from the longer they will be. Depending on the type of tree I can find needles from 4", 6" 9" and up to 12" in South Carolina. Florida Long Leaf Needles can be 15" - 22" long. Do not bundle needles until they are completely dry so mold will not grow on them. Store in paper or cardboard boxes not plastic especially if you live in humid climates because they may collect moisture and begin to grow mold.