Affiliated materials
This is a subject that has the potential to be endless. The variety of materials that could be paired with willow are numerous and wide ranging, limited perhaps only by the imagination, so rather than go on a theoretical tour of possibilities (which I might be inclined to do at a later date), I will instead be focusing on those that I use. They are relatively simple. In addition to willow and oak, I tend only to add leather, wood, wire hoops and cordage.
Leather is one of those areas that I had not envisaged dabbling in when I started out on my weaving journey, but which has become, like electrics and carpentry, an incidental skill. It acts, most obviously, as an alternative to willow for handles, but can also be used for strapping, as in the case of a willow backpack for example. The pliancy of willow means that even when coming to additions on a basket, such as a handle, it can be cranked, twisted and woven to ensure incredible strength and durability. However, these handles, once woven, remain rigid. Leather acts as an excellent alternative to willow for a more flexible handle. I have used leather for handles on handbags and log baskets where they add a more contemporary look and greater scope for ease of carrying. Additionally, as leather comes in a variety of colours, this can be taken into consideration when choosing the right look. Although I personally have only worked with natural tones, I have seen bright colours used by other Basketmakers to great effect.
Wood, and specifically oak, was covered last month (see journal post titled “Oak”), so I won’t labour the point here. Suffice to say that with a shed burgeoning with offcuts and “interesting pieces” that have no specific purpose other than that they seemed too good to burn, my brain is always working on ways of integrating them into my practice, coupled of course with willow.
Wire – this is an interesting one for me. I have spent many years advocating for the wonders of willow, and rightly so. It is enormously versatile and lends itself to a vast array of uses, one of which is being bent into beautiful circles, which when secured and allowed to dry, retain their circular shape. It is perhaps strange then that I choose to forgo this option and instead use wire hoops for my frame style baskets and wall hanging shelves. The reason I do this is simply for aesthetics. Where my designs call for crisp circles, I use wire hoops to set the shape. When these require reinforcing throughout the weave, I use willow, but my primary sizing and shaping calls for wire. For a long time I did what most basket makers do when they want a circular frame, and that is to take a chunky willow rod, slype the ends over a prolonged distance to allow for a good length of end-to-end overlap, and then use a tie to hold this in place while they dry and set. However, they always resulted in a chunky look that simply didn’t fit with the design I was looking for. Wire is now my preferred choice, and is used alongside willow supports for much of my work.
Finally, it is definitely worth discussing foraged finds and cordage. Many Basketmakers are integrating other natural materials into their weaving in addition to willow. Naturally pliable materials such as honeysuckle, wisteria, dogwood, hazel and ivy can be woven into baskets for decorative effect. Willow bark can be stripped and used either for small strips of decorative bark within a willow basket, or for making complete items as a standalone weaving medium, such as willow bark pouches. Also, increasingly popular at the moment is the use of cordage. This is a twine/string that can be made by using a specific method to twist prepared strips of material into lengths. Dandelion, willow bark, stinging nettle, bramble, bullrush, iris and day lily can all be used, alongside many others - the list is almost endless. Although I rarely integrate this into my work currently, I do offer a celebration weave day. During this day, a group of family members or friends work simultaneously on the creation of one larger basket by weaving into it individually prepared lengths of cordage made from different materials (a sample basket is used as the image for this entry). One person – often the “celebrant” then gets to take this home. It is a wonderful collaborative project which allows the opportunity to share time, learn new skills and work on a shared project that is made from strands of natural fibres, each lovingly hand twined.
What next then, for affiliated materials? If you’ve had experience with weaving and want to experiment, my advice would be to get playful - forage, read, investigate…It’s extremely hard to go so wrong that you don’t come away with something that is at the very least, functional. You will learn what you love and what works best for you. For myself, looking towards the future, and knowing that it is important for me to always be moving slightly forwards with my practice, what is my next challenge? At the moment it looks as though I may be adding metalwork to my list of skills. This isn’t necessarily to weave with, but does have a distinct purpose within my practice. I can’t give away too many spoilers at the moment, but I promise to keep you posted…..