How to Weave Basket Easy Ti Leaves

How to weave your own baskets

Use simple techniques for an amazing result! - by

Sure, Easter is about chocolate, but it also gives you the opportunity to spend time with your family. So why not have a go at making Melissa's Easter basket with your kids? Since baskets can be woven from a variety of bendy materials, you can use stuff you find in the backyard or park to save money and give it a natural look. And by the time Easter rolls around, your children will have a cute basket to put all their eggs in.

WATCH: Melissa makes woven Easter baskets

One of the oldest crafts in the world, weaving is also one of the easiest. At least when it comes to basket making! You don't need any special tools or skills, just the simple techniques for interlacing branches and vines that have been used for millennia. And there's usually a great supply of basket-making materials in your own backyard - it's the ultimate upcycling of your garden prunings! Add in a few items you probably already have, or can pick up at the hardware store, such as natural twine and plant ties, and you're ready to weave your way to bespoke baskets.

Brent Wilson

Project 1: How to hang a woven log basket

Gather your supplies

Log slice
100mm flat head galvanised nails
Twisted paper rope
Plastic or a plant pot
Assorted plants

You'll also need

Tape measure
Black marker pen
Drill
Hammer
Scissors
Black texta
Garden gloves
Potting mix

For you to note

The size of your woven basket will depend on the diameter and thickness of your log slice, and the length of your nails.
For a slice about 12cm in diameter, use 100mm nails. You can also get nails that are 50, 75 and 150mm long.

Here's how

Step 1

Brent Wilson

Wrap tape measure around log slice, and mark nail locations, about 5mm in from the edge and evenly spaced about 20mm apart, with a marker pen.

Step 2

Brent Wilson

Drill pilot holes at marked locations on the log slice so the timber doesn't split.

Step 3

Brent Wilson

Carefully hammer in a galvanised nail at each predrilled hole.

Step 4

Brent Wilson

Leaving a 30mm tail in the centre of the slice, and starting at the base, weave paper rope around nails, going around the outside of one nail, then around the inside of the next. Continue around log slice in this way, then, when you get to the starting point, weave the next row in the opposite way - on the outside or inside - of each nail.

Step 5

Brent Wilson

Continue weaving paper rope to the top, pushing down the rope as you go to create a tight weave, stopping just under the nail heads. Tip: Tuck in the tail left at the base.

Step 6

Brent Wilson

Take paper rope over the top row to outside of basket, then weave it under 2 rows of rope to the inside. Bring it back up, then over and under in the next section between 2 nails. Keep going and, when you have gone around the entire basket to form a top edge, trim rope with scissors and tuck tail into the weave.

Step 7

Brent Wilson

Use a thick black texta to blacken the top of each nail head and leave to dry for a few minutes.

Step 8

Brent Wilson

Line basket with plastic or a pot, part-fill with potting mix, position plants, then add more mix, firming it down gently. Water in.

Sue Ferris

Project 2: How to weave a hanging basket

Step 1

Brent Wilson

Using clean and sharp secateurs, cut pliable branches or vines up to 3m long and trim cuttings.

Step 2

Brent Wilson

Fashion up to 8 branches at least 2m long into U shapes, securing at base with paper twist ties.

Step 3

Brent Wilson

At the top, wrap plant wire around branches at least 200mm from ends. Wrap a branch around the join 6-8 times to cover wire, tucking in the ends.

Step 4

Brent Wilson

Starting at the base, poke a branch in the centre, then weave it over and under cage branches, alternating the weaving on each row. At the top, tuck in the branch end. Use a length of coir twine as a hanger.

Sue Ferris