Beginners Willow Basketry

Fri 7 & 14 November, 10am - 4pm
(2 day course)

Join master basket weaver Anna Liebmann for two fun and sociable days of beginners willow basketry and create a beautiful oval trug basket followed by other willow projects of your choice. We’ll start with a dried hoop onto which you’ll attach wooden ribs to create a basket or tray form, using soaked flexible willow. We’ll build up our baskets using successive weaving, adding and shaping of more ribs to create the right shape. Choose whether to add one central handle or two side handles to make the basket of your choice. Select from the warm and varied hues of willow provided to create banded patterns within your weaving. The frame basketry technique is a vernacular style that was traditionally used to build Scottish fishing baskets, a great heritage skill that we are proud to continue.

If you complete your oval drug in time you’ll be free to explore further small projects which will hopefully inspire you to make ethical and regenerative festive decorations and meaningful gifts. Anna will bring a variety of samples such as nut baskets, decorative stars and bird feeders, to inspire your creative weaving.

Once you’ve mastered the basic principals in this beginners willow weaving workshop you’ll be well equipped to go on to make baskets under your own steam. We will be working with specially grown basketry willow but Anna will pass on a wealth of valuable information about other suitable plants, and where to find them. If you have any flexible material you would like to incorporate into your basket please feel free to bring them along to week and we’ll work on incorporating them into your basket. One year old pruning of most woods should be suitable, dog wood is a big favourite.
Beginners Willow Basketry is suitable for both beginners and improvers. It’s a great place to start if you’ve never woven before, or if you’ve taken one of Anna’s classes with us already this is a brilliant additional skill to add to your basket weaving repertoire.

You may also like the following events from Central Scotland School of Craft:

• This Tuesday, 19th August, 10:00 am, Willow Basketry Summer School in Dunblane
• This Saturday, 23rd August, 10:00 am, Indigo Dyeing Workshop in Dunblane
• Next Saturday, 30th August, 10:00 am, Needle Felted Corals Workshop in Dunblane

Also check out other Workshops in Dunblane.