An immersive day in the woods, making natural cordage and looping it into a bag, with the beautiful colours and texture of English rush. A really popular technique in contemporary basketry and textiles.
This bag is perfect for storing or carrying, and is an introduction to looped (knotless) netting.
Rush is a beautiful native wild plant that has a long tradition of use in basketmaking. It’s soft, lovely to work with, and has gorgeous hues from green through to gold.
What you’ll learn
Firstly, how to make English rush into cordage. Then you’ll learn how to loop it into a strong and semi-pliable structure. Ruby will also teach how to make denser and more open structures, and how to create a good shape to your bag. There will be samples of looping made from a variety of wild foraged plants to inspire you.
There’s archaeological evidence of this kind of looping from Mesolithic times in mainland Europe. It’s a technique that’s remained essentially unchanged since then, and is loved by contemporary basketmakers and fibre artists.
