How to Make a Miniature Coiled Basket
Native American coiled baskets are functional and decorative. Pine needles and sweet grass are among the most commonly used basket material, and traditional Navajo basket makers often utilize three-leaf sumac for their baskets. Larger baskets may be used for storage or work purposes, and coating a basket with pinion pitch creates a waterproof bowl or water jug. Miniature coiled baskets are usually more decorative than functional, and Kathleen Peelen Krebs of The Herb Companion recommends using the tiny baskets as tree ornaments or pendants. Miniature baskets make excellent holders for small articles such as hair pins and jewelry.
Things You'll Need
- Scissors
- 3 yards waxed dental floss
- Pine needles
- Wool or tapestry needle
- Dried herb sprigs, optional
- Beads or embellishments, optional
Instructions
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1
Prepare the pine needles by soaking them overnight. Cut the sheath ends off of 30 to 40 long needles. Thread a wool or tapestry needle -- size 16, 18, 20 or 22 -- with 1 yard of dental floss, leaving the end unknotted.
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2
Gather several soaked pine needles into a small bundle. Join the needles together approximately 1/2 inch from one end, by wrapping five times with the end of the dental floss. Create a very small loop at the wrapped end of the pine needle bundle by folding the unwrapped 1/2 inch over and secure the loop by wrapping with floss.
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Coil the bundle of needles around the loop, securing with floss at a spacing of about 1/8 inch. Continue coiling and stitching until the base of the basket is the desired diameter. For a miniature basket, between 1 and 2 inches is sufficient for the base.
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Moving upward from the base, continue to coil and stitch. This is the point at which to add sprigs of lavender, rosemary or other fragrant herb, if desired. Beads or other embellishments can also be added to the basket by threading them onto the floss at random intervals. When it becomes necessary to add more floss, tie the new length of floss to the end of the old and hide the knot between basket coils. Continue until the basket is the desired height, and taper the sides toward the top by adding fewer pine needles. Tie off the floss and snip, tucking the end between coils.
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Tips & Warnings
Green needles will shrink, causing the basket to become uneven over time. Brown, dried needles prevent this problem.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
