How to Prepare Commercial Reed for Weaving

Contributor

By eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating: (1 Ratings)

Reed is made from the core of rattan.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Untie the pre-bundled reed and remove the amount of reed you will need for your basket project.
Step 2

Remove any damaged reed. If an end of a piece is damaged, remove the bad section and save the shorter reed to make spokes for a square basket.
Step 3

Fill a 5-gallon bucket or large dishpan about half full with water to soak your reed.
Step 4

Coil reed and place in water.
Step 5

Let reed soak for a few minutes until it is pliable or will bend without breaking when wrapped loosely around your finger. Cane will need to be soaked longer.

Tips & Warnings

Dye reed and let it dry completely before you re-soak to use for your basket.
When soaking your reed to make it pliable, use one bucket for dyed reed and one bucket for natural colored reed to prevent staining of your natural reed.
Let unused reed dry completely and re-coil to use later.
Moldy reed can be dipped in a weak solution of bleach water, rinsed, and dyed.