How to Gather Wild Materials for Weaving

Wild materials such as vines, grasses, and pine needles will add another texture to your basket. Commercial and wild materials can be mixed and matched for a unique look.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Feed Sacks
• Natural Basket Supplies
• Gloves
• Gloves
• Gloves
• Pruning Shears
• Pruning Shears
• Old Scissors
• Plastic Bucket
• String
• Plastic Bucket
• Pocket Knives

1. Check with the landowner or agency before gathering wild materials.

2. Take only what you need, and do not pick or disturb endangered species.

3. Wear appropriate clothing for tramping around in the woods or tall grasses. A heavy pair of gloves and long pants will help protect your hands and legs.

4. Use an old knife, scissors, or pruning shears to cut materials.

5. Take a bucket or a large paper bag to hold materials. An animal feed sack works nicely for gathering materials.

6. Coil materials and tie with a piece of string.

7. Choose materials that are pliable, long, and uniform in size.

8. Find runners by going to the base of the bush such as buckbrush and feel along the ground for a runner. Some runners will be very long, so keep pulling until you find the end. The longer the weaver the better.

9. Sort as you gather to keep from packing around a bag full of unusable materials.

10. Watch for snakes and check for ticks after you return home.

Tips & Warnings

• Thick vines such as grapevine make good handles. Small, long vines such as honeysuckle, buckbrush, and green blackberry canes are used to weave your basket or as accents to a reed basket.
• Driftwood makes a nice handle.
• Porcupine quills, pine needles, shells, and wheat can be used as accents to your baskets.
• If you do not have access to wild materials, you can purchase most of these natural materials, which have already be cleaned and prepared, from various basket supply companies.
• Do not remove any materials from parks, private land, or protected areas.
• Watch for poison ivy and poison oak, as they grow in the same places many of the natural basket materials do.