How to Make an Easter Egg Basket

The egg basket, or gizzard basket, is a very old style of basket. The shape of the basket allows you to gather eggs, placing them on their sides until the basket is full so they do not roll around and break. The following pattern will make a 10-inch egg basket.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Basket Dyes
• Basket Hoops
• Basket Reeds
• Dressmaker's Measuring Tapes
• Pencils
• Pencil Sharpeners
• Side Cutting Pliers

Preparing the Basket

1. Dye 1/4-inch flat oval reed in pastel colors for Easter.
2. Make a God's Eye on each side of the basket to hold the 10-inch round hoops and ribs in place. (See "How to Make a God's Eye" in the Related eHows.)
3. Using #6 round reed, cut two pieces 16 1/2 inches long; two pieces 18 inches long; two pieces 19 1/2 inches long; two pieces 18 1/2 inches long; and two pieces 17 1/2 inches long. These 10 pieces will be the ribs of your basket.
4. Make pencil marks on one end of the ribs: Mark a "1" on both 16-1/2-inch ribs; a "2" on both 18-inch ribs; a "3" on both 19-1/2-inch ribs; a "4" on both 18-1/2-inch ribs; and a "5" on both 17-1/2-inch ribs.
5. Cut both ends of the ribs at an angle. This will make them easier to insert in the God's Eye. Cut with a pair of wire side cutters or use a pencil sharpener to sharpen the ends of the rib.
6. Dip the #6 round reed pieces in warm water for a few seconds. This will help prevent them from breaking.
7. Soak long pieces of 1/4-inch flat or flat oval reed.

Inserting Ribs

8. Insert the pointed end of the #3 rib into the back of one God's Eye and the other end of the rib into the opposite God's Eye. Position the rib in the middle of the hoops between the top rim and the bottom rim.
9. Place the #1 rib into the God's Eyes and position it close to the rim of the basket on both sides of the basket.
10. Insert the #5 rib into the God's Eyes and position it close to the bottom of your basket on both sides of the basket.

Weaving the Basket

11. After you weave your God's Eye, use the leftover piece of weaver to hold the ribs in place.
12. Use the same over-and-under weaving technique. If you went over the basket rim, then you will go under the next rib and over the next rib and so on.
13. Weave from one side of the basket rim to the other side. Keep the weaver firm and keep the ribs in a nice, rounded position.
14. Turn the 1/4-inch reed and keep the oval side or smooth side on the outside by twisting the reed as you take it over the hoop and start back over the ribs.
15. Adjust the ribs after you make a couple of wraps.
16. Add a new weaver by overlapping the new weaver on top of the old weaver about three or four ribs back.
17. Make four or five wraps and insert the remaining ribs following the pattern in steps #18 and 19.
18. Insert rib #2 alongside - but below - rib #1 with the sharp end of the rib inserted into the God's Eye. These ribs are usually inserted after weaving about 2 inches from the God's Eye.
19. Add rib #4 along the top side of rib #5 with the sharp end of the rib inserted into the God's Eye.
20. Continue weaving until the basket is completely filled. You may need to "fill in" when you get closer to the base of your basket. (See the next section, which covers filling in.)
21. Add ribs when needed by cutting the rib just long enough to cover the open area in your basket and sliding it next to the rib.
22. Fill in the larger spaces on the ends of the base by not weaving to the rim each time.
23. Weave up to the second rib from the rim and back to the second rib on the opposite side.
24. Turn the reed and weave to the third or fourth rib from the rim and back to the opposite rib of the same number.
25. Turn the reed and weave all the way to the rim, then turn the reed and weave back to the opposite rim.
26. Continue as needed until you've evenly filled in all of the empty spots on the ends.

Tips & Warnings

• Soak the reed briefly. You don't want it to become too pliable; you need it to hold its shape.
• When weaving in a new rib, be sure to pull it into the position you need to fill in the space. A well-made basket will have several ribs. In fact, it should never have more than an inch of space between ribs.
• Use a small pair of scissors to trim any "hairs" on your basket.
• Do not soak the hoops, as most are glued together at the joint and can come apart.