How to Make a Grape Vine Basket
Make grapevine baskets in different shapes and sizes for a variety of purposes. Use them as breadbaskets, hanging mail holders, decorative garden containers, wall decor for holding silk flowers and fruit baskets. Harvest grapevine in late autumn after the first frost. Cutting the grapevines after the first frost will lessen the chance of damage to the main vines, as they will have become dormant by that time. Grapevine is pliable and an excellent material for learning how to make a basket. Round baskets are the easiest shape for learning basket weaving.
Things You'll Need
- Gallon pail
- Tape measure
- Scissors
- Grapevine, 10 pieces 3 ft long
- Grapevine, 15 pieces 4 ft long
- Cardboard
- T-pin
- Pencil
- Clothespin
- Spray bottle
Instructions
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1
Soak grapevines overnight in a gallon pail filled with warm water. This will make the grapevine soft and pliable for weaving the basket.
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2
Measure the wet grapevine. Cut 10 pieces that are 3 feet long each and 15 pieces that are 4 feet long each. Use the 3-foot pieces of grapevine for the spokes of the basket. Use the 4-foot pieces to weave over and under the spokes.
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3
Choose the six thickest pieces of grapevine from the 3-foot group. They will be the spokes forming the frame of the basket. On top of a piece of cardboard, layer the pieces on top of each other to form a circle. If the circle were a clock, then the ends of the grapevine would be facing every hour of the clock.
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4
Attach the center of the circle to the cardboard using a T-pin. (An empty cereal box would be fine for this purpose.) This will keep the grapevine spokes equidistant while you are weaving the basket.
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5
Measure 1 1/2 inches from the center of the circle and draw a straight line with pencil across each piece of grapevine. This will be the starting point for weaving the first row of the basket.
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6
Choose a thin piece of grapevine from the 4-foot group. Weave this piece over three vines and then under three vines, keeping the bottom edge even with the pencil lines. Complete weaving around the circle to the starting point and then overlap the first four weaves. Overlapping will strengthen the basket. Attach a clothespin at the last weave to hold that vine in place while weaving the next vine.
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7
Weave the second piece of grapevine so that it is as close to the first piece as possible. Continue to weave over three vines, then under three vines, and then overlap the first four weaves.
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8
Fill a spray bottle with warm water and mist any dry areas of the second vine. Slide the wet grapevine down to fit snugly against the first row. Remove the clothespin from the first-row vine and clip it onto the second-row vine.
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9
Complete the third row of grapevine just as you did the first two rows.
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10
Dampen the spokes with warm water until they are flexible and then bend them upward at the top of the third row. You have finished making the bottom of the basket and will now start making the sides. Remove the basket from the T-pin and cardboard.
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11
Weave the grapevine over and under every spoke (instead of every three spokes), beginning with the fourth row and including every row thereafter. Continue to overlap the first four weaves and then to mist the grapevine before sliding it snugly against the previous row.
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12
Insert new spokes from the 3-foot group as the space between spokes widens in the upper rows of the basket. Spray that area of the basket with warm water so the grapevines will not break as you insert the new spokes.
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13
Weave in the new spokes and, if necessary, clip them with a clothespin to hold them firmly in place until they are securely woven into the basket frame.
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14
Continue in this manner until you have woven all the 4-foot pieces of grapevine into the spokes.
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15
Finish the top of the basket by weaving each spoke, one at a time, into the other spokes. Keep working in the same direction. For example, bend the first spoke to the right and weave it over and under the other spokes until you reach the end of that spoke. Then take the second spoke, bend it to the right and weave it over and under every spoke just as you did the first one. Secure all the spokes in this manner.
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16
Cut off any ends that are sticking out. Your grapevine basket is complete.
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References
- Photo Credit basket image by Maciej Syrek from Fotolia.com
