When Cindy Kinerson showed us her woven basket (above), the Bead&Button staff was intrigued by her concept of pairing loomwork and basket weaving. That’s not a combination we commonly see, and we immediately recognized its significant potential for creating the sturdy forms found in the basket maker’s repertoire.
SUPPLIES
One basket
Set up the warp
1. Tie the end of the spool of thread to a screw or a hook at one end of the loom.
2. Bring the thread over one spring and across to the spring at the other end of the loom. Wrap the thread around the back of the rod, behind the bottom spring, and back to the spring at the top of the loom.
3. Continue wrapping the thread between springs, keeping the threads a bead’s width apart, until you have one more warp thread than the number of beads in the width of the pattern. Keep the tension even, but not too tight. Secure the last warp thread to a hook or screw on the loom, then cut the thread from the spool (FIGURE 1). Weave the pattern
1. Tie the end of a 1-yd. (.9m) length of thread to the first warp just below the spring at the top of the loom. Bring the needle under the warp threads. String the first row of beads and slide them to the knot (FIGURE 2).
2. Push the beads up between the warp threads with your finger (FIGURE 3).
3. Sew back through the beads, keeping the needle above the warp threads (FIGURE 4). Repeat to the desired length.
4. Once you complete the last row, secure the working thread by weaving it into the beadwork.
INSTRUCTIONS
Using 12 warp threads, weave eight strips of beadwork 13 in. (33cm) long and four strips 101⁄4 in. (26cm) long. Secure all the tails in the beadwork, weaving them in away from the end rows. You will be sewing through the end rows again to assemble the basket. Sew the first and last rows together on each of the shorter strips to make four joined bands.
Do you beading?
Then you’ll want to subscribe to Bead&Button magazine! You’ll get exclusive projects, gorgeous design inspirations, helpful advice about new products, and much more!