# Willow weaving



## Celtic Fiddler

Anyone know roughly what age willow is used for basket weaving etc.? I can't find anything online and I need to know for for an assignment that needs to be in after the Christmas holidays :hair


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## Delion

I'm a self taught willow weaver. I searched the web and books and realized that the kind of willow used "professionally" isn't something I can find where I am, here in the prairie region of Canada. 

So I just got out and observed the willow where I am,-- a scrub swamp willow. I discovered that after a clump of willow had been burned to ground level or cut off, it regrows quickly the next year. These first year shoots, cut after the leaves fall off in the fall ( you can cut them all winter until they bud in the spring). They make excellent weavers for creating baskets or for free-form willow sculptures. I work willow shoots before they dry (green). Some years these first year shoots grow nice and long but generally they average about 24 inches of useable weaving length. Still I've been able to make fairly decent quality baskets that hold up well.

The test of willows that make good weaving material is to cut a piece that looks useable and bend it, see if you can tie into a loop. If it doesn't crack or snap it is probably good for weaving. One rule about willow is DO NOT use weeping willow for weaving.

http://www.bushcraft.ridgeonnet.com/index.htm is great inspiration


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## Rosesandtea

I learned some basketmaking from a woman in Cornwall. She taught me to cut the willow rods, then leave them to dry, then soak them before weaving. This prevents potential distortion that one can get from using fresh rods. I believe she cut hers when they grew long enough so summer/fall.


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## SLFarmMI

Delion said:


> I'm a self taught willow weaver. I searched the web and books and realized that the kind of willow used "professionally" isn't something I can find where I am, here in the prairie region of Canada.
> 
> So I just got out and observed the willow where I am,-- a scrub swamp willow. I discovered that after a clump of willow had been burned to ground level or cut off, it regrows quickly the next year. These first year shoots, cut after the leaves fall off in the fall ( you can cut them all winter until they bud in the spring). They make excellent weavers for creating baskets or for free-form willow sculptures. I work willow shoots before they dry (green). Some years these first year shoots grow nice and long but generally they average about 24 inches of useable weaving length. Still I've been able to make fairly decent quality baskets that hold up well.
> 
> The test of willows that make good weaving material is to cut a piece that looks useable and bend it, see if you can tie into a loop. If it doesn't crack or snap it is probably good for weaving. One rule about willow is DO NOT use weeping willow for weaving.
> 
> http://www.bushcraft.ridgeonnet.com/index.htm is great inspiration


Just wondering, why not weeping willow? We have one on the farm and I was hoping to make some baskets.


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## Delion

I cannot tell from experience, I just remember reading in all the guides about willow for weaving to forget about using weeping willow. 

I will make an educated guess . . . likely your basket will be brittle and break very easily. 

Why don't you go out, this time of year is good because the willow is dormant. Collect a few willow branches and weave them into any sort of creation, just a ball woven any random way-- I wouldn't spend any time in proper weaving . Let it dry and see for yourself what happens. 

If the willow is good for weaving, your creation will be sturdy and can bear handling once it dries.


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## Ana Bluebird

Great website. Thanks for the information---was wondering about these willows locally. I know the goats sure love them for eating.


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## Delion

Oh yes, goats just love willow, they are browsers so they prefer the tender twigs of trees and shrubs more than grazing grass like a cow does. Somewhere I read that goats are called "desert makers" because they destroy any small trees trying to get established, where large flocks graze and so the area, if arid enough, eventually turns to dersert.

One year our slough, surrounded by willow, was quite dry, so we mowed the whole thing and baled the slough hay and willow....needless to say the goats were delighted that winter!


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