Basket Weaving Tool Kit, 20 Pieces, with Zip Pouch

These are the small tools basket makers reach for again and again, gathered in one zip pouch, 20 pieces in all. They work for reed, cane, bamboo and paper weaving, whether you are on your first basket or your fiftieth.

What each tool is for:

• Packing tool: pushes each row of weaving down against the last, so the rows sit tight and even.
• Two awls of different sizes: open a gap between rows or beside a stake, to tuck in an end or slip in a new stake. Use the smaller one for fine work and the larger one for heavier reed.
• Bent-tip bodkin: opens a path under the woven rows, so you can thread stake ends through when you finish a border or tuck in a weaver.
• Side cutters: snip stakes and heavy reed cleanly, close to the weaving.
• Small shears: cut weavers to length and trim the fine hairs off a finished basket.
• Clothespin-style clips: hold a weaver in place when you stop, or hold a rim while you lash it.
• Tape measure: for cutting stakes to length and checking that the sides grow evenly.
• Spare pegs: hold strands in place while you work.

For a beginner, these tools solve the usual early frustrations: loose rows (the packing tool), ends that will not tuck in (the awls and bodkin) and a weaver that springs loose when you put the work down (the clips).

For teachers, one pouch keeps a full set of tools together at each table, and the zip keeps the small pieces from wandering off between sessions.

Wipe the metal tools dry after working with damp reed, and keep the shears for weaving materials so they stay sharp.

You can weave a first basket from a kit with only scissors, a bowl of water and a towel. Add this tool kit when you want tighter rows, neater borders and fewer broken ends, or when you move on to bigger baskets and heavier reed.

The two awls cover most work: the smaller one for fine reed, cane and paper strip, the larger one for heavier stakes. Reach for the side cutters on thick reed that scissors would crush.

For classes, plan one kit for every one or two weavers, so nobody waits for the packing tool.