Basket Weaving Kit for Beginners with Wooden Base and Reed

This kit has everything you need to weave one small round basket, about 7 in across, even if you have never woven before. The wooden base comes with the stake holes already drilled, so the hardest part of a first basket, starting the bottom, is done for you. You push the reed stakes through the holes, weave the sides and finish with a border.

In the kit are a pre-drilled round wooden base, natural round reed for the stakes and the weavers, and a printed card that takes you through each step. From home you only need scissors, a bowl of warm water and a towel.

A first basket usually takes an afternoon. The steps, in short:

• Soak the reed in warm water until it bends without cracking.
• Push one stake up through each hole in the base, and weave the short ends into a border underneath.
• Weave the sides, going over and under the stakes and pressing each row down.
• Shape the sides as you go, straight up or flaring out.
• Weave a border at the top with the ends of the stakes, then trim.
• Let the basket dry fully, then snip off any fine hairs.

It makes a good gift for a curious friend, a quiet weekend project, or a way to find out whether you enjoy basketry before you buy reed by the coil. The finished basket is a real, usable piece for keys, fruit, yarn or a desk.

If you want to keep going, our round reed coils and wooden basket base sets let you make the next one in the size you like, and the basket weaving tool kit adds a packing tool, awls and clips that make the weaving easier.

Pick this kit if you are making your first basket, or buying for someone who is. It makes one basket, so you can try the craft without buying coils of reed and a set of bases.

For a class, a group or a family afternoon, the basket weaving kit set of 4 makes four smaller baskets, two round and two square. If you already know the basics and want to choose your own sizes, buy wooden basket bases and round reed separately.

Tools are not required. A packing tool and a few clips do make it easier to keep the rows even and to hold the weaver when you take a break.