I. INTRODUCTORY WORK

THE BASKET MAKER

The fruition of thought is expression. Thought along the lines of manual training is susceptible of expression in many ways and through many mediums. The expression of thought through wood and iron necessitates a more or less elaborate equipment of tools, and for this reason those mediums of expression are denied younger pupils. But the expression of thought through basketry, requires almost no tools (a knife and scratch awl), has variety as to form and color and almost unlimited possibilities in design.

It is my aim in this booklet to give in simple English and with illustrations which may be comprehended by the youngest pupil, the results of my thought and teaching of basketry.

I believe the poor results seen in many places are due to poor teaching. Teachers are not, as a rule, insistent enough at the beginning. Good results can only be secured by close attention to basic details. A pupil should not be allowed to progress who cannot make the bottom of a basket and have it strong and closely woven. He must understand that no basket can be firmly made unless its foundation is right.

The ordinary pupil is, and should be, an animated question mark. “Why?” “What for?” and “What makes it do that?”are the ever recurring questions. “Why do you have to have an odd number of spokes with a single weaver?” was the first question asked in the class this year.

In order to answer this and many other questions which arise, I have found it necessary to devise some means by which a verbal explanation can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the dullest pupil. The device is a small piece of board, any size and thickness, on which a circle of any size is drawn. The circumference of this circle is divided off into spaces about ⅝ of an inch apart, and holes are bored, into which pieces of willow or reed are inserted, Fig.1. The spacing would better not be equal, as one hole is to contain a peg which may be taken out in order to get an odd or an even number of uprights. By this device a pupil can answer his own question, and discover much about different weaves. The uprights will hereafter be known as stakes. Figure 2 shows the single weave with an odd number of stakes. Figure 3 shows the same with an even number. Figure 4 shows the Indian method of weaving with a single weaver and an even number of stakes. When the weaver gets around to where it started, it is passed behind two stakes, and the weaving is continued as before, the weaver passing behind the next two stakes on each course.

The illustrative weaving in this chapter is done in colors, in order that the course of one weaver may be followed more easily, and also to suggest from the beginning the possibilities of design and decoration by the use of a combination of plain and colored weavers.[1]If the essential elements of construction, (the stakes and weavers) are used as decorative features wherever possible, much of the trouble about decoration and design in basketry will be done away with.

1. Mr. Chas. E. Mather, Braggville, Mass., has the finest variety of colors for weavers which I have as yet found. Both the aniline and vegetable colors do not run while working and they both seem to be permanent.

Figure 5 shows a decorative feature made possible by the use of a single weaver and an even number of stakes. At A may be seen the method of changing from one course to another. Either two, three, or four rows may be woven before changing courses, and as many courses may be woven as the design of the basket may require. This of course is left to the judgment of the pupil or teacher.

Figure 6 shows the double or pairing weave (i. e.weaving with two weavers) and Figure 7 suggests the possibilities in decoration, when one weaver is colored and an even number of stakes are used.

Figure 8 shows the design when the pairing weave is used with an odd number of spokes and also the method of joining weaves in either double, triple or quadruple weaving. The end of the new weaver is inserted behind and beside the end of the one already woven in, and the weaving continues as if the weavers were continuous. The end of the old weaver can then be cut off flush with the outside of the basket, and the end of the new one flush with the inside.

In weaving with two, three, or four weavers the left hand one of the group is always known as the rear weaver and the right hand one as the forward weaver, and weaving is always done from left to right except in cases of special design. Such cases will be spoken of in a later chapter.

Figure 9 shows the starting of the triple weave. Three weavers are put behind three consecutive stakes and project toward the right. The rear one goes over the other two and in front of two stakes, behind one stake, and out between the next pair of stakes to the right of the forward weaver. The one that was the middle weaver now becomes the rear one, and it in turn is treated as the other rear one was. This process is continued as long as triple weaving is needed. Always be sure to take the rear weaver and have it come out between the pair of stakes to the right of the forward weaver.

Decorative features of triple weaving follow: Figure 10 shows the result when one colored weaver and two natural ones are used and the number of weavers (3) is equally divisible into the number of stakes. Each color forms in a vertical stripe. Using two colored and one natural weaver gives the same result but with a different proportion of color.

Figure 11 shows the result when the number of stakes is divisible by the number of weavers with a remainder of one. This gives the variegated effect outside and the spiral effect inside.

Figure 12 shows the result when the number of stakes is divisible by the number of weavers with a remainder of two. This gives the variegated effect inside and the spiral effect outside.

Figure 13 shows the starting of the quadruple weave. With the decorative features already shown in other weaves, each student can find out for himself the possibilities of this weave by varyingthe ratio of the stakes to the weavers and by using either one, two, or three colored weavers.

In the next chapter I will give a detailed description of the construction of several mats which embody some of the ideas here presented, and shown in the group picture, Fig. 14.

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