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Hazel baskets weaving technique | Vegetable fibres

Keywords: ancient weaving technique, hazel baskets, split hazel frame craft


Hazel baskets weaving technique


Title: Hazel baskets weaving technique
Category: Vegetable fibres
Country: Romania/Maramures
Period: XX Century
Provided by: Edunet
Source: Youtube, internet, Peasantartcraft blog
Photo Gallery: https://peasantartcraft.com/traditional-crafts/basket-weavin...

Description:

Splitting strips of hazel from a rod, then turn them into ribbons and weave them into traditional frame baskets is almost lost. An ancient art only a few people know about, and even fewer know how to do it.

The artisan dedicates a whole day to gathering  hazel rods and branches and making the strips, a process that starts with putting a notch into the branch with a knife, and making strips while bending the branch to help splitting it easier. Rods can be bent with the aid of his knees, but big branches are harder to bend. He tucks the branch between tree trunk and bend. Just after the bark is removed the strips of wood are tidied up with a blade to smooth the surface.

After ribbons of hazel were made, he finally begins weaving a slat pack basket. It takes him an additional two days to complete the basket. He starts with building a square base in plain weave with very long base stakes. When woven bottom is completed, the sides are built up by continuing to weave narrow strips around the long base stakes, which now became the side stakes, the warp for the side walls.



Further references:

https://peasantartcraft.com/

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