by Jane Haselden | Oct 22, 2020 | Basketry & Natural Crafts
It’s been a few weeks now since I first started to hand-dye my own raffia with natural dyes. Since then, I have been having a great time using it and making more dyes along the way. It has been really satisfying to start bringing these skills together and I feel...
by Jane Haselden | Oct 19, 2020 | Basketry & Natural Crafts
Over the past three weeks, I have been busy harvesting honeysuckle vine from our garden for basket weaving. The land at the back of our house is full of trees and rather wild and I was going to tidy it up a bit to make it more accessible, back in the spring. Then, as...
by Jane Haselden | Sep 29, 2020 | Basketry & Natural Crafts
Way back in March, I bought myself a couple of books on dyeing. One was about learning to use natural dyes and the other showed in depth, the techniques for shibori pattern making. This month I finally got around to having a look through the books and trying out some...
by Jane Haselden | Sep 7, 2020 | Basketry & Natural Crafts
A couple of weeks ago I was gathering some common rush in our garden, when I noticed some grass that was really fine and yet very tough. I had a feeling that it would make some great coil baskets, so I collected a small amount to try it out and left it to dry. I have...
by Jane Haselden | Sep 5, 2020 | Basketry & Natural Crafts
Up until now, I have been making baskets purely by trial and error. I think that is a great way to get started – you start to build a connection with what you’re doing and also learn the questions that you need to ask. I also have to consider that we have...
by Jane Haselden | Aug 19, 2020 | Basketry & Natural Crafts
I decided over the weekend that I would try out some traditional harvest crafts this week. I remember seeing a display of traditional corn dollies when I was little, at a country fair in Buckinghamshire. I found it fascinating then. The designs are so delicate and...