Wicker weaving is probably the most ancient of crafts. It appeared even before pottery and related, to a greater extent, to the everyday needs of humans. Houses, utility structures, fences, cradles and toys for children, cart and sleigh bodies, boxes and kitchen utensils were built from tree branches. But the ideal material from which to weave a basket was willow twigs. They are very flexible and great for this type of creativity.

History of the craft

Willow weaving was common in Rus'. There was no peasant who could weave baskets. There were also master basket makers who were engaged in weaving professionally. They wove a wide variety of products: round and oval, rectangular and conical, with complex or simple weaving, large and small. In those days it was simply impossible to do without baskets. Women in them carried clothes to rinse to the river, took food on the road, harvested crops, and went to pick mushrooms and berries.

IN modern world wicker baskets are also popular. It's hard to imagine a mushroom picker without a basket. The branches of the weeping willow contain tannins, thanks to which the mushrooms do not spoil longer, and the spaces between the twigs promote air ventilation.

If you have even the slightest idea and a little skill, then easy to learn weaving from willow. For beginners, step-by-step study and independent repetition of all stages of weaving products will bring a lot of positive emotions.

Selection of materials for weaving

The main advantage of basket weaving is accessibility Supplies. Willow - common unpretentious tree, found in many regions of Russia. Usually craftsmen procure raw materials themselves. Some people grow willow in their garden. And in individual stores you can even buy materials ready for weaving.

Willow twigs growing on sandy and loamy soil are best suited for wicker weaving. The shoots are cut using pruning shears or a sharp knife, choosing the longest ones without branches. Cut under small angle, while leaving a few buds so as not to harm the plant.

Shoots with a wide and loose core are not suitable for weaving; it should be small in size. Young shoots are usually used.

To check whether the plant is suitable for work, you need to cut the branch and bend it 180 degrees at the butt - if it is cracked, it is not suitable (which means it will break during weaving); if not, then you can safely proceed to further processing.

Time of year for harvesting and processing rods

Rods for weaving are prepared all year round, but preferable in early spring and late autumn. The bark of spring shoots can be removed very easily without additional processing. Twigs collected in another season need to be soaked or evaporated.

For soaking, the shoots are dipped in running waters- a river or stream, having previously secured it to the shore with a rope so that it does not get carried away by the current. You can use it in a trough or barrel, but in this case a daily change of water is required. Tied bunches with shoots are immersed in the bottom, and a load is placed on top (a stone or any other heavy object except iron) and leave for 1–2 weeks.

To reduce processing time from several weeks to several hours instead of soaking the rods are evaporated in any of two ways:

1. The shoots are placed in a tank, rolled up around the perimeter, filled with water and put on fire. After boiling, cook for 1–2 hours. Then take it out, let it cool and begin removing the bark.
2. The vine is no longer flooded cold water, and boiling water, bring to a boil and cook for 20–30 minutes. Take it out, cool it and remove the bark.

It is better to clean the rods raw, starting from the butt (root part). During cleaning, to prevent the material from drying out, it is better to leave it in water and remove it in small bunches. After the willow has been debarked, to finish the job, it must be laid out in the sun until completely dry. For ease of use, the rods are sorted and folded into bundles of equal size.

Barked rods are divided into two types - prepared in spring period and obtained by digestion. Boiled during operation they acquire a bright glossy look, easy to clean, getting better every time. Uncooked ones, on the contrary, darken over time, acquiring a nondescript appearance.

Weaving tools

Making a basket from willow is more difficult than making it from newspaper tubes, but the principle of operation is the same. Natural material more brittle and less pliable. Willow weaving is not that difficult for beginners. By repeating all the steps step by step and collecting a set of tools, you can achieve good results. For work you will need:

• pruner;
• sharp knife;
• large scissors;
• utensils for soaking or boiling rods;
• pliers;
• clothespins;
• tweezers;
• Ruler and pencil;
• drill;
• jigsaw;
• water-based stain and varnish;
• tassels.

These tools are useful not only in making baskets, but also more massive products - such as a rocking chair, table, flowerpot, fence, and so on.

Basket making method

To understand how to weave a willow basket for beginners, you first need to delve into and study the lessons, patterns and techniques for making them. After preparing the tools and materials, when the rods are soaked or evaporated, debarked and dried, the most interesting stage begins - weaving. The bottom is woven first, then the sides, and lastly the handle.

Formation of the bottom

To properly weave the bottom with your own hands, you need to prepare 8 twigs (knitting needles) of medium thickness (Fig. 1). They are divided in half - four are left untouched, and in the other four a gap is made in the middle of each (Fig. 2). Then rods are inserted into the cracks in the form of a cross (Fig. 3). Next, two more thin rods are inserted into the same slots and wrapped around the base in two rows (Fig. 4 and 5). Then the knitting needles are spread apart and wrapped around each one separately (Fig. 6).

Every time a rod comes to an end, it needs to be extended by another. You should not extend both rods at once; it is better to do it one at a time. To do this, the end of the rod is sharpened and inserted into the hole between the last two rows, it is bent and weaving continues, and the end of the old rod is cut off.

Weaving is continued in two more rows (Fig. 7). This is where the twisted weaving method ends and continues with the usual one - bypassing the knitting needle inside and outside (Fig. 8). In this case, an odd number of knitting needles is needed; for this, an additional rod must be inserted into the weaving.

Manufacturing of walls

Having reached required diameter bottom, you finish the first stage, the next one begins - the transition to the walls. To do this, you will need medium-diameter willow shoots, which are called racks. Each of them must be pointed at the end and inserted between the knitting needles (Fig. 9). Old rods are cut with a knife at the base. Now they take one stand and hook it behind the other two, after which they bend it upward (Fig. 10). Do the same with all the other racks (Fig. 11). The racks are braided in several rows, then in the usual way(Fig. 12 and 13).

When the height of the basket has reached the desired size, you need to take one stand and bend it down, placing it behind the other two (Fig. 14). The same must be done with the following racks, removing the ends inward and pushing them outward (Fig. 15). Then the protruding ends are cut with scissors at the base (Fig. 16).

Handle weaving

Remained final stage- make a handle. For this you will need thick willow shoot, which is cut to size. The ends are sharpened and stuck into opposite sides of the product (Fig. 17 and 18). Next, take 4-5 rods and stick them into the weaving at the end of the handle (Fig. 19). They are braided several times and threaded into the weave from the other end. Then they take a few more shoots and do the same thing (Fig. 20 and 21). Another rod is stuck nearby and braided around the handle at the base, tightening it with a knot (Fig. 22 and 23). The end is cut with a knife (Fig. 24). The cart is ready!

Over time, you can learn to braid braids and ropes in two or three rows with more complex weaving, for example, openwork. Sometimes, for the convenience of making wicker products, they make wooden templates round or square shape, which greatly facilitate the work.

Wicker trees are a wonderful element landscape design. Craftswoman Oksana Sakhnovskaya told DachnikTV how to make a living wicker tree from willow for her garden with her own hands.

We weave from willow

For weaving you will need:

• decorative pot or flowerpot with soil,
• pruner,
• clothespins with a good spring,
• willow twigs of the same length and diameter.

It is also good to have small thin branches on hand in order to weave a boundary rope on top of the tree after finishing the work. It is advisable to take a special breeding variety that is grown on plantations - “Basket willow” or “American giant willow”. Wild willow can also be suitable for wicker, but you will have to go through a lot of willow bushes to find straight, long rods.

In summer willow tree You can also weave directly from the ground - for this, the ground is first well loosened and watered. It is woven in a pot in early spring, the willow takes root in it and by the beginning of the planting season - from the first days of May - such a tree is ready for planting. Before weaving begins, all the rods are given an oblique cut using pruning shears.

Planting and caring for a willow tree

After weaving the tree is completed, the top of the head is carefully trimmed with pruning shears. The willow will now begin to take root. Each bud will produce a sprout 5-6 cm long; they will need to be pulled out of the bosom. This technique is called “kidney blinding.” Nothing else will grow in this place and the trunk will remain smooth.

On the top of the tree, on the contrary, greenery is left. When the sprouts reach a length of about 10 cm, they are pinched from above by hand or trimmed with pruning shears. The more often you trim the green crown, the more magnificent and dense it will be.

Before planting a tree in open ground dig a hole slightly larger in size than the flowerpot in which the willow is located. Compost is placed in the hole, the soil is watered abundantly, the rooted tree is pulled out of the pot and buried. After this, the willow needs to be watered again. Feeding with fertilizers is not necessary, but it won’t be superfluous either.

In the first year of planting, the tree actively develops root system, during the first 2-3 weeks, the willow needs daily watering. The more often you water the tree, the better it will take root.

A living wicker tree will no longer require additional care. In winter, willow does without shelter.

The material was prepared by Elena Volozhanina and Ilya Tataurov.

Products woven from wicker can serve their owners for many years, performing not only a practical, but also a decorative function. They are successfully used as a piece of furniture both in the countryside and in the metropolis.

Making willow with your own hands is a science mastered by our ancestors several thousand years before our era. In historical documents different countries throughout the world there are references to various wicker boxes, fences, baskets and much more. The products that can be made by learning how to weave are beautiful and varied. Nowadays, willow weaving is not related to the everyday needs of a person; rather, it is a fashionable hobby and a way to bring beauty and style to the interior.

General information about wicker weaving

Modern willow baskets are not only accessories for the garden, they are full-fledged inhabitants of apartments. They not only bring practical benefits, but are also a highlight, a kind of accent in the design of the apartment.

It is important to note that collecting vines for weaving does not cause any harm to nature, but, on the contrary, rejuvenates the thickets.

Willow weaving is popular today as in rural areas, and in large cities. Another advantage of this hobby is that there is no need to purchase materials for work. You can easily prepare them yourself. Willow is a very common plant and grows in almost all regions of Russia. If you like walking fresh air, then the trip for the willow vine will be pleasant and interesting adventure. In some large cities, shops that provide goods for various hobbies are beginning to sell wicker rods. There are not many such stores yet, but this is an excellent option for those who do not know where to find willow thickets in a large city.

Blank for weaving

Not only willow vine is suitable for weaving, but also walnut vine and other flexible species of shrubs and trees. It is better to choose thin, long shoots. Take those twigs that do not branch.

For this type of hobby, both unbarked and peeled vines are suitable. Large products are woven from the unrefined wood: fences, large baskets for fruits and vegetables. Peeled vines are used to make vases, trays, laundry boxes, bread bins and much more. An unpeeled vine is called unrooted, a peeled one is called debarked.

The preparation of materials for weaving is carried out in autumn or spring. In summer, willow shoots, due to active growth, are very brittle and are not suitable for weaving.

Shoots harvested in spring are cleared of bark immediately, without additional preparation. Shoots harvested in the fall are boiled before cleaning. Harvesting and preparing vines for weaving is not a difficult task, but it requires time and effort.

But when willow weaving for beginners will captivate and draw you in step by step, and the finished wicker item will become a source of pride for you, the time and effort spent will be fully repaid by the charge of positive energy that you will receive.

Required Tools

What will we need during the work process? Willow weaving for beginners, described step by step in the article, requires at least a good amount of patience. Making a basket from wicker is more difficult than weaving it from newspaper tubes. Natural material less pliable in work and can break.

You also need some tools for the job.

Prepare:

• Awl.
• Secateurs.
• Side cutters.
• A spray bottle filled with water to spray the vines.

Technology

Classically, baskets are woven starting from the bottom. Then they weave the walls and the bend. Handles come last.

It is advisable to start from willow for beginners step by step with product models round shape. To make it, you will need to learn just a few techniques:

• Round bottom manufacturing technology.
• Rope weaving.
• Layer weaving technique.
• Bending.

During the weaving process, the work must be compacted and pressed down so that the basket does not turn out to be too flimsy. The rods should be laid tightly and evenly, without covering each other.

Once the technique of making a round basket has been mastered, you can move on to more complex ones. openwork products from the vine. Experienced craftsmen They decorate their baskets with braids, weaving birch bark, straw and wooden beads into them. The design and shape of such baskets are limited only by the imagination of the master.

You can weave almost anything from a vine. Often landscape designers order wicker figures from vines to decorate the garden. Decorate personal plot fences, and on open veranda It is quite possible to place a rocking chair made of wicker. You can also weave stools and a small table made of willow for outdoor gatherings.

From this available environmentally friendly material they even make jewelry and new Year gifts. A cradle made of untreated twigs is suitable for a children's room. Children love to sleep in such natural, environmentally friendly cradles.

Rectangular wicker baskets placed on shelves and racks are suitable for storing clothes, magazines and newspapers, and all sorts of household items.

Any housewife can find use for wickerwork in her home. The ability to weave from wicker will definitely be useful to you in life, at least for arranging your own life, and maybe it will become a source of additional income for you.

Now that you have learned about what wicker weaving is and how to weave from willow, the master class below will teach you how to weave round baskets from wicker. With such a basket you can go on picnics with friends or to the dacha with children.

Weaving willow baskets for beginners (master class)

Let's start making the basket by preparing the willow vine. It is best to cut the vine in May, before the willow begins to bloom. You can also cut the vines in August, when new long shoots grow on the willow.

Preparing a vine from willow branches

We immediately remove the bark from the cut branches and leave our vine for five days in the shade in the open air.

After the vine has been prepared and rested, we begin weaving willow baskets. The technology is as follows: we weave the bottom and edges of the product with whole round twigs, and the walls with vines split into several parts.

How to split a vine

To split the vine into pieces, you will need a special hardwood cleaver. An incision is made at the end of the vine with a knife, a cleaver is inserted into it, and the vine is split into 2, 3 or 4 parts.

The split branches are soaked in water for several hours, and then the brown center is removed. It is recommended to use a plane to process split vines.

Before weaving from the vine, it needs to be moistened. This can be done with a spray bottle or by lowering the branches into water for a few minutes.

Having prepared sufficient quantity vines, we begin weaving willow baskets.

Carefully consider the process of creating a basket in the figure. First, the bottom of the basket is woven, then the ribs are added and the sides are woven along them. At the very end the handle is done.

If you know the technology for making baskets from paper straws, then know that willow weaving for beginners step by step is almost the same.

We carry out the work in this order:

1. To make the bottom of the basket, split five rods in the middle with a knife and insert five other rods into the holes. We insert the tips of the first two into the same holes.
2. We make a braid of the bottom. The first rod needs to cover the split twigs from above, and the second one needs to cover those threaded into the split twigs from the bottom.
3. We also perform the third and fourth turns.
4. We spread the crosspiece rods in the shape of a fan and braid them with two willow branches.
5. We press the twigs together using an awl.
6. When the bottom reaches the size we need, we install the ribs of the basket into our willow weaving. For beginners, we will explain this process step by step. For the ribs we use round twigs. We cut their ends obliquely to a distance of about 5 cm. We insert the sharp ends into the bottom braid. We cut off the excess ends of the vine. The edges of the bottom are woven from four round twigs, which are inserted 4 cm near the side ribs of the basket. To give the basket the required shape, we make a blank, as in Fig. 9. Nail the bottom of the basket to it using small nails.
7. We finish the braiding of the bottom and cut off the excess twigs.
8. Let's move on to weaving the sides. We cut off the ends of the new twigs. We take twigs of medium thickness. We insert new branches along each twig of the base.
9. We bend the new rods under the two adjacent ones to the left, down, and then up.
10. We also bend the remaining branches of the vine. The last two branches cannot be bent. We simply wrap them around the first ones. We weave the sides of the basket until they reach the height we need.
11. We begin to weave a handle. We take thick shoots of the vine, bend them and determine the length of the handle. We cut off the excess vine.
12. We sharpen the ends of the vine and insert them into the walls of the basket. We insert five branches next to the handle and wrap them around the handle. We hide the extra ends of the vine between the walls of the basket.
13. We take a thin twig and wrap it around the edges of the handle. We hide the ends of the twig and cut off the excess.
14. Weaving a willow basket with your own hands is completed. A simple round willow basket is ready.

Follow the procedure shown in the pictures. A little practice and you will succeed.

Conclusion

Having mastered the technique of weaving round baskets from wicker, you can then learn how to weave square and oval baskets and boxes, learn how to weave a willow fence for beginners step by step, then move on to making wicker furniture and more complex products. The growth of your skills and mastery depends only on the amount of your free time and desire to engage in wicker weaving. Willow weaving is an interesting and accessible activity for everyone.

How to weave flowerpots. Master class on wicker weaving. First lesson.

That's true ancient art: wickerwork. In any country you can find products made from wicker, and from historical films we know that ancient people’s first containers for carrying dry goods were boxes and baskets woven from long, flexible branches and twigs. Currently from the rank of folk craft wickerwork passed into fine art.
It is hardly possible to find a house in which there would not be things woven from willow twigs. These are elegant vases, crackers, candy bowls, trays and stands, flower pots, openwork chandeliers and desk lamp, floor lamps and sconces, panels and floor vases. Baskets and baskets, handbags and boxes for economic needs. Apartment interiors are sometimes filled with chic wicker furniture: beds and bedside tables, original sofas and rocking chairs, coffee tables and magnificent screens. What is the secret of such popularity and durability of these products. Vine is a flexible, durable, beautiful natural material.

FIRST WE PREPARE THE VINE

Step one:
We wrap a clothesline around each nail (there should be odd number), having reached the end to the right, turn and the rope should wrap around the nails in a checkerboard pattern. We press each row with an awl and achieve neat weaving.

Step two:
Having practiced on the clothesline, we move on to weaving with willow twigs. We complicate the process: we braid it into two rods, three or more. At turns, we crimp the rods with round nose pliers. You should get a small braid. This method is called simple weaving.
Step three:
You can work out on the simulator different types and weaving methods: layer-by-layer, in rows, square, openwork, rope, folding.

Step four:
We make a round simulator. On round board drive nails around the circles different diameters. The number of nails should also be odd and repeat the first three steps.
Step five:
Soak young, long willow twigs in water.
Step six:
We cut out an oval bottom from plywood for a flower pot for several flower pots. Drill holes for the rods. The diameter of the holes is slightly smaller than the butts of the vine. There must be an odd number of holes. We install the racks and intertwine them into two rods to the desired height. The ends of the woven rods should remain inside the flowerpot. At the end of the work, they must be cut with side cutters at an acute angle.
Step seven: The upper edge of the flowerpot can simply be cut off the posts with a shoe knife a centimeter above the weaving, or the thin ends of the posts can be inserted into the main weave with a certain step (for example, through three posts)
Despite its apparent simplicity, the product will turn out beautiful if weaving is very careful. Every next row you need to press it to the bottom with an awl and strictly monitor the parallelism of the rows.

Woody plants - both garden and indoor - have a more attractive appearance when.

Plants get a thick and lush crown when they are pinched. These are the most commonly used by gardeners and flower growers. simple methods crown formation to obtain beautiful specimens.

Periodic pruning and trimming are simply necessary for plants planted in a row when growing. And also - for obtaining, which are used as tapeworms (in a single planting), when they are clearly visible from all sides.

Plants with intertwined trunks

I always pay attention to beautifully formed plants when I am abroad. There, they traditionally decorate not only gardens and streets with such spectacular plants, but also hotel lobbies, patios and homes.

...Several years ago I was sitting in a chair not far from a large flowerpot with some interesting plant, having a very intricate trunk. On closer inspection it turned out to be .
What was surprising was that not one, but five plants with thin trunks grew in the flowerpot! They once existed, and by this moment they had already grown together tightly. Thanks to this, a common stable trunk was created for the “prefabricated” plant, which now looked like a single whole.
Moreover, the intertwined trees were in very good condition. So the intertwined ficus stems did not harm each other - this did not negatively affect the well-being of each plant or the entire attractive specimen as a whole.

This technique of intertwining the flexible trunks of several plants planted very close seemed to me worthy of attention, and I took note of it.

Interweaving willow trunks in several stages

One day the day came when I remembered that beautiful Benjamin ficus with intertwined trunks. I decided to repeat this technique in my garden to form an interesting tapeworm plant.

Of course, it is simply impossible to use ficus under the open sky of St. Petersburg for this purpose in our climate - after all, it is a heat-loving tropical plant.
It was decided to find a winter-hardy and flexible tree that is perfectly adapted to our climatic zone. So unpretentious and suitable look we counted the willows that grow in the nearby forest.

In the spring we dug out four very young willows there in the form of thin twigs. We planted these plants in our garden side by side, very close to each other.
Our willows have taken root beautifully with no problems. The trees took root very quickly - soon new shoots began to grow and leaves appeared.

The very next spring we had to start working with these willows, forming them into a common tree. After all, the stems of young plants began to quickly thicken and harden...

I braided the trunks of neighboring willows in a “pigtail” until the first branching of the branches. She secured the intertwined shoots with a thick tourniquet and left them in this state for a year.

In a year, next spring, I removed the lower branches from the grown plants. Then she braided their stems even higher. Accordingly, the tourniquet is now secured higher, right up to the branches.

This happened for several years. Until I decided: the interlacing of the trunks had already become quite high. The appearance of the resulting “general” plant satisfied me.

Features of caring for formed willow

Caring for intertwined willows, which have now become a single tree, consists of timely pruning of unnecessary shoots and pruning of branches to form and maintain beautiful shape at the common crown.

I regularly cut off all the shoots that appeared on the intertwined willow trunks.
Last year and this spring, I removed all the branches that grow inside the general crown and thicken it excessively.

I leave only the marginal branches of the intertwined willow trunks that form the crown. I'm cutting my hair top part growing branches, giving the overall crown an oval shape.

The photographs in this article, taken in the spring and summer of 2011, show both sides of my intertwined willow tree. This plant is already 6 years old.

Garden experiments on the formation of unusual plants

Of course, choose the type of plants used for this purpose based on the range of unpretentious and frost-resistant trees growing in your area, so that there are no problems with wintering.

The crown shape of trees created in this way can be varied - which is what every gardener likes best. And the height of the intertwined trunks can also be made different, depending on the goals.
My final advice: make the height of the intertwined trunk suitable for your height. Because the work of intertwining trunks and further care the resulting plant will then be comfortable.

A tree like this with an intertwined trunk and a beautiful crown will definitely become the “highlight” of your garden :)

I wish all gardeners success in forming beautiful plants and in landscape design!

Nadezhda Semenovna Dunaeva (St. Petersburg)