Natural Walnut Stain
- Q: How do I make a stain from walnut hulls?
A: Making walnut stain is really very easy.
If you have a place to work and don't have to worry about splashing the stain, boiling is the fastest way to get a good, dark stain.
Place the walnuts into a pair of pantyhose, tie a knot at the top of the leg. Fill each leg if you like. Or put them into a cheesecloth bag or some type of bag that will let the water reach the nuts but not let the dirt, etc. into the stain water.
There is no need to remove the skins (unless you want to eat the nuts or cut them into slices for coiling, etc.).
Place a leg or two into an enamel pot of boiling water. Boil until you get the intensity of color you desire. You may have to add more water. This may take a little while, don't forget you have the pot on the burner! Once you have a color you like, hang the pantyhose outside to drip & dry. Remember - walnut stain will stain anything and is a permanent stain.
There is no need to add a mordant to walnuts.
Pour the stain into a bucket with a lid (plastic buckets that hold cat litter work great) and use until gone. Occasionally, dip a strainer in to catch the hairs & dirt that comes off the basket. Store in a cool place such as a basement or garage. My boiled stain never gets moldy as long as the lid is kept tightly on the container between uses.
The walnuts in the pantyhose can be reused at least several times. Just make sure they dry out completely after boiling or they will get moldy.
There are other slower ways to make a walnut stain: letting them soak in water, adding ammonia, keeping them outside in garbage cans filled with water, etc. If you do the slow soak, you may want to add several bags of walnuts to get a good color faster.
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Newbie - Where do I start?
- Q: I'd like to start basket weaving, what is the best way to learn?
A: There are a wide variety of methods for gathering information so you can pick what will work best for you. Instructors can give you shortcuts based on their years of weaving experience. Kits give you the information for one specific basket. Books generally cover a range of information about a specific style of weaving. You can follow the patterns in the book or study the techniques and branch out on your own.
1) Teachers: Check our Guild Pages for a Guild or weaving group in your area. Many groups hold weaving sessions with teachers from inside the group or they bring in teachers to lead classes. We also have a Teacher's Page. There might be a teacher in your area. If you do not have luck with either of these resources, try Artisan and Craft Guilds in your area or state. Pennsylvania has the PA Guild of Craftsmen, a great resource when trying to locate a producer or instructor of craft in PA and surrounding areas. Check the continuing or adult education classes at your local community or state colleges. Many will hold once a semester basket weaving courses taught by local instructors.
2) Kits: Kits contain all the materials needed to weave a particular basket and instructions with a lot of information for a beginner weaver. Kits are a great way to try out basket weaving without investing a lot of money and space before you know if you enjoy it or not.
While most all of our kits are geared for beginners, here is a list of some of the best kits for beginners.
Doval kit ("D" handle attached to a oak base) & Floval kit ("D" handle attached to a oak base) - Great beginner baskets!
Wine Basket kit - Great basic shape.
Melon Basket kit - Best first ribbed basket.
Shaker Cat Head kit - Don't be put off by the shaping involved with this kit. It is a basic shape and no big deal if you don't get the cat's head shape the first time around. A great basket no matter what the shape.
Casserole Basket kit - Includes enough materials for 2 baskets - great summer project with the kids!
Catch-all Basket kit - Includes enough materials for 2 baskets - great summer project with the kids!
Muffin Basket kit - Includes enough materials for 2 baskets - great summer project with the kids!
Gift Basket kit - Good small market basket.
Market Basket kit - Good small market basket.
Wall Basket kit - Similar to a weed basket.
Quill Basket kit - Introduction to continuous weave.
Little Tote kit - Good small tote basket.
3) Books: The best book for you will depend on what type of weaving you are interested, but here is a list of some books with important information for beginners and a wide range of information about specific styles of weaving.
Antler Baskets & Gourds:
Antler Art for Baskets and Gourds - Sloan - Enhance your gourd vessel or basket with antlers. Step-by-step instructions, learn how to drill, frame, and attach antlers to baskets, gourd bowls, floor vases, and even masks. Twenty projects for the beginner to advanced weaver.
Coiled Basketry:
Coiled Designs for Gourd Art Book - by Catherine Devine - Step-by-step coiling techniques, as well as some patterns, will help the gourd enthusiast to use coiled wax linen and color thread designs in their work.
Pine Needle Basketry - by Mallow - Complete step-by-step instructions along with over 150 photos and illustrations take even the beginner through the process of making one of more than 40 patterns in this book.
General Basket Weaving:
Basket Beginnings - by Kabel - Learn all the basics with 9 easy to make patterns.
Baskets, Baskets, Baskets Book 1 - by Rohkohl - A good beginner book of mostly flat reed baskets with some round reed accents.
How to Make Baskets, Set of 10 Books - by Siler & Kemp - Complete set of How to Make Baskets Books 1 -10. Complete instructions and detailed illustrations to make 30 baskets from beginner to advanced.
Gourds:
The Complete Book of Gourd Craft - by Summit & Widess - Includes information about growing, drying, and cleaning gourds, and describes more than 55 ways you can decorate them, using stains, paints, carving, wood burning, basketry, decoupage and other approaches.
Weaving on Gourds by Marianne Barnes - Combine basket weaving and gourd art. With 200 color images and step-by-step directions, five projects are presented for both the beginner and advanced weaver.
Nantucket Baskets:
Lightship Baskets of Nantucket - by Lawrence - A chronicle of the history and makers with color photos that detail construction and detail. Includes easy-to-follow, step-by-step illustrated instructions.
Jewelry & Woven Wearables (as well as great accents for gourds, baskets, etc.):
Fabulous Woven Jewelry - by Hettmansperger - Plaiting, Coiling, Knotting, Looping (knotless netting) & Twining with Fiber & Metal.
New Age Looping by Donna Kallner - Looping (also called knotless netting) is a living legacy from the Stone Age that contemporary fiber artists give their own spin. Looping creates a fabric so stable it will not unravel.
Naturals:
Old New England Splint Baskets - by McGuire - Black ash splint baskets and the process involved in making them from selecting a tree to signing the completed basket.
Plaited Basketry with Birch Bark - by Vladimir Yarish, Hoppe & Widess - PACKED with information including the history and tradition of Russian birch bark weaving, harvesting and preparation instructions. plaited and plain weaving general basket weaving instructions, diagonally plaited & double woven traditional Russian birch bark weaving as well as solid canister construction - 18 projects.
Ribbed Baskets (melon, egg, etc.):
Rib Baskets - by Finley - Complete instructions with extensive color photos and diagrams to make a wide variety of rib construction baskets including melon, wreaths, doll cradles and twelve other traditional and modern styles.
Round Reed:
Wicker Basketry - by Hoppe - Fully illustrated instructions for 24 baskets with all the information you will need to design and make original baskets. Most comprehensive and concise book written on round reed weaving for the beginner to advanced weaver.
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Overlapping Reed Ends
- Q: Where should I overlap ends and for how
many stakes?
A: Each row should overlap at a different spot on the basket. If the basket has 4 sides, turn the basket 1/4 turn before starting the next row.
This keeps bulk, from the overlap, from building up and creating a weak spot. Try to never overlap around a corner. If the basket is round, keep about
2-4 spokes in between each overlap. So again, you're turning the basket after you finish a row. Always overlap the ends for 4 spokes. It's OK to cheat
with 2 if the weaver just won't reach, but not 2 consecutive rows. A 4 stake overlap is always stronger than 2. If you are weaving with a thick piece of flat
reed or flat oval, always shave the start of each piece or the end of the old weaver (the shaved end is placed behind the unshaven weaver).
The overlap will be much less noticeable.
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Pack Basket Straps
- Q: Where can I get pre-made back pack
straps?
A: Back Pack Straps may be purchased from:
LL Bean, Inc.
Freeport, ME 04033
800-221-4221
Ask for the Harness System - Not available through their catalog. Ask for retail store item: number 5C443 for a green strap that fits a 24 inch large
pack basket.
Back Pack Harness
made from Cotton Straps or Leather are available on AdirondackPackBaskets.com.
These harnesses are made to fit the Adirondack Pack Basket pattern by Lisa Nortz. These are completed harnesses
available from a company not affiliated with The Country Seat, Inc. Please see AdirondackPackBaskets.com for prices.
We are offering this link as a service to our customers. We make no promises or guarantees regarding theses products.
Please contact AdirondackPackBaskets.com directly if you have questions about their products.
If you would like to make your own cotton harness, please see the
Shaker Tape choices.
Bachelor buttons or rivets, to secure the harness straps, may be purchased at your local fabric store or hardware store.
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Reed Scraps
- Q: What can I do with all these small pieces of reed?
A: Reed scraps tend to multiply very quickly. Here are some solutions:
If the reed is small in width (11/64", 3/16", 1/4"), try looking for
patterns for small or miniature baskets. See books such as: Mini Memories I & II and patterns such as: Miniature Baskets by
Richards and the Mini Marathon Collections II & III by Gibson. Type the word miniature in the search box of our