Random Weave Basket Fun

purple willow from my yard in lengths 2 - 4 feet

gently bend 3 long pieces into circles. imagine 2nd hand mirror image, thumbs pressing up & hands pulling down

make the 3 of uniform size. wrapping the willow around itself to hold together

cross 2 of the rings and temporarily twist tie them together where they meet

place 3rd ring to make globe, twist tie all meetings (there are 6 ties including first 2)

at every twist tie, wrap a willow over and around for support. at this point you should pay attention to (argh, how to explain) ...where the willows cross one is above the other, so when wrapping go the opposite way to form support.

now you can remove the twist ties : )

then the fun begins. continue to create tension by weaving branches over and under each other. after a time you will discover that the basket has amazing strength and can be manipulated in form. you can pull open a section for the opening, use a branch as handle...

one big clue... a spiraling pattern creates more tension then following around in equator like circles.