How to make a twined basket with coconut coir
Love the sight of all that coconut coir, but have no idea what you'd make with it? Here's an idea!
This is a cute and easy little basket I'm making with coconut coir. Trust me, making one of these is really more simple than it looks!
You'll need: One or 2 shades of coconut coir (two is best for learning!). This is enough to make several baskets, depending on size. Pictured above with the basket are the 25m rolls used to make it, so you can see they didn't use much at all. Basket measures approx 15cm diameter by 12cm high.
You can of course make this with just one colour, it's just much easier to work using contrasting colours if you're a beginner.
Time: about 2-3 hours for a total novice.
To start: Cut 8 equal lengths of coir using the secondary colour (the green in basket above, and the purple in basket below). Cut these a bit more than double the desired height of your basket. Divide these lengths into two lots of 4.
Cross the two over at the midpoint to make a cross. This is the base of the basket. Also, pegs: use them to hold things in place.
The twist: Take your primary colour, and hook the fold around one of the groups of 4 strands created by your cross. Twist the weaving strand and pass over the next group of four, continue this process until you have gone around the 4 groups of 4 strands twice.
The twisting method is shown in this quick video - note that at this stage, Megan is has just completed the 2 rounds of groups of two, and is now doing a twist between every strand of purple. (Please excuse the toddler talk!)
Next: you will be splitting the groups so you have eight groups of 2 strands, just split them as you work around, putting a single twist in the weaving stand after passing each group. Work two laps of the groups of two.
Tension and curves: From now on you'll be working single stands. The tension on your twist should be relatively loose. Increasing tension is what curves your basket up, so too much tension too early will make your basket curve up really quickly.
Increase the tension a little once you're happy with the size of your base. Once you have the basket curving up, remember to reduce the tension as you continue to work around.
We'll follow up this post with some pointers on finishing up. How would you finish off a basket like this?
If you try this out we'd love to see your results! tag us on instagram @string_harvest #stringharvestmakes