How to Make Plain Indian Baskets

All Native American tribes used baskets of some kind. Northwestern tribes preferred pine needles and bark pieces while Midwestern tribes used tall grasses. Still other tribes used reeds and all tribes had different weaving techniques. Some even wove pictures into their baskets to denote ownership and purpose. You, too, can weave a simple Native American basket. The easiest baskets have no embellishment and use an easy, over-under weave.

• 1

  Cut 24 pieces of ½ inch weaving straws, each about 15 inches long. Separate them into two groups of 12. Lay 12 straws side by side vertically.

• 2

  Lay a weaving straw horizontally across the vertical straws about 5 inches from their ends. Slide the horizontal straw under the first vertical straw, over the second straw and under the third, continuing this way until your reach the other side.

• 3

  Tug on the horizontal straw until you have about 5 inches sticking out on either side of the vertical straws. Weave a second horizontal straw beside the first, weaving it under the first and over the second. Continue weaving straws this way until you run out of straws in the second group. You should have a woven straw mat with unwoven straws sticking out of the edges.

• 4

  Cut three 30-inch lengths of weaving straw. Bend the unwoven portion of the straws around the edges of your straw mat up at a 90 degree angle. This should create a box-shape with the unwoven straws as the walls and the woven portion of the mat as the bottom of the box.

• 5

  Start at one corner of your box and weave a 30-inch straw horizontally through the upright straws. Keep the horizontal straw as close to the bottoms of the upright straws as you can. Slide the horizontal straw under the first upright straw at your chosen corner, over the second straw and under the third. Continue this way until you reach the end of your first 30-inch straw.

• 6

  Weave the other two 30-inch straws through the upright straws until your reach about 1 inch before the ends of the upright straws. Fold the last inch of each upright straw down to the inside of the basket to create a rounded, smooth edge for your basket. Glue the folded straws down to the inside edge of your basket. This should keep the basket from coming unraveled.