Basket weaving is a handcraft. The process of using reed, yarn, branches, vines, plants, or fibers to form an object that can hold items for easier transport.

Basket making has been around for centuries and many cultures have their own style of baskets and techniques for weaving them.

There are lots of different basket weaving styles, traditions, and techniques.

Basket making started out as a means in which to create a receptacle for carrying belongings.

In more recent times basketry has become a form of craft for the maker, reenactor, and survivalist.

Using natural materials- often sturdy grasses and branches or wood splints, a basket is woven by building a foundation and then weaving supporting pieces around the foundation to build a bottom and walls.

Textile Indie focuses on basket making using reed from the rattan plant found in Indonesia. Rattan is a vine that grows on the trees in Indonesian jungles. It is harvested, stripped down into different widths, shapes, and lengths to form the reed used for basketry.

There are many different weaving techniques that can be used in rattan baskets. Twill weaves, continuous weave, triple weave, braids, plain weave, and others. Baskets can be simple shapes and styles like a market basket with a basic handle, or have a complex shape and construction like an egg basket.

Learn how to make rattan baskets using the tutorials, patterns, videos, and resources suggested on Textile Indie. Start your own basketry adventures with our free video course to make a beginner market basket.