How to Cut Reed for Basket Stakes

For a complete guide to all Textile Indie’s basket weaving posts and videos, visit the main Basket Weaving Page.

The first step in basket weaving – preparing the reed

There’s something special about creating with your own hands. The slowness of the process, thinking through every aspect of your creation, realizing the time and effort things take, and appreciating the skill they require is an invaluable experience.

I am somewhat of an addict when it comes to this. I’ll complete a sewing project, dye pot, or theatre performance only to look ahead with anticipation for the next creative pursuit. I love testing my creative limits.

Once something is completed, you get to go back to the beginning and begin anew. It’s like Springtime.

coils of flat basket reed — Some links below are referral links, at no extra cost to you, we earn a commission if you make a purchase. Thank you for supporting Textile Indie in this way! See our full disclosure statement.

In basketry, going back to the beginning for me always means deciding the shape, style, or purpose of my next basket. Next comes the design and measurement calculations. Sometimes I like to create sketches of what I want the end product to look like, other times, I allow the image to sit in my brain as I cut and weave.

The next practical step after the planning and envisioning is to cut out and mark the stakes for your basket. I want to share how I do this. At the reed cutting stage, you set yourself up for a successful and enjoyable weaving experience. I have a few pointers that will help you make your next project the best it can be.

If you need help interpreting your basket pattern, watch this video:

Find a complete list of basket weaving terminology:

Basket Weavers Glossary

Basket reed cutting tools

My favorite tool for cutting stakes is a pair of reed cutters or basket shears. They have a sharp pointed blade that makes it easy to cut through even a thick flat oval rim reed. Kitchen shears are a slightly less effective alternative.

Reed cutters, pencil, measuring tape — **Reed cutters are the ideal scissor for basket weavers**

A cloth measuring tape for measuring the stakes. The pliability of the tape allows it to curve over the reed as you measure.

A graphite pencil to mark the center point on each stake.

Reed – the width you need for the basket.

Removing pieces of reed from the reed coil

A coil of basket reed, tied with blue ribbon, tape measure, pencil, and pair of reed cutters — **Keep your reed coils neat and tidy.**

As you can see in the photo above, the reed is coiled and tied into a neat bundle.

To start cutting your stakes, these ribbon bindings have to be cut, obviously, but doing it willy-nilly will leave you with a huge mess (trust me, I know from experience).

Here’s my suggestion:

Lay your bundle on a table (like in the photo above). Then clip the ribbons, or whatever is fastening the coil, without moving the reed itself. The coil should look like the photo below.

Generally, on reed coils, there’s a piece of round reed twisted around the ends to hold them together. I clip this reed tie – still keeping the reed flat on the table.

Reed coil close up with the ends tied together with a piece of round reed. — **A loose coil of reed – the ends are visible – making it easier to untangle without making a mess.**

Watch this technique in action.

Finally, remove a piece of reed from the loosened coil. Lift one of the visible ends on the outside of the coil and gently pull it out. Here is a photo of what your piece will look like:

Piece of reed thats been lifted out of the reed coil and set aside separately. — **One length of reed, neatly separated from its coil.**

After you have cut all the stakes you need and taken the pieces you want from the coil, retie the coil before moving it.

Retie at spaced intervals to keep the coil together. This is much easier to store than a tangled mass of reed that looks like a rat’s nest.

Tied bundle of reed after using — **Reed coil after I’ve taken out what I need. The coil is still intact.**

Measuring basket reed for stakes

Starting at the end of the reed, measure from the endpoint to the length you require and snip off the length with scissors.

Holding a measuring tape at the end of a piece of reed to begin measuring out stake length — **Holding a measuring tape at the end of a piece of reed to measure out stake length**

Measuring the length of the stake — **Measuring out the length of a stake.**

Continue to measure and cut reed until you have the number of stakes for your basket design.

Since you have the basket reed out, cut all stake lengths the pattern calls for.

Make sure to keep the different lengths in separate piles in order to save time later. You may want to make a note on scraps of paper, indicating which part of the basket each bundle is meant for.

Two lengths of stakes to be used to create a rectangular open bottom basket. — **Stakes ready for a rectangular open bottom basket.**

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Marking the stake center point

Find the center point of the stake length.

If I’m feeling math sensitive, I use a cheat method to do this.

Find the length of your piece of reed on the measuring tape, fold the tape in half, and voila! There’s your halfway point.

Measuring to the center of each stake to create a center mark for creating the base later. — **Creating the center mark on each stake.**

A small dash mark on the stake indicating the center of the stake. — **A small dash mark on the reed indicates the center of the stake.**

Using the pencil, mark the wrong side of each stake (*see photo below) at the halfway point. Mark all the stakes.

*Wrong side: There’s a right and wrong side of the reed.

One side is smooth, the other has a fuzzy texture of little reed fibers. To figure out which side is which, gently fold the reed over your finger and look at the texture of each side. The side that is rougher is the wrong side.

The right and wrong sides of reed. This is important to know when marking the stakes so that your end product is smooth. — **The right side of the reed faces out for a smooth basket.**

Your reed stakes are cut and marked. Enjoy your new beginning, and good luck with pursuing adventures in basket weaving!

Basket tool kit

Check out my Etsy shop Textile Indie Supplies for a tool kit that includes reed cutters, stake weight, 4 metal clamps, 4 plastic clamps, and a straight-tipped packer.

Buy Basket Making Tool Kit