Basket Weaving ~ Cracker or Catchall Basket

Great for your first basket weaving experience.  This is one of my favorite little projects, and I use it every day.  This is a beautiful 5" X 10" X 5" medium sized basket woven with a combination of various sized reeds along with an accent color.  It is finished off with half round reed and sea grass.  It is a sweet addition to a buffet table for crackers or dinner rolls, I use mine as a catch all for my t.v. clickers, pens and reding glasses. You will love the fact that you made it yourself, you'll go from not ever having weaved a thing, to making a basket in 3 hours ! After completion, the basket will be dipped in a black walnut stain for preservation, beauty and durability. This basket is sturdy with a myriad of uses. 

Students usually find that basket weaving has shown a positive effect on their ability to maintain manual dexterity, and also as a means of warding off the stiffness of arthritis. Persons with even major sight impairment can weave baskets.  Mentally, basket weaving can also help to keep senses sharp in the same way that puzzle-making, crossword puzzles and balancing the checkbook without a calculator all require more active brain manipulation than the passive use of calculators. With basket weaving, measurements are taken as supplies are cut; decisions are made as the weaving progresses, and most of all, a deep sense of satisfaction comes with the finished basketry! It is affordable, creative, draws on common sense, resourcefulness and imagination.  I also think that the relatively short amount of time that's required to weave a basket is a good incentive for pursuing this craft. Good, clean, fun!