Get weaving

Basketmaking is not just about making baskets. Which, given the name, might come as a bit of a surprise to those not already in the know. The term actually covers a wide variety of craft techniques from basic basketmaking at one end to willow sculpting at the other. Both subjects that will be covered at the Basketmakers' Association (BA) spring course at The Mount School in York from April 4-9.

The BA was formed in 1975 to promote better standards of design and technique in this environmentally-friendly craft, and now has about 1,000 members in the UK and abroad.

One of those members is Heather Dawe of Hampden Street, York, who has been into weaving willow for the last ten years.

"It is one of those things that you do once and either love or hate," she says, "I loved it."

A talented model-maker, she was working on a giant 12-foot wide hat for the National Railway Museum when she first discovered basketry.

"I was sticking all the various bits of the crown of the hat together with masking tape when I realised there had to be an easier way," she explains. "It struck me that the best way would be to weave the structure together, but I didn't know how."

She immediately signed up for a weaving course in Dorset, where she became hooked on the craft and decided to seek out a job with a local basketmaker when she returned home to refine her skills further.

"There is always something new to learn," she says. "I like experimenting; looking for different weaves and new techniques.

"It's quite a disciplined craft, which is particularly good for me because I'm not disciplined in life at all. It's all about finding a rhythm and a pattern."

Although she now has a decade of experience under her belt, Heather will still be attending this year's spring course - not least because it is a highly social event.

"If you get two basketmakers together in the same room, they can rabbit on all day," she says. "I once went to Newcastle to look at coloured willows with a car full of other basketmakers.

"We were talking about baskets when we left York and we were still talking about baskets when we arrived in Newcastle.

"I suppose obsession isn't too strong a word."

Heather now teaches occasional basketmaking and willow sculpting courses at Askham Bryan and York College, as well as continuing her puppet and model-making. Her work is a regular feature at the National Railway Museum, the Barbican Centre and even York Cemetery, and she is currently making a series of giant papier mache heads for Greenpeace.

While the NRM prompted her love affair with weaving, it was in fact a commission for a giant dragon from the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds that prompted her passion for willow.

"They gave me some willow to work with," she said. "It's very flexible and has a really lovely smell. I love the feel of it and now wouldn't work with anything else."

She has a stack of willow in her garden at all times, soaking in water ready for weaving. But she doesn't have a workshop as such.

"My whole house is my workshop," said Heather, casting a quick eye over the mountain of baskets piled high in one corner and the giant papier mache head in the middle of her dining room.

You don't need a box full of specialist tools to tackle basketry: a knife and a pair of secateurs are enough to get you started. But you do need a certain amount of brute strength.

"The first day I worked with willow, I was worn out," said Heather. "It's quite a physical process.

"The people I teach often complain about their aches and pains, particularly in their hands, but I don't feel it anymore. It gets easier the more you do."

Baskets are now very fashionable - you can't move in the high street stores without tripping over examples of the craft - but unfortunately this doesn't mean big business for basketmakers.

"Most of the baskets you see in the shops are shipped in from China or the Philippines, so it is not really viable to set up your own business here in the UK," explained Heather. "You have to do it because you love it."

Among the highlights of the BA's spring course, which costs £285 for full board and accommodation, are:

Japanese basketmaking techniques with Kazue Honma: during her first visit to Europe, Kazue will teach the students how to make straw sandals using traditional Japanese plaiting techniques.

Picnic hampers with Roy Youdale: an opportunity to make square and oval-lidded hampers for intermediate or advanced students.

Make it in rush with Olivia Elton Barratt: weave it, coil it, plait it, stitch it - there are lots of ways to use rush. From floor covering and chair seats to shoes, hats and bags, there is something for everyone in this class.

Round and oval baskets for beginners and improvers with Sandra Barker: an introduction to basketmaking with the Yeoman of the Worshipful Company of Basketmakers no less.

Willow sculpture with Carol de la Pole: the wonders of willow will be explored to the full in this class for free-thinking basketmakers who want to branch out into sculptural forms.

Membership of the Basketmakers' Association costs £15 a year. For details, contact Isobel Edge on 01630 620363 or isobeledge@hotmail.com

Updated: 09:21 Tuesday, April 01, 2003