Canework
The rounded shape of this so-called ‘red riding hood’ basket is appealing. Filled with a profusion of woven flax flowers, it was selected to feature on the cover of Creative Fibre diary 2011. I wove the cane basket in the 1980s and later, when I was weaving for my book Weaving Baskets, Backpacks, Boxes and Other Projects, reproduced the rounded shape for a flax basket, featured on this page.
Also shown here is an earlier basket, reminiscent of a 1980s style, which is still in use today as a basket to hold kindling for the fire. A good example of the longevity of natural products.
Willow work
This woven koru is a product of the weekend workshop with Peter Greer, master willow weaver Willow Works, Onekaka, Golden Bay.
The first day I wove a basket, and the second day I ‘went feral’ in Peter’s words, and started wwaving this koru sculpture, which I finished at home, after quite a few days’ work. The open tension of the sculpture resulted in it only lasting as a sculptural piece in the garden for about three years. It was fun to make, all the same!
Tray and basket woven with differently-coloured willows. There are a variety of willows that are grown for basket-making, each having its own qualities and sizes. Choosing the best materials to use for the intended item to be woven is a skill in itself.
Tany Doty, of Heartsone Baskets, superb willow weaver and friend, demonstrated how to weave this tension tray. The concept is clever and I’ve experimented with weaving them with harakeke.
© Ali Brown 2025