Small round basket with wood bottom and handle. Ira Blount Collection/Anacostia Community Museum/Smithsonian Institution

There’s always the joke about taking Underwater Basket Weaving in college, but basket weaving is actually something I’ve always wanted to learn how to do.

I used to have a pine needle basket making kit (it was similar to this one), but it was kind of a pain. The needles were pretty short, which made the process frustrating. And you had to keep soaking the needles, but only what you’d need within a short period of time, so you couldn’t just… do it. And I wasn’t real adept at learning new crafts when I tried it (somewhere in my early 20s, I think).

(Yes, I realize that many types of baskets require soaking materials to be able to bend them.)

I ended up giving the kit to Rory, but he hasn’t delved in yet.

But I’d love to try making baskets out of other material, ideally longer pieces. Maybe there’s a class I can take in the future, or a more helpful kit for more useful baskets (a pine needle basket wouldn’t be a real sturdy one).

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