XXII Raffia Baskets and Napkin Rings
Raffia is so soft and strong that it is very well fitted for the work of children’s fingers.
So many different things can be made with raffia that it is just as precious to the little ones as the same amount of gold.
Little baskets made of raffia are dainty and easily made. For example a work basket, a candy basket, or a basket for handkerchiefs, collar buttons, and many things are interesting.
For one of these baskets we need one long piece of rattan, a bunch of raffia and a blunt-pointed needle. Soak the piece of rattan in water until it is soft enough to work with. Wind the end into the smallest possible ring and with the needle full of raffia start in the middle of the ring and sew over and over from left to right until the end is firmly fastened. The next row is brought around at a little distance from the first and the raffia is brought down through the centre, up and once around the coil, thus holding the first coil to the second.
Wind the raffia around the rattan until the coil has been brought half way around the second time, when it is again sewed through the centre. At quarter distance all the way through the basket these joinings are made and they must be made to the right of the one below and joined to the previous row. The joinings form a pattern.
As the basket grows larger the number of joinings increase. New needlefuls of raffia are always started at a joining, the old strand being brought from left to right through the upper part of the joining. The new strands being brought from right to left through two twists of raffia and drawn through so as to leave the short end lying next to the rattan.
Begin to wind again and soon both ends are covered. When you have made about ten rows, which will form the bottom of the basket, bring the rattan above the last row and proceed as before. Each new row is brought above the previous one so as to form the sides of the basket. When the basket is about eight rows high, the ninth row is brought just a little inside of the eighth so as to have something for the cover to rest upon. When about three inches from the point where the rattan was brought up to make the sides of the basket, it should be cut long enough to finish the row and then shaved off to a flat point which is sewed closely to the last row. For this basket we will have to make a cover.
The cover is made in the same manner as the bottom of the basket. When you have nine rows complete, a border is made to finish off the cover. The tenth row is sewed to the ninth by a fancy stitch which is made by winding once around the ninth from left to right and once around the tenth from right to left and so on alternately until the row is completed.
The end of the rattan is shaved off and sewed to the last row. A pretty lining would beautify this article very much.
One of the very simple things which a very small child could easily make is a napkin ring (Figure 204).
Cut a piece of cardboard or stiff paper about an inch and a half wide and eight or nine inches long. Paste the ends together forming the ring. Take two strands of raffia and knot them. Place the knot inside the ring holding it with the first two fingers of the left hand. The strand on the right is brought up and across the ring on the top, the end hanging over the left side. The strand on the left is brought around the right strand under again through the ring and out on the right through the loop made by the right strand in turning and crossing the ring. Pull both ends. The strand on the left is brought across the ring, the right strand placed over it through the ring and out through the loop on the opposite side. Pull both ends. The little knot formed on the edge is called “Solomon’s Knot” and it makes a very desirable edge.
Different colours may be used in raffia which brighten the ring very much and make the work more interesting.
When the strands of raffia come to an end, a new one is joined by placing the end over the old one about an inch or an inch and a half, and working with them as one. The ends may be cut off after the ring is finished. Sometimes a small bunch of raffia about an inch long is tied to the outside of the ring. The ends are frayed out to add to the effect.
There is one article which proves to be most delightful and interesting to make (that is, to the girls) a doll’s hat (Figure 205).
I think that nearly every little girl knows how to braid raffia and after you have learned how to sew this braid together you can make any size or shape in hats.
Braid some raffia, say about two or three yards. Have several loose strands and a needle and scissors.
Just as in making large hats we begin with the centre of the crown. A needle is threaded with a fine strand of raffia and the work is begun by winding the end several times with the end of the strand threading the needle.
A coil is then started with the edge of the braid up, not the face, and it is sewed through at least two braids at a time, in stitches which run in the direction of the braid. The needle is put in slanting down from right to left and up in the opposite direction. The crown is coiled round and round until it is about two or two and a half inches large. The coil is then brought round with the upper edge just below the centre of the last row. The following rows are sewed in the same way until the crown is completed or high enough to suit you. Have care in sewing the braid so as to show as little of the stitches as possible. The brim is made by flattening out the braid and sewing it so that it overlaps the centre of the braid of each preceding row.
When the brim is wide enough one or two rows are sewed more tightly than the others and the end of the braid is sewed under the brim very flatly. Now the hat is ready to be trimmed.
I would like to tell a little about the handles of baskets in this chapter. In most of the baskets already described a cover has been made. Some people would rather have a handle to the basket, so let us see if we cannot learn how to make some handles. The twisted handle of rattan is made by using one spoke of rattan of suitable length, and a weaver. A knitting needle or something similar will be necessary for the work.
The needle is pushed down beside a spoke of the basket and then drawn out again to make room for the end of the rattan to be pushed in, about three inches below the top of the basket. The other end is inserted in the same way on the opposite side. This makes the foundation handle. The end of the weaver is inserted under the third row of weaving to the left of the spoke and pushed up between the weaving. It is twisted around the foundation about an inch apart. When the opposite side is reached, the weaver is pushed in under the third row of weaving on one side of the handle spoke and brought out on the other side. The weaver is then laid across the first twist and each of the following ones, to the other side where it goes under the third row as on the opposite side. About five or six times across will cover the handle. The weaver is fastened off by bringing it inside the basket across a spoke, in again, and then cut off.
The braided handle is made by using six pieces of rattan braiding using two pieces in each strand.
While weaving the basket, three pieces are pushed in on each side of a spoke and the weaving is continued over the spokes.
The double ring handle is made by twisting rattan into rings and sewing the rings to the weaving of the basket on opposite sides.
In sewing baskets or other articles, different kinds of stitches are used. To put a hat together the braids are sewed together with a plain stitch, whereas in putting a basket together a fancy stitch is employed.
The Indians are famous for the various kinds of fancy stitches, which they have used in making basketry articles.
The skip stitch which is used in sewed baskets is made by enclosing two spokes at a time or enclosing one spoke between every two.
Another useful and decorative stitch which is often used is the split stitch. The spokes are twined with raffia for a certain distance and then are split in two and the right spoke of one is joined to the left spoke of the other and twined with raffia as one.
Sometimes in making a cover for a hanging jar the spokes radiating from the centre are brought diagonally across each other and joined together by the winding stitch.
Many of the simple lace stitches described in a preceding chapter prove very useful in basketry work.
To make the melon-shaped basket shown in Figure 206 a six-inch pair of embroidery hoops will be needed. One hoop is placed inside of the other. The inside hoop is perpendicular while the other one is horizontal. Tie the two rings together at the point of intersection.
From basket splint one sixteenth of an inch thick, cut six strips which are ten inches in length. They should be one inch and three quarters in the centre and taper to points at both ends.
Select raffia in two shades. The natural and brown were used for this basket. With a strand of the brown start to weave at the point of intersection.
Wind around the four pieces of hoop until a square about one and a half inches is made. Repeat on the opposite side of the hoops.
Take two of these pieces of prepared basket splints and insert them in the centre of both squares. First one side of the pieces is inserted in the square and then the other end of the ribs is inserted in the other square. The natural colour raffia is now used to weave over the hoops and ribs. The weaving is done over and under and back and forth from side to side until there are a dozen rows of weaving. The other side of the basket is treated in like manner.
The other four ribs are inserted two on each side of those previously placed. Now begin and weave all the way across. Weave several rows of brown then the natural raffia. You will put in more or less of the brown raffia as you desire, only the pattern on each side of the centre must agree.
Instead of weaving from one side and then across to the other, it is a better plan to weave a little first on one side of the basket and then on the other. In this way you are sure of your pattern.
If the raffia is threaded in a large needle it is easier to weave.
Another strand or more is wound around the handle. A basket such as this makes an attractive fruit basket and is just the thing to give to sick friends or to use when going berrying.
Raffia can be used in many ways as you have already seen. A pretty box for jewellery is one that is almost as easy to make as the napkin ring. Get a sheet of thin white cardboard. The brown cardboard is a very weak material and easily bends and breaks. Cut two circles of cardboard five inches in diameter. Use compasses to inscribe the circle, so that it may be perfect. Then cut a strip seventeen inches long by two inches wide. From the centre of one of the circles cut a two-inch circle. This piece will be the top of the box. Now thread your needle with a strand of the raffia which has been soaked in water and buttonhole in raffia over the cardboard. When the cardboard has been entirely covered with the raffia stitches (Figure 207) take the other circle of cardboard and cut a half-inch circle from the centre. Cover this piece of cardboard like the top. (Figure 208). The raffia should be wiped before using it; if not the water will spoil the cardboard.
The centre opening on the cover will be filled with a spider-in-its-web. Make four strands of raffia across the space. We now have eight spokes. Take the threaded needle back to the centre and having passed under a spoke go back and pick it up. The idea is to go back over one and forward under two. Continue in this manner till the spider is the size you desire.
The long strip of cardboard is sewed together and is worked like the napkin ring. With a strand of raffia, cast or bind the bottom of the box to the side. The top is fastened on one side with two strands of raffia which are tied in a bow. The extra ends are cut off.