Weaving out of wicker: preparation of material, techniques, new photo ideas and step by step master classes for beginners

Weaving out of wicker is a very entertaining activity. Masters make real masterpieces with their own hands.

This kind of needlework does not require large financial expenses. But the desire to create and patience are needed.

In every home for sure there is a basket or wreath, made of wicker. And the wicker furniture made of natural material is in great demand, but it requires experience and certain skills.

If you are new to this business, you can start weaving with small, useful things in everyday life: panels, vases, baskets.

Contents:

Peculiarities of rod preparation

Cut and prepare the material for weaving twice a year. Clean and split the vine immediately after cutting.

From the end of October to April, after the end of leaffall, autumn and winter harvesting is carried out. At this time the twigs have the right ripeness and elasticity of the wood.

To give the material a certain shade, it is boiled for 40 minutes to 2 hours, or soaked for up to two weeks.

With a long boiling time the color of the vine becomes darker and richer.

From May to August there is a spring and summer harvest of vines. The material cut during this period is cleaned without the use of boiling.

When cutting, you should check the quality of the branches by winding them on your finger. The vine should be flexible and not break.

The twigs are harvested using pruning shears or a garden knife, leaving four buds before they are cut.

What kind of wicker you need

Wicker items are made from:

Twigs and willow bark,
bark from linden,
Reed stems,
tropical vines,
walnut twigs,
grapevine.

Weaving different interior figures, gift boxes from paper tubes is popular.

Tools

The necessary tools and various devices for vine weaving can be found in any home:

A set of blunted awls - the blunt ends will keep you safe from injuring yourself while weaving. Different in diameter, used to install handles, design edges, weaving bends.
Garden knife - needed for peeling bark, trimming the ends of twigs, cutting off knots.
Two pruning shears - one to prepare the material, the other to use in the process of weaving.
Pliers - needed to cut the protruding ends of the vine.
Metal or wooden beater - it is used to seal the walls of the product, beating the woven part, so that the drying rod does not weaken the structure.
Pliers - are used to pull through the vine and remove broken twigs.
Circle pliers - used for weaving the bottom and bending the vine
Templates - are necessary to give a neat shape to the wicker.

Types of weaving

The vine is braided from left to right, the rod, which is in the work, should be on the left side.

Simple pattern

The easiest type of weaving with one rod, which wraps around the posts with one end alternately on one and the other side. Subsequent rods are fastened by a rump to the top from the inside of the product.

With a thin vine, docking the branches are woven with both rods between the three struts. For a simple pattern, when making closed loops, you should take an odd number of poles.

On the first circle the stand is braided from the outside, and on the next one already from the inside.

This type is used for decorating vases, bottles, making bottoms of different shapes.

The pattern "in two twigs".

Two vines, braiding alternately stanchions, form a form of "figure of eight". The first vine is attached to the first post, braided the second from the outside, the third - from the inside.

Pull out the rod to the front side after the third and before the fourth post. The second branch is attached to the second, the third to the third post. Weave alternately, in the same method.

The pattern "in three twigs".

The first twig is fastened to the first post, and the second and third are attached to the next posts in turn from the inside. Braid two struts from the outside, one from the wrong side, pulling the vine to the front side. Carry out such actions with all the rods in turn.

Layer pattern

There should be the same amount of twigs and poles. After fixing the vine braid even stands from the outside, odd stands from the inside. The vine is directed upwards, forming a slope of a few degrees. Each successive vine is fastened on the left and woven, skipping one rack.

Some interesting ideas

From twigs create many objects for the interior and household. Flexible vines are also used for cottage crafts.

Figurines

Weave figures from rigid twigs. To form the basis will need a wire.

Wire frame is made thoroughly, is well fixed. Twigs are intertwined between the base of the figure, using any method. This can be a chaotic weave, and you can do everything neatly. In any case it will be an original product.

Figurines for the interior make also from a paper vine.

Wreath

The simplest product made of vines is a decorative wreath. A beginner can easily cope with weaving and learn how to handle willow vines correctly.

Twigs with a length of 30 to 60 cm are needed. From the first twig weave a ring. The thin part of the vine is wrapped around the thick end. On top of the first, the second and subsequent twigs are wrapped, carefully hiding the ends.

Finished blanks dry and decorate at will. To decorate use cones, nuts, candy, ribbons, beads, Christmas balls. It all depends on your imagination and the purpose of the product.

The frame for pictures

To make the original round photo frame, you will need thick cardboard. A photo is pasted on a thick base. Stands are placed in the end of the cardboard.

Types of weaving can alternate. For example, to start layer-by-layer method, then move on to weaving with a rope with two rods. If the racks are fixed in the cardboard firmly, then the bend on the back side of the cardboard can not be done.

When weaving a rectangular frame, the uprights are installed at the edges of the template, observing an angle of 90 degrees. One stand is fixed at an angle of 45 degrees in the middle.

On the long sides of the rectangle set the posts, maintaining a distance of up to 5 cm, depending on the size of the frame being made and the diameter of the rod. The distance in the process of work should be maintained.

Perform weaving rectangular frames in a pattern of two rods. To keep the corners of the frame straight, finish the work with a bend in one rod.

Organizer

The organizer is often woven from the paper tubes.

Rolling a tube of newspaper or magazines is not difficult. Cut strips of width of 5 - 7 centimeters and very tightly twisted on a needle or a skewer, securing the edges with glue.

For weaving you need:

30 tubes of length 10 - 12 cm,
20 tubes of length 15 - 17 cm,
20 straws length 20 - 22 cm.

Let's proceed to weaving:

Cut from corrugated cardboard blanks of boxes of different heights with a width of 10 cm. The inside can be covered with wallpaper, three-layer napkins. Cut along the contour, leaving a tail.
Turning the workpiece well proglazhivayut all the folds, bend and glue the tail. On the bottom of the blanks glued painter's tape
On the smallest side of the box glued double-sided thin adhesive tape. On it glue the 5 shortest posts at the same distance.
On the second box by the same method glue the short struts, but first remove the top protective film from the tape and glue it to the first.
Then remove the rest of the tape and attach the construction to the highest box.
The fourth piece is treated in the same way and glued to the other side of the tallest box.
The structure is placed on cardboard, outline the perimeter and cut out the bottom, indenting inside 3 mm on each side.
Mark the places for gluing, number the boxes and mark the places for gluing vines for the racks, the number of which should be odd.
Glue the vines to the bottom and to the boxes so that on all sides 3 mm of the base was visible. Put the load inside and leave it for a while.
The structure is turned over and placed on the pre-bent, vertical stakes. Start braiding with two tubes, covering everything that sticks out.
Then glue the tubes to the corner, put the design on the bottom, bend up the racks and make 2 rows of rope with two tubes. Stands can be fixed with clothespins.
The weaving pattern can be changed, or left as is.
Lengthen the paper vine by inserting one end into the other, wider one, adding a drop of PVA glue.
Weave around the perimeter of the small billet until it meets a taller box. Continue the work, braiding each subsequent piece in the same way as the first. The remaining ends are trimmed and glued, secured with clothespins.
Take three tubes, align one edge, braid and glue to the edge of the boxes. The ends of the pigtail are cut in a cone and glued together about 1 cm.

Finish the organizer any way you like. There are many options: lacquer coating, decoupage or simple coloring.

Basket

To weave a small basket prepare:

6 pieces of thick rods;
36 pieces of medium thickness twigs;
50 pieces of thin vines.

Follow these steps:

Take 6 rods and with a knife in the middle of three rods make a slit of 4 - 5 cm. The three remaining twigs are inserted into the slots and form a cross shape.
Two thin vines are inserted into the slit, disconnected and enveloped by three thick base rods alternately skipping up and down. After completing two circles, weave each twig of the base.
Be sure to keep an even spacing, tightening the vine after each weave. Weave until 10 cm of the working rod is left.
Increasing the length, a new vine is slipped between the rods of the last row. After a few weaving strokes, the second vine can be increased.
Continue weaving until the bottom reaches a diameter of about 22 cm.
The ends of the remaining twigs are trimmed and fixed between the branches of the previous row. The bottom should be slightly concave.
Next, gradually attach 24 twigs with a sharp cut to the spokes. Press with an awl or screwdriver next to the spokes and insert one branch on each side around the circle.
The twigs are lifted up and tied or secured with a hoop. Protruding spokes bottoms are trimmed.
To connect the base to the sides of the product, the basket is taken on his knees, the bottom to himself. Three equal lengths of medium-thickness vines are fastened, inserting closer to the vertical bar. Well deepen the ends.
The left twig is woven in from the side, throwing the vine over the first, then the next stand in the second row. In this way work with subsequent rods and braid the base.
For the basket to get a beautiful shape, tighten the rods tightly. Having made a circle of weaving, the product can be put on any convenient surface and make a few more layers. The remaining ends of the rods are pulled through the weave down, the ends are cut off.
The walls can be made in different patterns. For those who are just beginning to master the weaving of vines, it is most convenient to choose the simplest option.
To prevent the workpiece from falling, put a weight in it. First, one rod is added, throwing it over the front and back of the racks to the middle of the diameter of the product. Then the second. Next weave using them alternately. The vine should be cut to its strong constriction, avoiding in weaving thin branches.
After several circles the hoop can be removed. After weaving up 9 -10 cm make several circles, adding a light vine of medium diameter.
Finish the work on the basket by making a bend. Take three light rods, fix them to the first post and bend to the right. Take turns this way to bend all the branches. In the next row, the first rack is pulled through the bottom of the third, passing two rods. The other props are pulled through in the same way.
The ends of the last three branches are wound behind the weave and tightened. The protruding ends are cut off with an oblique cut.

You can use different patterns, take vines of different diameters, colors, textures. In any case, your product will look original and unique.

Armchair

To make a chair for the first time you need to pick up a simple shape and use a simple weaving. You will need a flexible vine with cuts at an angle of 40 degrees.

For the future chair buy a ready-made frame or form their own from the dark vines, large diameter fastening with self-tapping screws.

Add and fasten well the future legs of the chair from four timber bars.

Fix the furniture with horizontally fixed sticks around the legs of the future chair. Weave the seat and backrest in a simple pattern. Twigs can be combined with other materials: ribbons, cords, ropes.

Wicker furniture is treated with varnish or stain. You can apply water-based paint to individual elements.

Weaving is good for health

Weaving is an ancient type of needlework. Working with environmentally friendly material, masters have fun, develop fine motor skills, improve memory, intelligence, coordination of movements.

You can make a variety of exclusive ornaments for the interior, useful household items, make a decorative fence, various furniture.