Pine Needle Basket Weaving

A Word About Pine Needles

All pine needles are not created equal! Needles from the long-leaf pine tree are almost always used in basket making. The average length of the long leaf needles is 6 inches to 15 inches. The short-leaf pines produce a needle that may be up to 6 inches long, but these needles are quite skinny. However, if this is what you have available in your "backyard," you may use them; it will only take more time and patience.

Preparing the Needles

Place pine needles in an old baking pan, one long enough to accommodate the length of the needles. Cover with boiling water, and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Pour off water and wrap needles in a towel.

The next step is to remove the caps from the pine needles. Do this by pulling them off with your fingers, or scraping the shaft of each needle with the dull edge of your scissors or butter knife. Try to leave each needle intact, as a whole needle will fill the gauge faster.

Begin with three whole pine needles, tie on 1 1/2 yards of thread, just under the caps of needles. Use a double-overhand knot. (This is simply a "tie your shoe" knot, except you loop the thread on the right through twice). Trim off short thread and caps of pine needles as close to knot as possible.

Place pine-needle bundle on top edge of nut, always keeping loose needles to the left. At this point, you will be wrapping the thread around the pine needles and nuts, so you must keep the thread taut at all times. A clothes pin will help you hold the thread tight as you go around the nut. Once you've made the first row around the nut, you will be stitching the next row of needles to this first row so the thread will hold itself. Be patient, the first coil is the hardest part; it gets easier as you progress with your basket. 

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