Indian Swing Cathead

Are YOU ready for hardwood?

Weaving baskets with hardwood is definitely the big time. It's the mastering of the technique.
"How does it differ from weaving with reed?", you ask.

It's a tougher material. It's like leather vs. denim. Steak vs. jerky. Each has its place, but one is sturdier and longer lived.
Weaving with hardwoods takes some muscle at times. You pull and shape with your forearm. Your bicep strains. Your back stretches over your project.
The sweat runs down your forehead, lands on the inside of your eyeglass lens, and drips onto your basket.

It's a bit rough on namby pamby hands. You'll use your reed packer a lot to get the rows solidly in place, but your fingertips will still be sore. It will definitely exercise the hand muscles. No fat there!

It's a good thing that we can learn on reed. Reed baskets are terrific in their own right. Besides: if we all had to learn basketry on hardwoods, there wouldn't be many basketweavers.

The "cathead" style- as shown on the book cover above- is so called for its unique bottom shape. The basket sits on its four bottom points. To design this pattern, I actually worked on several different sized prototypes simultaneously, looking for the best size for instructional purposes. Occasionally a photo in this newsletter today might show one of the other prototypes, and I'll point that out so as not to confuse anyone.

To prepare materials:
Cut twelve spokes 24" long from 1/2" wide ash. You can buy one coil of 1/2" x 6' ash, but there won't be much room for error. I recommend that you buy an extra coil of the smaller 1/2" x 4' ash- just in case.

For these reasons, our Indian Swing Cathead Kit is going to include both a 6' coil and a 4' coil of 1/2" ash. (Basket takes about 54' but we're including 100'.)

Soak the twelve ash splint spokes and the leftover 60" pieces for about a half hour. When the ash is pliable, cut 3 of the 1/2" wide x 60" long splints down to 1/4" wide with scissors. Later on, you'll cut each 1/4" wide piece in half along its length to make 1/8" wide weavers.

RECAP: Each 1/2" x 60" splint will equal FOUR weavers that are 1/8" wide. I like to let them soak as 1/4" wide pieces. I cut them down to 1/8" wide as I need them. The splitting time is a good time to refresh the basket in progress in a bucket of water.

You'll also need a large plastic coffee can to use as a mold (No metal cans. Metals rusts.), and a galvanized nut and bolt with washers. I used the 3 lb. 4 oz. size coffee container. Bolt should be no larger than 1/8" so that it doesn't damage your ash.

1. Begin by laying four spokes into a woven pattern as shown above. The HOLE in the middle is the CENTER of the basket. The hole measures 1/4.	2. Build a checkerboard over-under pattern in the base, using up all 12 spokes. Base weaving will be 6 spokes over 6 spokes and measure 4.5" x 4.5".	3. Poke a hole in the plastic cover of the coffee container and use the nut and bolt with washers to attach the base to your coffee container "mold".
4. There will be about an inch of space between the edge of the base and the edge of the lid. This is so that you can form a "catshead". With a pair of scissors, SPLIT any middle spoke right down to the base, as shown.	5. Tuck an 1/8" wide weaver into the split, as shown at left. (The splint shown is actually a photo of a 1/4" splint. Testing. Testing 123.) Remember to cut 1/8" splints are you need them. Cut them WET. Dry splinters.	6. Shaping the corners: These first two rounds can be tricky so be patient. Use a clamp to hold the corner spokes close together. Bring the row close to the base.
7. This is shown looking down upon the corner after two rounds. Pull it TIGHT, so that the corners actually lift up a bit. Normally, in basket weaving, you want to weave smoothly but NOT tightly. This is an exception to the rule.	8. In this photo you can see how the corners are now lifting up. Once you get this part established, the rest is very easy. You may break a weaver here and there. No problem. Just add on another piece.	9. Soak your basket in a bucket of water periodically to keep it pliable. Once again, this photo shows a different sized base.
10. If you're a new basket weaver, this is how you successfully conceal the end of one weaver when you add a new weaver. Here's the end of the first weaver.	11. Tuck the new 1/8" wide weaver on TOP of the previous end shown in step 10. Hide the end of the new weaver UNDER the spoke. Seamless weaving! IMPORTANT NOTE: If you use a coffee container with a grip spot, be very careful not to squeeze the mold. It will become narrower in the middle and you'll weave your mold securely INTO THE BASKET!	12. Here's the basket nearly finished.
13. When the basket stands 5 1/4" tall on the table, it's time to weave in a band of 1/2" splint for the rim foundation.	14. Tuck it behind a spoke like any other weaver. Weave one round. It'll have an "over over" spot in the weaving, as shown at left in Step 13.	15. CUT AND TUCK. Use your awl to open up a space in the weaving on the inside of the basket. It can be at any spoke that is on the OUTSIDE of the 1/2" splint row, as shown. Trim the end of the splint down to about 2".
16. Smoothly tuck in the weaver.	17. Tuck in the rest of the OUTSIDE spokes.	18. Trim the INSIDE spoke ends flush with rim. The arrows show where you'll insert the handle in the next step.
19. Slide the handle into the weaving on the inside of the basket. Notice from the photo details that you don't slide it in at the TOP of the rim. Then, clamp a band of 1/2" splint on the inside and outside of the basket. Have the overlapping ends of each band on opposite sides of the basket to prevent any lumpy spots in the rim. The inside band will rest in the notches of the handle as shown at the arrow.	20. Tuck a piece of 1/4" splint into the band and lash under the border band. NOTICE that the lashing piece will COVER the rough cut edge of the inside spokes. (Shown at arrows) This is your first and only use of 1/4" wide splint in the basket. You'll need your awl to open up spaces in the weaving for the lasher.	21. When you get to the handle, cross over the lashing as usual. Then carry it vertically UP behind the band, and cross DOWN from left to right, making the cross on the front. Next, you'll carry it up across the back so that you're at point A, ready to continue lashing in the usual way. Pigtail handle details
		22. When you're finished, if the basket wants to bow into an oval, pull it into round shape with string or a piece of raffia. Let the basket dry completely. Remove string.

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