White Heart Basket

I have been working on some reed heart baskets. After a little experimenting I have found out what works and what doesn't. For my closed reed basket I use a 5/8 inch natural reed. Each one is cut to 16 inches. I did one with 4, 5, and 6 reeds on each side. The one with 5 reeds looks the best in my opinion. I can make the opening a little wider (in case it was to be used for a flower girl basket or a hanging flower basket) by stuffing in some kitchen towels while it is drying. I am working on developing instructions. Getting the time to make one while taking pictures is the key.

Here is a link to basic instructions using smaller reed.

I used round reed for lashing and flat 1/4 inch reed. I liked the look of the round reed (pictured below) while my husband decided he liked the flat reed (pictured above).

I also experimented with lashing the heart when it was still a little wet or waiting until it had fully dried. It tends to be fuller when it is fully dried and then lashed. I soak the top part of the heart (the round parts) for a minute or two before lashing it and then stuff it with some dish towels to help it maintain it's shape while drying. The opening on top is a little wider and the shape is fuller. (As you can see in the bottom picture, the one on the bottom right was lashed before the heart was fully dried.)


In order to make one white I had to do a little research. Found the best recommendation was to use white pickling. We used an one gallon Ziploc bag and poured about a cup of the pickling in it along with the reed heart. After a couple minutes of shaking to get all the surfaces covered we took it out to dry for three minutes. At this time we patted off any access (that we could get to) and then hung to dry. I later took a paint brush and hit any spots where it wasn't covered well (especially the outside surface.)

We also took a reed heart and used flat, white, spray paint. It was a little easier to cover, but when I went to put on the ribbons, the reed moves a little and you can see a line. Hard to get all of the crevices and edged covered evenly. By using the paint I was able to get a brighter, truer white.

The method I have come to use regularly is first to whitewash using the pickling and follow with a coat of the spray paint to get an even covering. Many times I also finish with a light coat of shellac (you can purchase it in a spray can, it was recommended to me to use for sealing undied or painted reed.) 

I think I like the white-wash better, especially since you can still see some of the grain of the reed. I diluted the pickling a little and the result was a light, white, almost sand colored appearance. (Top: unfinished, Bottom Left: diluted white wash, Bottom Right: white wash and paint)