You're quite welcome! If I search the internet for something and I don't find it, sometimes I'll figure it out and make the video myself. I feel like I can make my own small contribution to the collective knowledge that is the world wide web.
Aha! My heart sunk for a quick moment when you said I needed a specialised tool... then began smiling a much-needed smile when you showed the stick. Wow! Been wondering about all this and so glad I found your channel!!!
I just discovered your videos and I'm hooked. I'm a pine needle basket weaver and saw your video using Scotch Broom. My son has Himalayan blackberries growing in his back yard and we've tried to kill them every year for a long time but with no luck. SO, I'm going to try a blackberry basket as well. LOVE the idea of putting a jar of blackberry jam into the basket (my Christmas gift for my brothers this year has been discovered! I'm searching for a place where I can get to some Scotch broom and try my hand at a basket this week. (I'm 71 with some mobility issues, so I need to be aware when I'm walking around brambles, etc.) You look like life is a lot of fun for you wandering around the woods and finding things to do with everything you find! You're keeping old skills alive and introducing them to a whole new audience! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your kind words! I'm sure you're better at pine needle baskets than I am at Scotch broom baskets. I've worked with Ponderosa Pine needles, and they feel so much nicer to work with than Scotch broom. But I'd rather try something new than do something well.
@@PacoWarabi I picked a blackberry branch yesterday but it's winter here in Australia so the bark layers didn't separate, I'll try again when the bushes are flowering :)
Wow! That was excellent, thanks. I had just collected some lengths of bramble from my garden to make cordage and was checking out Sally Pointer's (UK) video on this when I spotted your video on basket making. Now I have something else to make from the brambles as well as collecting the berries (once ripe) and using the leaves for eco printing and then later in the year for basket making using the whole cane. What an amazing plant. Now I just need to find myself a good knife to have a go at cutting the brambles in half. Wish me luck! And thanks again.
@@wendyrobinson5523 You're very welcome! Maybe this year I'll pay another video on yet another way to use the cane (it involves cutting it into quarters). Have fun!
@@PacoWarabi Hooray! I found a small pruning knife and now I have 4 pieces of bramble bark. Just need to clean off some more canes and then I can have a go at the basket. Thanks again! Such fun!
I once needed to clear a large patch of Himalayan blackberries to put in a garden. Seeing how you remove the thorns and the side branches off the vines was very cathartic for me.😁 Those thorns are nasty. I bought welder's leather gloves to protect me and still ended up losing more blood than I would have liked. I should have bought cowgirl chaps to protect my legs!
I love everything about this! Anything to encourage people yanking up the invasive Himalayan Blackberry! Have you done any weaving with English Ivy? As I understand, it can be harvested all year round for baskets 🧺 Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge and creating this comprehensive video! I’m inspired and want to use more invasives for crafts!!!
That sounds ideal for my garden, but unfortunately I haven't got time to sit and make baskets at the moment as I'm having to cut back so much hawthorn, blackthorn, brambles and ivy! Is there a way to store these vines until I've got time to do something useful with them? Right now I'm just putting everything through the shredder to make mulch.
For the split cutting, to make it safer and easier, you could drive a knife into a piece of stable wood, then just push/pull on the vines on the stabilized knife. I find that to work easier. You could also stick 2 or three knives down like that, to make a temporary rig that makes sure the vine gets cut somewhat in the centre without too much work, making it a lot easier, faster and consistent. works also to make the weavers.
I put my material in a bucket of water because it was drying too fast. I also did my basket start different, just doing the twining from the get go because that square pattern just drives me nuts and I haven't gotten the dexterity to get it right yet. I was surprised to find that blackberry bark when dried makes a surprisingly strong basket all by itself.
I don't have Himalayan blackberries, thank goodness, no thorns on mine. However, I grow mine for food. Now I know what and how to use the vines that are old and won't produce anymore berries. Mine only grow fruit on second year vines. So no cutting any vines with flowers for me, that's the future crop I'm counting on. You made this video four years ago, and there's still someone out there, Me! , that's wondering if my old vines could be used practically. Very informative and will be giving this a try next spring. I will have a ton of vines that will be "spent" and I'll be trimming back next year. However, I will be "attempting" a much larger basket and two handles. Thanks for sharing your talent!! ✌️❤️💯
One note - this can only be done on new canes, before the fruiting season. That's the only time of year that you can separate the bark from the core. I don't know if it would work in your situation. I do, however, have plans to make another video showing how to use the vines later in the season, which might be ideal for using the "spent" canes. Stay tuned . . .
@@PacoWarabi after I wrote this I realized that...the second year vines are "harder". However, they are flexible. That's why I went looking for videos. Maybe not separate the vines, make sure they're thinner ones. Kinda like the grapevine weaves I've seen. Will look forward to seeing your future video though. Would really like to try something new and show my grandkids. ✌️❤️💯
"...using fingers as buffer" - Good common sense point made regarding knife safety, early in video. With practice, very easily accomplished. So sad weaving is a dying art. Keep it going for !! Very good video.
If you're going to cut towards yourself, then it's important to teach how to not cut yourself. I've never cut myself doing this, although I've definitely hurt myself with other tools (one of the best (worst) scars I have is from a manual coping saw). My most popular video by far, with over a million views, is my other blackberry bramble basket video, so I hope that weaving is making a comeback.
i was watching the videos of guys building houses and pools in the forest from scratch and i'm like "hey i can do that,But lets start of simple with a basket!"great video man love it!
Thanks! I shot most scenes multiple times to try and get the camera angles right. I ended up making 2 different baskets on different days because I didn't like how some of the first shots turned out.
@@PacoWarabi we're about to move into a house that has been abandoned for over a year. The back slope is covered in blackberry brambles and this is a perfect use for them. Thanks again.
The way I see it, I'm not the best basket weaver. I'm not the best video maker. But I'm pretty good at combining the two, which allows more people to learn these skills.
This is really amazing info. I’ve always wanted to try it but no lessons to be found anywhere and during the late 70s I remember jokes being made about college students being educated in “basket weaving 101” as though it was an utter waste of time and resources. No learning is a waste as it can always be applied in some situation. Thanks Paso.
I actually had to search all over my university's catalog to find a basketweaving class. They had it hidden under a title like, "Special Problems in Art," or something like that. I learn a lot from RU-vid. And if I can't find the exact instructions I want, I try to make that video, to add to the common knowledge bank of the world. Glad you find it useful too!
I have made this basket, using the older, thick vines, like an inch or so wide. I used wider strips like this. Theres another video outnthere that says to use the younger green vines gor making cordage. She used a butter knife to scrape the bark off the outside (young, small green vines) and then split the vine in half with her fingers to take pit the pith. I found my resulting bark basket dried pretty quickly whike I was weaving, so I pit the pieces in a bucket of water. The resulting basket is SUPER string. Probly why the bb vines jist destroy my weed whacker. Dont ever use those electric string trimers. So lame. I caugnt two on fire. They hate blackberries. Lol I'm actually on here researching things to spin for clothing. Nettle is one, I know. Flax. I have a little of each of those. Not enough. But I have lots.of bb and lots of thistle.
I know this was four months ago, but I do have another video about bramble cordage. Short answer, you can use the inner bark of bramble to make a very strong cordage, but you have to scrape off the outer bark, and you can only do it in the spring.
PacoWarabi The first basket I make from shrubbery on my new land will be in your honor for teaching me this! I mean that!! Paco is an easy name to remember!
Du hast große Bewunderung von mir, sooo schön hast du das gemacht...alle deine Videos sind sehenswert und man kann viel lernen von dir....ich wünsche dir alles liebe auf deinen Weg.
Once you get a feel for the material, there are so many other things you can make with blackberry bark as well. I even have a hat band made from the stuff!
love these sort of videos, making something useful, a form of upcycling...motivated to make a basket out of lantana, (using Pacific Blackberry method) and other environmental weeds...thankyou.
I just about fell over when I saw those scissors! I have a pair just like them but could never find info on them. I came to your comment section hoping someone would mention them...I wasnt disappointed. Thanks for the basket weaving instruction AND for the info on the scissors!
You're very welcome! You should know that there are many palm leaf basketry videos out there, so if this technique doesn't work, you could definitely try one of theirs.
Thank you for this! I didn't know it was possible to weave baskets with these awful plants. I need to get me a set of decent gloves so I can attempt this.
My ultimate goal is to figure out how to use Himalayan blackberry plants in as many ways as possible, because no one will mind me taking as many as I want. I've gotten to the point where I barely even wear gloves for the dethorning any more. The stick trick works quite well to remove the thorns.
@@PacoWarabi I've done tea from young leaves and buds (wash, then ferment by stuffing them in a jar and leaving it for a week or so.) It tastes kind of like oolong! I wonder if the vines are durable enough to make brooms with.
@@eh39292 I've experimented with the vines, and if you find a really thick one in the winter, it might be strong enough. They do shrink substantially when they dry. If you're in the Pacific Northwest, I'd try Scotch broom as a broom handle (and the bristles!) or mullein. I've experimented with the tea, and you can also pickle the young canes. They make cute star-shaped pickles. Apparently you can also cook the tender canes as an asparagus substitute, but I've never tried it myself.
@@Lawknee @Loni Carr Heh. I actually have another video on how to make mullein walking sticks. You remove the leaves and clean off all the fuzz, then let it dry for a couple of weeks, and you could make it into a broom handle. My 2015 New Year's video features a mullein handle broom. It's more a decoration/prop, but it looks really cool!
Glad you enjoyed it. I've made a video on how to make cordage from blackberry vines as well. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dKkkChHSgT8.html
Love this basket. Nice addition to your original basket making video. However, I don't think our vines ever get so thick in diameter. And, I'm sure it's also the wrong season right now. 😞 Oh well.
This is just an example of flat material weaving. I learned this technique with flat reeds, but I've seen people do similar things with bamboo, or even paper. I don't actually know what I'm doing. I just try stuff until I like the results.
Excellent video - so much information in here, so many techniques and tips that can be adapted. It's interesting to me how similar your countryside vegetation looks to that in Britain. At a casual glance that hedgerow at the start could easily have been in England. I'm going to try this with our UK brackberry vines, but this technique could also be used with our flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) whose leaves are also great for making rope for basket-seating. Looking forward to more videos. Thanks for sharing.
Do you know about the Douglas Fir? I've heard there are areas of Britain that the Doug Fir has become naturalized. I'm not surprised that we have similar plants growing. We have flag iris here as well, but it's an invasive species (much the English Ivy and the Himalayan Blackberry). We've gotten a lot of species from Europe -- even Europeans!
Well done - such a cute little basket. It'd be great as a biodegradable planter. I have plenty of brambles in a weedy corner of my garden. I also have lots of native english hop vines which grow like crazy, so I might try those too.
Thanks! I think the biodegradable planter sounds like a great idea, although I'm not sure if it would biodegrade before the season is over, ruining anything you planted inside. It would be worth an experiment! The English hops sound intriguing. If they're anything like the hops I'm used to in the US, you would probably want to use my basketry techniques from my other bramble basket video. That's better for round weaving materials. I'd love to see the finished product!
Hi, Paco! Thx for your cool weaving/foraging videos, they're my favorite! Maybe someday make a video about cedar tea. Nobody seems to know about it, and it's my favorite tea! I drink it every day. I live in the PNW same as you, so I'm sure there's cedar in your area. Just chop the leaves and brew like any other tea. (Always fresh leaves, never dried.) Very mild, not bitter, almost flowery or fruity flavor. Only tastes resinous if you steep it WAY too long. Full of vitamin C and antioxidants. Thought I'd share the idea with you in case you're not already familiar. I'm sure you'd love it!
I'm not familiar with cedar tea. I'm assuming you're taking about Western Redcedar? That's fascinating. Does it matter what time of year you harvest them? I'd love to see a video. Next spring, I definitely recommend you try Douglas Fir spring tip tea. You get the fresh green tips from a Douglas fir, and make tea from those. Very citrusy. I'll just chew on a few needles as I walk down the trail. Delicious!
@@PacoWarabi :D I have had tea from douglas fir tips and it is very good! Never tried chewing them raw though. I've tried teas from all the pines, firs, spruce, cedar etc. in my area because I heard ALL of them are edible, and they are all interesting. But cedar is beyond question the very best. Spring leaves are excellent, but you can use leaves any time of year, so I wouldn't wait if I was you. Yes Western Red Cedar is the one we enjoy in the PNW but I've also heard pretty much all cedars are also good, except one weird one from the East Coast but I'm not there so whatever. It has also been said that every single tree will have its individual flavor, so I have a personal love for my home tree, and talk to it a little bit whenever I harvest a branch. Lil' friendly forest witchery there, I guess.
A mounted upright blade would be awesome for splitting tons of vines just by pulling them through.. wow this is awesome info. Som many blackberries and they grow so easily. This material looks so tuff.
The problem with just an upright blade is that they wouldn't split equally. They end up pulling to one side (I've tried it). I've spent many an hour thinking about a device that you feed the vine into, and it dethorns and splits all at the same time. Like a hollow tube with a blade. The tube knocks off the thorns and the blade splits it. Hmmm . . . Now I'm thinking about it again . . .
I'm guessing that the lobster pots were probably made from the entire bramble and not just the bark. If you look at my original blackberry basketry video (link in the description), it was probably more that style, just with bigger vines. Unfortunately, I'm not well-versed in lobster pots, so I don't know what would work. The great thing is someone else could take these techniques and then modify them for their passion, like lobster fishing. I'd love to see someone make that video!
I just started learning how to weave with palm (just basic palm mats, mostly) and was looking for an easily accessible and more sturdy material for actually attempting baskets. What better material than the Himalayan blackberry, the scourge of all rivers in Northwestern America!? Thank you for the incredibly informative and helpful video :) going to bike over to a cluster where the Himalayan species is choking out or native Californian variety and give em what for.
Yes, do it! Although it might be the wrong time of year right now. The bark comes off easily in the late spring (the general rule of thumb is when they start blossoming). And as an FYI, I also have instructions on using the California Blackberry (known as the Pacific Blackberry around here). But if it's a battle between the two species, take out the Himalayan for sure.
@@peety6323 Ewww! Actually, I did read about how people would nälbind (something like knitting) horsehair into clothing items. So if you could do that with horsehair, why not with people hair?
Thank you so much for the videos. Now I will go outside and see which thorn removal technique will work here. Hoping the stick works because I’m not sure I have canvas.... Off I go.
good job, Paco. Love it. I like how the base has wide warps and then the sides are finer. I love it. But I'm loving all of your woven baskets and tutorials and I didn't know that about the blackberry bush - splitting it and using the outer only. I'm learning all the time I was nervous as you cut the branches with the knife coming nto your hand. I'd be too afraid I'd slip - I do wood whittling and it reminded me of that kind of action. :-0
I know it looks dangerous, but this is an old technique used when you're splitting wood rods down the middle. If you have your hands in the right position, it's impossible for the blade to slip and cut you. And that's coming from someone who has some pretty good scars from woodworking. I'm pretty careless when it comes to safety, but I've never hurt myself on this technique specifically. Glad you're enjoying the videos! I've got one more I'd like to do this summer. We'll see if I get to it.
Thanks! When I'm making this art, I lose track of time as I go into my flow state, but I'm thinking maybe an hour or two from start to finish. I can definitely say that it takes a lot longer when you're also trying to film and get the camera angles right and reviewing the footage to make sure the instructions are clear and making a second identical basket because you're not satisfied on how one of the steps turned out.
@@PacoWarabi If ever your in the Mid West You should find enough to make a huge washing basket. Leaves are tasty and nutritious as well, in a world with potential food shortages it might one day prove to be a life saver.
I’ve just found your channel, thank you so much for sharing. Is there anything you can do with the hard inner part of the bramble, the bit that gets thrown away?
Compost it, maybe? I generally just throw it back in the bramble pile, where it will eventually decompose. They're an invasive species that only live for two years, so I don't mind "wasting" part. I do have another technique that uses much more of the entire vine, but I'll have to wait until later in the season to demonstrate that. To be continued . . .
Hargrove 001 I’ve been feeding the tender shoots (18” or so) to my rabbits. Then cutting the stock off at the ground. I’m positive you’re right though; “gotta take out the root.”
Rob S if you can keep them cut back for long enough they will die (so I’ve heard LOL) but I’ve done some contract forestry work putting in wetlands, only way they said was to get the big roots at the base or to use lots & lots of chemical crap that we weren’t going to put in wetlands lol
Very correct. This is an "in situ" art form, although if you collect the prepared bark, you can soak it for a few minutes and work with it again later.
You caught me! It was a Gucci stick. I have my entire production team install these blackberry vines before I shoot, and that's not even really me doing the weaving. It's an 80-year-old Portuguese master blackberry weaver. The lies are just piling up. Glad you like the video, though, even if it's all lies.
A birch bark strip basket could be very pretty! Although the birch baskets I've seen are mostly just folded and sewn. I haven't really experimented, because I don't have an abundant supply around here.
