Pine Needle Baskets

Well, some of you will undoubtedly think I need to turn in my man-card after posting a thread about basket-weaving. Actually, I've kind of enjoyed the diversion, and I've always enjoyed using natural materials in works of art. Trapping season is over, and all gear is cleaned and put away for the summer, so I made time to learn the rudiments of pine-needle basket-making.


This one has beavertail leather as a base and incorporates 4 coyote ankle quadrate bones in the walls.



Here's a few of the different shapes and sizes.



This last one has juniper cross-sections joined by beavertail leather for the base, with a Sitka blacktail deer antler for the handle.

Jack

The baskets you made look very nice. I have never heard of pine needle baskets.

I've thought about growing colored willows, to cut wands off of to sell for basket weaving.

Keith

Unbelievable craftsmanship.

WS

The creative talents also belong to true, masculine men .

Your baskets, just as your other talents in unique creativity, are things of beauty. Just as your art of skulls drawn to perfection...and everything else in your endeavors.

I like baskets to collect my yearly morels , which, by the way, are just beginning to show.

Makes me feel like little red riding hood, in the woods, with red hair instead of the cape ..



Beautiful forms of art, Jack.

Remarkable and elegant are but just two words to describe your work. I am sure there are many more that will do your work justice. What trees are the needles from?
Zookeeper

The needles are from local Ponderosa Pine (AKA yellowpine, AKA Bull Pine AKA Pinus ponderosa)

Thanks all, for the encouragement!

Dang, you have been a busy man!!! Very nice work. I knew a woman that went to rendezvous events in SE Missouri who made and sold pine needle baskets. Yours are the only others I recall seeing.

Beautiful work Jack.
You can keep your man card

Very cool

Very nice

Yes you are a man above men even carrying a basket i bought basket weaving books from Wissmiss and after reading decided i'm more a 2x4 guy but fascinating to read

You never cease to amaze me Jack ! Are your wrists feeling sort of limp after all that weaving ?

If you got Savell's seal of approval no one thinks you need to turn in your man card, lol.

I've done some basket weaving, but have never heard of using pine needles for it. They look great.

Excellent craftsmanship!

There is or used to be..a thriving bunch of women along the highway in southern GA that made and sold baskets from some long leaf pines in that area.

Very nice!

Well done Gulo,very nice.
Have you tried your hand at making tamarack goose decoys?

Beautiful craftsmanship. First time I've ever seen or heard of using pine needles. I do like the beaver tail bottoms

Jack they all look incredible!

Great talent and I am sure if you offered some for sale they would quickly sell out!

Son of a gun those look awesome!

Really cool

Beautiful work Jack and and interesting subject that is dear to my heart.

I have heard folks joking about others majoring in basket weaving in college and just shake my head. Preparing materials and weaving quality baskets is a skill that few ever master.

Our ancestors used hand made baskets made from materials that were available in their area for a variety of tasks. I still have one of my Mother's split white oak baskets that she used to gather eggs and vegetables from the garden and fruit from the orchard. The wooden handle broke and she fashioned a new handle using baling wire. Our first hay bailer used wire, not twine.

Most hand made baskets made now are more of an art form than utilitarian. My ex and I taught basket weaving classes using mostly imported rattan but I did split white oak for the handles which made our offering unique. We offered a variety of shapes, sizes and colors and at the end of the one day class, every student had a completed basket. We kept the methods as simple as possible but some students needed lots of help to complete the project.

I eventually carried it a step further and used white oak for the weavers as well as the handles and we taught a few classes where the students helped prep the material. Our oak baskets were somewhere closer to utilitarian than true works of art.

Someone mentioned pine needle baskets in GA from long leaf pine and long leaf pine is also used in NC. SC has sweetgrass baskets an in the Northeast, ash is a commonly used material and Nantucket the predominant style. Basket making is not as simple as lots of folks think it is.

Here is a few of my oak baskets and a miniature draw knife and froe. The basket on the right in the first pic is a herringbone weave and is one of the solid oak baskets that we taught. The small rectangular basket on the left behind the miniature froe is another oak basket that we taught.



These next two, I bought from a couple as I do not have the patience or skill to produce such exquisite quality. The oblong is about 4" long and the round or egg shape is about 3" in diameter. They alternated the use of heart wood and live wood to create the color bands in the weave. Museum quality baskets woven on oak staves with oak weavers about the thickness of a piece of notebook paper. The detail is incredible!

What variety is the pine?

My wife has made pine needle baskets, primarily from red pine needles. Very pretty craft!

Moosetrot

Very nice work Gulo !!

Baskets look great, nice work. I would never suggest that someone who's trapped Tigers, bears and wolves needs to hand over their man card.

I have sweetgrass baskets I bought over 50 years ago that still smell great.

Moosetrot

Never made a pine needle basket but I’ve made a stack of baleen baskets.

Very nice work!

Stunning looking baskets. I think I would have to hand in my man card for NOT being able to make one!

very nice work

Nice work Gulo, impressive.

Is pine needle baskets something that traces back to the indigenous people of this country? You've likely seen plenty of grass baskets from the YK area. I spent a lot of time around shungnak and kobuk in the mid 90s. There were still a few large hand made berry baskets there, plus the big spoon shaped tool they used.
Looks like a lot of time invested in those baskets.