How to make Wicker Products
Wicker is thin branches or vines, flexible enough to be woven. Many plants can be used for
wicker such as willow and rattan. Quality wicker is very durable. You can find antique
wicker furniture that's as sturdy today as in its heyday.
The oldest piece of wicker on record dates back to 1400 BC. Archaeologists discovered it in
Egypt, where in ancient times people used wicker chairs. Hand-woven wicker furniture
was the rage in Europe and North America in the 1800s. To meet this demand, trade
schools churned out master wicker weavers. But by the 1930s manufacturers developed a
paper fibre to mimic the look of wicker and large mechanized looms to do the weaving.
Today's genuine wicker items are usually made of rattan core. Rattan palm tree branches
stripped of their bark and then processed into different diameters and profiles. At this
workshop they use this manual loom to weave wicker hampers. Taking what's known as
flat oval rattan core, flat on one side, rounded on the other, they run horizontal strands
through vertical strands in an under and over pattern, working between the hamper's
wooden frame and its fibreboard lining. They keep the vertical strands taut by tying them
to weighted ropes. It's important to keep moistening the rattan with hot water to keep it
supple enough to manipulate. They weave one thin round strand after every 13 centimetre
high section of flat oval. There is no structural reason for this pattern, it's purely aesthetic.
A wicker basket begins with a base that dictates the shape. They insert vertical stakes of
round rattan core along its perimeter , then below the base bend each stake over the next
then under the one after that. This form what's called the foot boarder, the bottom rim
that holds the base securely in place. Now they insert a wooden form and begin weaving:
first a small section of round rows and then a large section of flat oval ones. Slowly and
patiently they work their way to the top, never resorting to glue or staples to hold the
strands together, only a hook to compress the rows for a neat and tight weave. Every so
often they use pliers to tear off a stray fibre. Now for the finishing touch, they braid what's
left of the vertical stakes into a decorative top rim. This particular braiding technique is
very complex, requiring all ten fingers and a special tool to pry stubborn strands apart.
They snip off the excess with a cutter. When they are finished, they remove the modular
wooden form. Its components are numbered so they'll know how to reassemble them for
the next basket.
Another more decorative way to finish the top of a basket is this arch technique. They trim
each vertical stake , bend it into an arch then tuck it into the basket 3 stakes over. This
measuring tool ensures the arches are of equal height while this metal device creates a
space to which to tuck each stake.
Wicker weavers create magnificent designs by combining various shapes and sizes of
rattan. A strand can be as thick as a pencil or as thin as a needle. While this doesn't exactly
fall under the category of wicker, it's not uncommon to see wicker workshops use other
natural materials. Here they are weaving a chair seat out of cord made of sea grass.
There's also wicker seating material. This pre-woven sheet is called "cane seating" or
"rattan peel". It's made from the bark stripped off the rattan branch. First they force it into
a groove and a chair's wooden frame then they glue in what's called "spline": a strip of
rattan core with a pointed edge. They wedge that edge into the groove, hammering it
down to hold the rattan peel in place. Then they trim off the excess.
Because wicker is wood it can be stained or painted or left its natural colour, whatever the
finish they give it two or three coats of varnish for protection.