Making pine needle baskets is easy and fun. The pine needles are found in the south, they don’t grow in Northern America. We find the best needles in the Inglis Florida area. A walk through the Goethe Forest will get thousands of Pine needles. You want the longest needles you can find. Shorter needles will work but it will be more work.
Processing the Pine Needles.
Once you’ve collected your needles you will need to process them. First thing to do is clean them in soap and water. Then The pine needles need to be soaked in glycerin. When you are done with the glycerin you can dry them in the sun. You can also color the pine needles using dyes and hot water.
Once all dried up you put them into a long box for storage.
Getting the Supplies
You’ll have to make or buy a base to start your basket. The base wood is available on Etsy if you can’t make them yourself. We make our bottoms using ¼ inch plywood and drilling holes along the outside edge about ¼” apart. Then you can purchase the thicker waxed threads on Amazon or other supply shops. You need big needles with a large eye to thread the waxed thread through. A tube to pass the pine needles through about 3/8” in diameter and 1” long. Now you are ready to build.
Decisions.
The base wood part is a canvas that you can paint on. You could put a decal on it or try your hand at wood burning. It’s all up to you and your creativity. The sky is the limit. Check out Pinterest for more creative ideas.
Now before you get started making your basket you need to decide which stitch to use. There are many stiches to pick from but you should keep it simple. Find a nice stitch on YouTube and memorize it. Okay you are ready to get started, enjoy.
Other YouTube videos you might like about basket making.
More on YouTube for Pine Needle Basket Making Click Here.
For more great crafting ideas Click Here.
Rick 2023/9