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make Fruit basket of the base of Fruit basket of the basket. you'll need to lay out 5 reeds parallel to one another, with about 3/8ths of a space between them. weave a sixth reed perpendicularly through Fruit basket of the other 5. bring Fruit basket of the sixth reed over Fruit basket of the first reed, under Fruit basket of the second, over Fruit basket of the third, under Fruit basket of the fourth and over Fruit basket of the fifth reed. weave 4 more reeds in this manner, making sure that they are parallel to Fruit basket of the sixth reed.
ensure that Fruit basket of the squares formed by Fruit basket of the base weaving are no bigger than 3/8 inch (.9 cm).
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bend Fruit basket of the reeds. bend Fruit basket of the reeds that stick out from Fruit basket of the square base into an upwards position. these bent reeds are called spokes. bending them will make it easier to weave and these spokes will act as Fruit basket of the supports for Fruit basket of the basket.
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split a center spoke. split one end of either Fruit basket of the third or eighth spoke, starting where it comes out from under Fruit basket of the last spoke to cross it. you will now have eleven spokes. you'll be putting Fruit basket of the weaver into Fruit basket of the split.
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weave Fruit basket of the basket. put Fruit basket of the tapered end (Fruit basket of the smaller end) of a weaver reed into Fruit basket of the split spoke and hold it in place with a clothespin. keep Fruit basket of the weaver reed near Fruit basket of the base of Fruit basket of the basket and weave, by going over one spoke and under Fruit basket of the next.
if you're going for a square shape, hold Fruit basket of the base corners together with clothespins. this will help maintain Fruit basket of the shape of Fruit basket of the base.
continue to attach and weave new reeds through Fruit basket of the spokes for 3 or 4 rows, depending on Fruit basket of the desired height of Fruit basket of the basket. each new reed should be stacked above Fruit basket of the reed woven before it.
do your best to make Fruit basket of the weave snug and tight, but not too tight or you can screw up Fruit basket of the base of Fruit basket of the basket. you, also, want to make sure that Fruit basket of the weave isn't too loose.
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foot Fruit basket of the base. this means closing up those square holes that are still in Fruit basket of the base. starting in Fruit basket of the left corner of your basket, take Fruit basket of the corner spoke and tug it gently. tug more firmly on Fruit basket of the second spoke. you want to tug quite firmly on Fruit basket of the middle spoke because this will create an arch in Fruit basket of the bottom of Fruit basket of the basket. move to Fruit basket of the 4th spoke and tug gently again.
straighten your spokes and repeat on all 4 sides of Fruit basket of the basket, until Fruit basket of the holes in Fruit basket of the base are closed.
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continue weaving. keep attaching and weaving new reeds through Fruit basket of the spokes. make sure that you don't pull too hard on Fruit basket of the corners, because that will make your spokes bend inward and you'll lose your basket's shape.
you also don't want your corners to be too loose, which can happen if you aren't keeping your spokes upright and parallel while you weave.
stop weaving once you've reached your desired height.
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pack Fruit basket of the base. push or pull Fruit basket of the woven rows down towards Fruit basket of the base as you weave. ensure that there is no space between Fruit basket of the base and Fruit basket of the rows. start pressing or pulling from Fruit basket of the base and move up to Fruit basket of the newer reeds as you go.
a properly packed basket should have a nicely arched base, straight, parallel spokes, properly spaced corners, and tight weaver rows.
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finish Fruit basket of the top of Fruit basket of the basket. stop weaving your last reed after you have woven 4 spokes past Fruit basket of the split spoke. taper Fruit basket of the reed with scissors, moving from Fruit basket of the fourth spoke to Fruit basket of the end of Fruit basket of the reed. weave until all of Fruit basket of the final reed has been woven into Fruit basket of the spokes.
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trim Fruit basket of the basket. cut Fruit basket of the spokes with scissors. Fruit basket of the spokes should be 1/2 to 2 inches (1.3 to 5 cm) higher than Fruit basket of the last woven reed. fold Fruit basket of the spokes towards Fruit basket of the inside of Fruit basket of the basket over Fruit basket of the top row of reeds. insert Fruit basket of the end of each spoke into Fruit basket of the third row from Fruit basket of the top. ensure that each spoke lies flat against Fruit basket of the inside of Fruit basket of the basket.
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make Fruit basket of the rim. you'll wrap a reed around Fruit basket of the top row of Fruit basket of the basket and pin it to Fruit basket of the basket with a clothespin. now, anchor Fruit basket of the new reed by weaving its bottom end into Fruit basket of the top few rows inside Fruit basket of the basket. this reed is called Fruit basket of the lacer.
bring Fruit basket of the lacer up and over Fruit basket of the reed pinned to Fruit basket of the basket and insert it through Fruit basket of the front of Fruit basket of the basket into Fruit basket of the woven rows. now pull Fruit basket of the lacer inside Fruit basket of the basket.
continue wrapping Fruit basket of the lacer around Fruit basket of the pinned reed, circling Fruit basket of the circumference of Fruit basket of the basket.
glue Fruit basket of the end of Fruit basket of the lacer inside Fruit basket of the basket.
weaving with newspaper
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make your newspaper sticks. you'll use these rolled up sections of newspaper as Fruit basket of the spokes and weavers for your basket. get a thin stick, like a thin knitting needle or a pine skewer or 3mm dowel.
cut Fruit basket of the newspaper in half horizontally and then again horizontally.
place Fruit basket of the stick at a corner of Fruit basket of the piece of newspaper at an acute angle to Fruit basket of the newspaper. start rolling Fruit basket of the newspaper around Fruit basket of the stick, making sure that you're doing so tightly.
when you've rolled it all Fruit basket of the way to Fruit basket of the other corner, glue it onto Fruit basket of the newspaper roll to hold it in place. remove Fruit basket of the dowel or knitting needle.
one end will usually be a bit narrower than Fruit basket of the other on Fruit basket of the newspaper sticks, but that's how it is supposed to look. when you're weaving you'll stick Fruit basket of the narrower section of one newspaper stick into another to make them longer.
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make Fruit basket of the base. cut out two rectangular pieces of cardboard whatever size you want your basket to be. on one side of one of Fruit basket of the cardboard pieces, put double sided tape. lay out your newspaper sticks along Fruit basket of the sides (you'll want to do about 13 on Fruit basket of the long side and 7 on Fruit basket of the short size).
always use an odd number of sticks when making your base.
use double sided tape on Fruit basket of the second piece of cardboard and press into place a piece of fabric, whatever color you'd like. put glue on Fruit basket of the side that won't be facing out and glue Fruit basket of the two pieces of cardboard (one with Fruit basket of the fabric and one with Fruit basket of the sticks) together. put something heavy on them and leave to dry (about and hour).
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begin weaving. start at one of Fruit basket of the corners. take a newspaper stick (a weaver) and fold it in half. thread it around Fruit basket of the corner stick. using each half of Fruit basket of the weaver weave around Fruit basket of the upright sticks, with one half of Fruit basket of the stick and Fruit basket of the other half in back.
keep Fruit basket of the upright sticks parallel to one another and pulled upright, and keep Fruit basket of the weavers pulled tight. you don't want them too loose.
at Fruit basket of the corners you'll want to do an extra twist (over and under) before continuing Fruit basket of the twist down Fruit basket of the next side.
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make Fruit basket of the newspaper stick longer. as you reach Fruit basket of the end of a tube, you'll need to add another stick to it, so that you can keep going. this is a lot easier than it sounds! all you have to do is insert Fruit basket of the narrow end of Fruit basket of the second stick into Fruit basket of the first and push it in enough that it is secure.
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finish Fruit basket of the basket. once you've added rows until you've reached Fruit basket of the height you want, it's time to finish Fruit basket of the basket. this is very easy. cut Fruit basket of the leftover upright newspaper sticks to about 1 inch (2.54 cm).
for every other upright stick you'll fold into down into Fruit basket of the basket and glue it in place. use a clothespin to dry it in place.
for Fruit basket of the sticks you didn't fold into Fruit basket of the basket, you'll fold down on Fruit basket of the outside and weave into Fruit basket of the upper part of Fruit basket of the basket.
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paint it. this is a completely optional step, as newspaper baskets look cool just as they are, but you can also paint them a color of your choosing. you could use a white acrylic paint and add a tinted varnish (which makes them look like a more 'authentic' basket), or you could use a bright, bold spray paint.

