I had a notion one time to make one of those Indian baskets, the water tight ones that have a mouth, then a neck, widening out over the shoulders then tapering to a rounded tip.
I gathered grass, armfuls of various kinds, different shades. I let it dry a bit.
I put the straw in the bathtub to soak. There was a large amount. When it was sufficiently soaked, I started weaving. It had to stay wet for some reason I don't remember.
Using instructions in a book, I wove the grasses in a traditional pattern in an ancient weave.
This went on for a couple of days; I went to work and when I came home, after dinner I wove more basket. It was beautiful, very tight with subtle earth greens and gold.
I was about half way up the sides when I realized that perhaps I should take a bath. The bath tub was full of wet soggy grass which I cleaned out and lugged outside. It was cold and windy. I was soaked through and miserable before I got all the mess cleaned out of the bathtub. Somehow I never got back to finishing my basket.
It is easy to weave baskets. I did it and I had never done any weaving before.
I wish you luck on your projects. It is fun.
