A bright, decorative look suitable for Christmas can be given to any piece of weaving by adding coloured strips of flax over the top of the existing weaving to make striking patterns. In the example on the left, I created a pattern by adding red flax strips on the top of a piece of undyed weaving. The good thing about this sort of patterning is that it can be removed later and the weaving will return to its original state. To overlay the pattern, I cut strips of red-dyed flax into lengths that were five times as long as the width of the strips used in the original weaving. I then inserted a length under one strip, over three strips and then under the next strip, on a diagonal, to create the first piece of the pattern. The next length was woven alongside this in the same way, to create the next piece of the pattern. For the dots, I inserted a shorter length of red flax over just one strip. The red strips were dry when I used them, although it may be easier to dampen the dyed flax before use. Be careful if you do moisten the dyed flax as the colour of the dye may come out onto the dried flax if the dyed flax is too wet. This red-coloured patterning would also look good against fresh green flax.

This way of putting patterns into weaving is quite different from the traditional way patterns are woven in flax weaving. In the traditional way, the dyed strips are woven into the main body of the weaving, and the pattern is made by the way the strips are woven together. In patterned flax baskets, or kete whakairo, the plan for the pattern, or whakapapa, is set at the beginning of the weaving when the dyed strips are included into a plait at the bottom of the basket. This way of incorporating patterns into the weaving is an advanced weaving technique, and examples of kete whakairo can be found in museums around the world. I wove the black and white kete pictured above using a pattern from Mick Pendergrast’s book Raranga Whakairo listed on the Reviews page of my web site.

On another Christmas note, Phil — a customer who bought my book — sent me this photo of his wife Anne’s wreath, which is made from shredded flax and paua shell, and has three red woven flax flowers attached to the bottom of the wreath. I do like the way Anne has created the wreath, with a randomness in the use of the flax shreds but also structure in the shape, resulting a very attractive and original Christmas wreath. The New Zealand theme is further enhanced by the addition of pieces of paua shell attached randomly around the wreath. Instructions for making the woven flax flower that Anne has attached at the bottom of the wreath can be found here on my web site, and also in my book.

While internet searching I found another interesting woven wreath, which is based on the three-dimensional star shown on the right. The wreath is made by shaping a number of these stars together in a circle. I haven’t been able to contact the owner of the photo of the wreath, Elmer, for permission to use it in my blog, but you can see the wreath here. If you’d like to try making this wreath, I have instructions for the three-dimensional star on a blog post I wrote a couple of years ago.

Addition 16 April 2011
Te Rangi Hiroa mentions in his book, The coming of the Maori, that there are samples of historic weaving from the Chatham Islands and the Waitaki River area that have been woven with decorative strips overlaid on the foundation weaving. He concludes that “… overlaid plaiting was present in two marginal areas, which forms evidence that it was an earlier form of decoration which was supplanted in the North Island by the use of coloured foundation wefts.”

© Alison Marion Brown 2010.

“What can I use this hard butt end of the flax leaf for? It seems such a waste to cut it up for compost.” This question is one that is regularly asked in my workshops and one that I keep in mind myself. The butt end of the leaf, where it grows from the base of the plant, is very strong and can be shaped into handles for little baskets like the ones pictured here. These handles have attractive markings, ranging from cream to brown to dusky pink, depending on the colour inside the flax leaf, and they are simple and easy to make. I keep a store of them on hand for those times when I’d like to put a handle on a basket but haven’t the time to plait one.

To make the handle, split the flax butt apart down the middle, separating the two parts of the leaf. If the butt end has been cut off the leaf, it may not be that easy to get started so use a knife or sharp object to separate the two sides of the butt apart. Once you’ve separated the sides, pull them completely apart. There may be a sticky gel inside the leaf, which is traditionally used as a skin-repair ointment or as a glue. You can wipe this off, but it will dry into a cellophane-like substance which is easy enough to pull off when it’s dry.

The next step is to bend the butt over and secure it in this shape while it dries. Before bending it over, scrape the side of the butt that will be the underneath side of the handle, as shown on the Preparing flax page. This will help to soften the butt and make it easier to bend. You can bend the butt either way but some of the harder, thicker butts may bend easier one way than the other. Try to bend the butt smoothly so that it doesn’t get sharp folds, as the one on the right has in the photo here. These folds are impossible to smooth out once the flax is creased. Put the bent butts inside a container that will hold them in shape, like the wide-mouthed jar I’ve used here, and leave to dry, or tape them into shape.

When the butt end is dry it is ready to be prepared for using as a handle. Trim the soft edges off and then split the butt into a width that seems suitable for your basket. I find that about half the width is a suitable size. The handle may be longer than you require, so hold the handle against your basket and measure the length that you need. The handle will need enough length to be able to be pushed in along the weaving at the side of your basket with about two centimetres more to fold back up to secure the handle from pulling out of the weaving.

Once you’ve cut the butt to the correct length, trim the ends into a point and then push them down through the weaving on each side of the basket. This can either be done on the inside of the basket, as in the photo on the left, or the outside of the basket as in the photo below — if it’s on the outside it can be turned into a decorative feature. Push each end down into the weaving about two centimeters longer than the final position and then bend the end back up.

Insert the point underneath the closest strip that it can go under and then pull the handle up so that the end fits snugly under the woven strip, as shown in the photo above. This will secure the handle in place and make sure it doesn’t pull out as the flax dries. Alternatively, split the pointed end of the handle into two and bend one point up one side and one point up the other side as shown in the photo on the right. If the handle is very dry, it may be necessary to moisten the end before you bend it up, otherwise it may split.

Using a hard but pliable material for a handle is a common way to make a handle in basket-making, although often the core material is covered with another material, like the handle on the willow basket pictured here. In this basket, the core is made from a thin bent willow branch, and this has been covered by winding finer willow branches around this core.

Although I think the flax butt handle is attractive as it is, with its subtle colouring and simplicity, it could also be covered and there are a variety of ways to do this. One way could be by making a patterned covering using the same technique that is used to make the wristband in the post Bands for the boys and girls. If this technique is used, it would be important to make sure that the pattern on the handle is integrated with the style and pattern of the basket, if it has one.

© Alison Marion Brown 2010.

Receiving a text message at 4:15 am in Norfolk Island from my eldest son in Christchurch saying “massive earthquake” was the shocking start to my last day on the island (though fortunately my home was not damaged). I had just spent a week tutoring a series of flax weaving workshops, and spending time with local weavers, at the invitation of Norfolk Island’s Creative Arts community, and was heading home that day with the generous gift of a Norfolk Island hat, woven with Pitcairn Island pandanus by Wayne Boniface. Norfolk Island has a strong creative arts community including a Wearable Art Show. The entry pictured here is a creation made out of drain flax (bulrushes) by Wayne who explained how the design changed as he wove it and evolved into this lovely tropical, summery outfit.

It was interesting to weave in Norfolk Island because there were new weaving materials with different properties to try. Even Norfolk Island Phormium tenax is quite different from the Phormium tenax flax we have in New Zealand. I found it to be much more like Phormium cookianum. The leaves are short, wide, soft and brittle, and have very little fibre content, although this didn’t greatly affect the workshops I took, as the pieces people were weaving didn’t require strong fibre. Although flax grows abundantly in Norfolk Island, it’s not generally used as a weaving material, as the traditional weaving is done with pandanus — a tradition that originated from the original Pitcairn Island settlers.

Kentia Palms also grow abundantly on Norfolk Island and so I was able to experience weaving with a palm leaf for the first time. I cut a complete leaf off a tree and then used one section with ten leaflets each side of the rib to weave a large two-cornered basket. The leaflets were soft and easy to weave, and are quite wide, and so it took only a few minutes to weave up both sides of the leaf, from the rib upwards, and then weave the corners and finish the top. I used some of the left-over ends coming out of the top to plait a handle up both sides. It’s easy to see why palm frond baskets are used in other islands in the Pacific for everyday use as it’s so quick and easy to weave a large basket.

I also wove a round bowl from a Kentia Palm leaf using a technique that I hadn’t tried before, which makes use of the leaflets being attached to both sides of the rib. I enjoyed weaving this bowl, and plan to try it in flax, by using the plaited base used to start a large kete to mimic the rib of the palm. Unfortunately I was unable to bring these articles through New Zealand Customs as they were still green. (They could have come through Customs if they’d had time to dry.)

Another weaving material that is traditional to Norfolk Island, and one I particularly liked because of its mottled brown markings, is rahooloo or banana bark. The bark is easily stripped off the trunk of the tree because the trunk tends to shed its bark anyway. Once the bark is stripped off it is plaited into long strips in preparation for weaving a hat or a basket. I wove a two-cornered basket which I was able to bring through New Zealand Customs as it was quite dry.

The Norfolk Island weavers also make use of packaging strapping to weave utility baskets, like the ones pictured here, woven by Wayne Boniface. These baskets are woven around a wooden form. The strips are nailed to the bottom of the form to hold them in place and then woven with a vertical/horizontal style of weaving. The handles are made with a four-plait cord, and the ends of the cords are woven into the body on the outside of the basket to create a decorative pattern. These baskets are for everyday use and are ideal when collecting shellfish, as the excess water can escape through the gaps between the waterproof strips.

If you are planning a trip to Norfolk Island and would like to meet some weavers, visit the Golden Orb Bookshop and Cafe on a Wednesday. There you’ll be able to see a group of weavers making traditional Norfolk Island hats and have the opportunity to purchase one for yourself.

The welcome and friendliness I received in Norfolk Island made tutoring the workshops very enjoyable as we all shared tips and ideas for weaving. Although pandanus will no doubt continue to be the most popular weaving material in Norfolk Island, I am hopeful that flax will start to be used a bit more as weavers become accustomed to the different weaving properties it has.

© Alison Marion Brown 2010.