Weaving by the Sea 2025
Our 13th year and our second year giving both a Spring and Autumn School.
Spring School
1st Courses: 3 days - Friday, Saturday & Sunday 4-6 April 2025
Above: Mai Hvid Joergensen - Introduction to Willow Bark Basketry
Day off and special evening event - Monday 7 April 2025
2nd Courses: 3 days - Tuesday - Thursday 8-10 April 2025
Above: Mai Hvid Joergensen
- Mad Weave in Willow Bark
Autumn School
1st Courses: 3 days -Tuesday - Thursday 23-25 September 2025
Mai Hvid Joergensen - Oval Willow & Hazel Handbags
Mònica Guilera - Star Base Willow Platters in Nansa Technique
Tim Johnson - Invisible Stitch - Braided & Stitched Rush Baskets
2nd Courses: 3 days - Saturday - Monday 27-29 September 2025
François Desplanches - Oval Willow Baskets with Scalloms
Mai Hvid Joergensen - Squarework Willow Handbags
Tim Johnson - Inspired by Kishies and Caishies
François Desplanches - Oval Willow Baskets with Scalloms
Mai Hvid Joergensen - Squarework Willow Handbags
Tim Johnson - Inspired by Kishies and Caishies
3rd Courses: 3 days - Wednesday - Friday 1-3 October 2025
François Desplanches - Oval Willow Tray with Fitched base and ScallomsMònica Guilera - Date Palm Basketry
Tim Johnson - Camel Looping with Rush, Fabric and Esparto grass
Weaving by the Sea 2025 - Spring School
Workshop Details 1st
Courses:
3 days - Fri-Sun 4-6 April 2025
Friday, Saturday & Sunday 4-6 April 2025
Willow bark is a beautiful soft and flexible basketmaking
material, with many species and varieties commonly cultivated it comes in a
wide variety of textures and colours.
This
three day workshop will give you an introduction to
willow bark basketry. You will learn about harvesting and material
preparation, selecting and cutting the bark to size with special tools,
followed
by plaiting techniques to create pockets, square and round bark baskets
with a variety
of folded and stitched borders.
This course suits beginners and those with some basketmaking experience.
Languages of the course will be English, Danish and Norwegian.
Round Willow Baskets in Nansa Technique
with Mònica Guilera
Friday, Saturday & Sunday 4-6 April 2025
The Mediterranean is home to a beautiful and distinctive technique of
weaving used by fishermen to make a variety of fishing baskets and traps. In
Catalonia ‘Nansa’ fish traps were made in a variety of shapes and sizes
depending on the kind of fish they wanted to catch, the traps were usually made
in the winter with a very tough kind of rush (Juncus acutus) as well as split
cane (Arundo donax) and olive stems.
In this workshop you will learn to make a round nansa basket with a handle.
Combining willow with different coloured threads you will start with a
traditional nansa ‘grid’ base attached to a willow hoop, then move on to the
sidings, bundle border and handle.
Languages of the course will be English, Catalan, Spanish and French.
Ugandan Grasshopper Basket with Tim Johnson
Friday, Saturday & Sunday 4-6 April 2025
Grasshoppers
are a popular and tasty snack commonly eaten in Uganda. This elegantly
curved basket combines an openwork twined structure with a narrow neck,
the special design prevents the grasshoppers, once gathered, from easily
jumping out again!
While
we won't be eating grasshoppers during this workshop we will learn how
to carefully shape our baskets through controlling the number of stakes
and material bundle sizes.
In the workshop we will use African Umbrella Sedge
(Cyperus alternifolius), commonly found in Catalonia as an escaped garden
plant, we will learn how to harvest and prepare the material and discuss possible alternatives such as split rush and beaten esparto grass.
This course is suitable for both beginners and those with some experience.
Languages of the course will be English.
Languages of the course will be English.
Day off and
special evening event - Monday 7th April 2025
Weaving by the Sea 2025 - Spring School
Workshop Details 2nd
Courses:
3 days - Tues-Thurs 8-10 April 2025
Tuesday - Thursday 8-10 April 2025
Mad
Weave is a special and beautiful form of triaxial plaiting
traditionally found in baskets from Malaysia. Weaving in three different
directions simultaneously it has become renowned for driving you a
little mad! All the more reason to join a workshop where its
complexities will be demystified and you can enjoy the beautiful colours
and contrasts in Mai's home-grown willow bark. During
the workshop you will make two willow bark trays with sewn borders and
learn how to prepare your willow bark into accurate strips and make
decisions about colour combinations to suit your design.
This course suits beginners and those with some basketmaking experience.
Languages of the course will be English, Danish and Norwegian.
Tuesday - Thursday 8-10 April 2025
Neolithic Braiding, also commonly known as Burkina technique
and Punto de Cofin, takes it’s name from
baskets and woven fragments excavated from 8000 year old archaeological deposits
in the south of Spain. Traditionally widely distributed from South Africa up to
and around the Mediterranean and up to the far north of Scotland, this
technique has many variations and applications.
Long and short braided handles and straps may be added according to the desired function of your baskets.
This course is suitable for both beginners and those with some experience.
Languages of the course will be English.
Languages of the course will be English.
Tuesday - Thursday 8-10 April 2025
Starting
with a traditional Catalan oval base you will work with a variety of
French, Spanish and German willow varieties to give your larger shoppers
and smaller handbags colourful and textural detail. You will learn how
to carefully control the shaping giving a more open or closed mouth to
your basket depending on its function and your personal design.
Alternatively from the same Catalan base you can make a willow backpack ideal for
picnics, shopping at the grocery store or a day on the beach. These
attractive and light weight backpacks feature a bundle border borrowed
from traditional fishing baskets. You will design your own colour
combinations of leather straps and border stitching and add a twisted willow handle if desired to create your own
individual and stylish statement.
A
variety of leather and cotton straps will be available to complete your
design.
This course is suitable for both beginners and those with some experience.
Languages of the course will be English, Catalan, Spanish and French.
Languages of the course will be English, Catalan, Spanish and French.
Weaving by the
Sea 2025 - Autumn School
Workshop Details 1st
Courses:
3 days -Tues-Thurs 23-25 September 2025
Tues - Thurs 23-25 September 2025
This Nansa (Mediterranean
Fishtrap Technique) workshop focuses on the special traditional star
base used in a variety of fishing baskets. A tradition native to
Vilanova i La Geltru you could, until recently, still see local
fishermen using nansa baskets in the town harbour. This attractive base
can be the foundation of a variety of rounded baskets and in this
workshop you will focus on platters and bowls combining willow with a
variety of coloured threads of your choice.
Languages of the course will be English, Catalan, Spanish and French.
Invisible Stitch - Braided & Stitched Rush Baskets with Tim Johnson
Tues - Thurs 23-25 September 2025
In Spain and North
Africa palm leaves and esparto grass are commonly woven into long lengths of braid and
stitched together to make a wide variety of functional items, these baskets
have been made since ancient Egyptian times and the tradition continues today.
Inspired by this tradition you will work with rush and esparto grass making 4, 5, 7 and 9 strand braids. The edges of these braids are then stitched together in a special way interlocking the braid edges creating a seamless fabric that you will shape to make round and oval baskets of your own design.
Following Tim's recent visit to Marrakech you will have the chance to be inspired by a variety of traditional Moroccan baskets braided with Date Palm made in this tradition.
This course is suitable for both beginners and those with some experience.
Languages of the course will be English.
Languages of the course will be English.
Tues - Thurs 23-25 September 2025
Following
a Danish variation of the Catalan base, you will combine home grown
colourful willow varieties from Mai's own withy bed in Denmark, with
thicker split willow and hazel sticks to create decorative openwork
sections in your oval willow handbags. Learn how to shape your baskets
so that they are both elegant and ergonomic.
A variety of leather straps will be available for a stylish completion to your new fashion statement.
This course suits beginners and those with some basketmaking experience.
Languages of the course will be English, Danish and Norwegian.
Weaving by the
Sea 2025 - Autumn School
Workshop Details 2nd
Courses:
3 days - Sat-Mon 27-29 September 2025
Oval Willow Baskets with Scalloms with François Desplanches
Sat - Mon 27-29 September 2025
In this workshop François
will teach the the classic oval willow basket that he started his
basketmaking journey with several years ago. Working from a willow hoop,
that will be prepared for you in advance, you will develop your willow
basketry skills with base weaving geometry, scalloming technique, shape
control, border and handle making options.
To make the scalloms at the beginning of the basket's sidings you will need to be comfortable using a knife.
Basket dimensions: inside top length 50cm, base length 45cm, height without handle 16cm.
This course suits beginners and those with some basketmaking experience.
Squarework Bags & Baskets with Mai Hvid
Joergensen
Tues - Thurs 23-25 September 2025
Develop
your squarework techniques with a variety of useful willow handbags and and shoppers. Based on a traditional Catalan base
you will design your own basket varying the proportions as you choose.
This course suits those with some basketmaking experience.
Languages of the course will be English, Danish and Norwegian.
Sat - Mon 27-29 September 2025
The Shetland
and Orkney basketmaking traditions are unusual within the British
Isles having evolved without the use of willow. Shetland’s Kishie
backpacks are traditionally made with Oat straw while Orkney’s Caisies were
made with straw and a wider variety of locally available plant materials. Using
these materials to fulfil various domestic and agricultural needs has evolved
into a diverse and complex basketry tradition.
In this workshop inspired by Kishies and Caisies
we will make smaller twined baskets combining coconut fibre and hand made cordage with Reedmace (Typha latifolia) for the stake bundles.
This course is suitable for both beginners and those with some experience.
Languages of the course will be English.
Languages of the course will be English.
Weaving by the
Sea 2025 - Autumn School
Workshop Details 3rd
Courses:
3 days - Wed-Fri 1-3 October 2025
Wed - Fri 1-3 October 2025
While the leaflets of the Date Palm have been used for braided baskets since ancient times, the weaving of the uniquely textured inflorescence stems is a relatively recent innovation.
While the leaflets of the Date Palm have been used for braided baskets since ancient times, the weaving of the uniquely textured inflorescence stems is a relatively recent innovation.
Having made these baskets with Israeli basketmakers Herzel Oster and Raya Reich at the Vallabrègues basket fair in France several years ago, Mònica now gathers the palm stems in Vilanova i La Geltru and uses it in several of her baskets today.
In this workshop you will make the new 'classic' Date Palm basket, that includes the thick inflorescence
stem at its centre, in combination with a sewn bundle border. You will
then go on to combine the palm stems with willow to create round baskets
featuring the palms distinctive wriggly winding tips.
This course is suitable for both beginners and those with some experience.
Languages of the course will be English, Catalan, Spanish and French.
Languages of the course will be English, Catalan, Spanish and French.
Wed - Fri 1-3 October 2025
In
this workshop you will make shallow willow trays based on willow hoops
(prepared in advance) with scallomed stakes, combining a variety of
classic French willow basketry techniques with some possible variations:
- a fitched base with two or three lines of fitching
- twisted rod handles at each end or a single handle over the top
- Protective wooden feet made from a split log on the shave horse and tied into place with cranked willow.
Skill focuses: fitching the base evenly, preparing scalloms, bordering,
basic hand tool work (froe, draw knife, hand drill) to carve the feet
from a log.
This course suits those
with some basketmaking experience.
Languages of the course
will be English and French.
Camel Looping with rush, fabric and esparto grass with Tim Johnson
Wed - Fri 1-3 October 2025
Looping
structures are found all over the world and are used to make a great
variety of bags, baskets, traps and even camel muzzles! Using
Tim's large collection of flexible structures, bags and baskets as
reference, you will gain an overview of their variety and the special
properties created by combining different materials with different
looping techniques.
In this workshop you will learn a special two element looping structure from North Africa used for camel bags, baskets and muzzles to make your own handbags, baskets and mats. During the course you will use a variety of soft plant materials including split rush, cyperus sedge and esparto grass in combination with recycled fabrics for added colour, texture and pattern. 
In this workshop you will learn a special two element looping structure from North Africa used for camel bags, baskets and muzzles to make your own handbags, baskets and mats. During the course you will use a variety of soft plant materials including split rush, cyperus sedge and esparto grass in combination with recycled fabrics for added colour, texture and pattern.
This course is suitable for both beginners and those with some experience.
Languages of the course will be English.
