Wood
Wood has been used in baskets either finely shaved and interwoven such as in the oak spales or sometimes used to strengthen baskets, such as on the base of the crans. Fishing line baskets on the Isle of Lewis were sometimes made with wood strips. There is strong tradition of making oak swill baskets in Lakeland and many of these came to Scotland for the potato harvesting. But some of these baskets were made in Scotland too.
Woven split wood basketry
This basket has a huge variety of names. These include tatty baskets , tatty swales, oak swales, oak spales, spale-oak, scuttle, slop, skelk, wisket, spelk, swill, skep, skulls or sculls. It seems that some were made in Scotland but mainly they were made in the Lakes in the …Continue reading “Woven split wood basketry”
Line ‘Baskets’ of Ness, Lewis
These two ‘baskets’ are made of wooden strips, nailed and wired together. Dawn Susan
Arbroath rip
The Arbroath rip, Liz Balfour’s account The Arbroath rip was used by fisherwomen, carried on their backs for selling fish. It was never used at the harbour, but on women’s fish selling rounds or in the market. Rips are bigger …Continue reading “Arbroath rip”
Machine-made lath baskets at the Crownpoint Box Factory
A factory manufacturing poplar ‘chip’ baskets from 1890s – 1970s.Continue reading “Machine-made lath baskets at the Crownpoint Box Factory”
