Pine Needle Basket Demonstration

A pine needle basket can be sewn using raffia, a type of palm native to the tropical regions of Africa. While the raffia is in keeping with the natural 'feel' of the pine needle basket, synthetic fibers can also be used just as easily. The roots of the raffia are threaded through a large needle. The end of the raffia is held in line with a group of 7 longleaf pine needles at the sheath end. Raffia is then wrapped around the sheaths several times and the needle then comes up at the end of the wrapped section to make the first stitch. Nancy Basket demonstrates the construction of a pine needle basket in this video. She explains the spacing of the stitches, the term "feeding the tail", and the way to end a piece of raffia and begin a new piece.