Coiled Basketry

Making a functional COILED basket 

Basketry is an ancient craft that is relevant in contemporary life as it allows us to slow down and experience the satisfaction of creating something hand made. Participants learn how to use natural and man-made materials to coil a functional basket. Coiling is a time consuming technique that involves wrapping or stitching an active element around a passive core.

I would like to acknowledge Aunty Joy Wandin Murphy who first taught me coiling with a mariposa stitch in a workshop at a community centre in Hawthorn in 2006. I have since learned more about coiled basketry from Margaret Balfe (2007) and Aunty Marilyne Nicholls (2018). I now respectfully pass this traditional basketry technique onto others at workshops held at a range of community centres in Victoria. 

Participants at workParticipants at work, Creswick Neighbourhood Centre, June 2015

p1220676Participants making coiled baskets at the Ballarat Steiner School, October 2016.

image1-copyA rare occasion when one of my participants sends me a picture of their finished basket.

In 2017 I adapted the coiled basketry workshop so that participants started with interestingly textured river red gum bases. Adding patterned fabric lengths to the core ensured complex colouration and that each and every basket was unique.

At workA full house at the Creswick Neighbourhood Centre in 2017.

P1230459Participant at work on a basket at CNC in 2017, showing careful coiling & textured bark.

End of dayA bright sunny afternoon that finished an enjoyable and productive winters day at the Creswick Neighbourhood Centre in 2017.

BasketsFinal baskets from the workshop at the Creswick Neighbourhood Centre in 2017

IMG_20170611_232215 2Thank you to Margot who finished her basket and sent me a photo

P1230379Ladies concentrating on their baskets at the Darley Neighbourhood Centre in 2017.

IMG_0864Baskets at the end of the day at Creswick Neighbourhood Centre in June 2018.

At WorkFocused coiling at Friends of Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne (FRBGM) in March 2019.

BasketsAt the end of the day at FRBGM in March 2019.

Baskets detailDetail of baskets at the end of the day at FRBGM in March 2019.

IMG_2401At the end of the day at my second workshop at FRBGM in March 2019.

IMG_2863A view of my basketry table and participants at work on Saturday May 25 in 2019.

IMG_2865Participants at work on Saturday May 25 in 2019.

IMG_2870At the end of the day at my workshop at FRBGM on May 25 in 2019.

DSC06372Flotsam & jetsom (rope/cordage) collected from waterways in Busselton WA.

P1250409Participants at work coiling from the top down at Grapes by the Sea at Art Geo in Busselton WA on Thursday October 3 in 2019.

DSC06353Demonstrating at Grapes by the Sea on Thursday October 3 in 2019.

P1250418At the end of the day workshop at Art Geo on Oct 3 in 2019.

P1250423Detail at the end of the day of the workshop at Art Geo on Oct 3 in 2019.

Participants and their small coiled baskets at Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre in May 2021. These baskets were made with recycled fabric lengths made into string and then stitched using raffia. 
The chaos of tools and materials at the Coiled Basketry Workshop at FRBGM in June 2022.
A close-up of the complex colouration of a basket at the Coiled Basketry Workshop at FRBGM in June 2022.
A close-up of the complex colouration of a basket at the Coiled Basketry Workshop at FRBGM in June 2022.
At the end of the day at the FRBGM in June 2022. From this image you can see that coiling is a timing consuming technique. Baskets cannot be made in a day, but are taken home to finish.
Thanks to Monika for sending a photo. She went home and finished her basket and then created a second one!
A coiled basket being made from arum lily and painted waxed jute at Art Geo in January 2023
A coiled basket being made from arum lily and painted waxed jute at Art Geo in January 2023
Participants and their coiled baskets at Art Geo in January 2023
For for the purpose of collecting eggs! Coiled basket post Art Geo workshop January 2023
Teacher in action at Coiled Basketry Workshop, Centre for Rare Trades in Ballarat, May 2023
Collection of coiled baskets, Centre for Rare Trades in Ballarat, May 2023
Participants at the Coiled Basketry Workshop, Centre for Rare Trades in Ballarat, May 2023

CoiledJodie Goldring, Coiled Basket, cordyline, waxed cotton and silk threads, 28cm wide x 22 cm deep x 6cm high, 2015

Coiled Basket 2Jodie Goldring, Coiled Basket, combungi bullrushes, raffia and recycled thread, 2016

Coiled Basket 1Jodie Goldring, Coiled Basket, grass, synthetic sinew, raffia and sheoak needles, 2016

Coiled Basket 1Jodie Goldring, Coiled Basket, flax, red hot poker, patterned shirts, waxed cotton thread and river red gum, 30cm long x 26 cm wide x 7cm high, 2017

Coiled Basket 4Jodie Goldring, Coiled Basket, flax, red hot poker, patterned shirts, waxed cotton thread and river red gum, 26cm long x 25cm wide x 6cm high, 2017

Trio of Pod BasketsJodie Goldring, Trio of Pod, recycled shirts & raffia, 35cm wide x 35cm deep x 15cm high, 2019.

Grapes by the SeaJodie Goldring, Coiling from the Top Down, grapevine, flotsam and jetsam and artificial sinew, 2019

Jodie Goldring, Coiling from the Top Down, grapevine, flotsam and jetsam and artificial sinew, 2020

Jodie Goldring, Coiled Basket, arum lily and waxed cotton thread & jute, 2022