No 44. STRAW BASKETS. 06.08.2010
In this plastic age when packaging is such an issue, I sometimes swank a bit and take my old straw basket shopping. Home made in Lower Dounreay Farm House in January, 1954, our good old house now demolished I fear.
Peter Leith from Appietown in Stenness in Orkney was along Isauld a few days back and, taking a look at the 56 year old basket in the back of my car, immediately said ”That’s a Westray stitch”. His knowledge of Old Orkney is profound. So there’s a tale to tell about the old basket, no pun intended, no offence taken!!! .
Made of completely natural organic ingredients, straw from a sheaf pulled out of a stack of cleanland Ayr Line oats in the Lower Dounreay stackyard, binder twine of North African Sisal “borrowed” from the twine box on the binder, a bit of fencing wire from the work shop. Tools required - simple enough - just a strong 6 inch sail maker’s needle with a flattened wide curved end. Nettie cleaned the straw, I made the basket, a job for us both on dark winter’s evenings well before T.V. or Electricity. But back to the beginning.
A long time ago in Stronsay, aged 11, I had one year in the Big Room before going from Stronsay to Inverness Royal Academy to School. John Drever was my Headmaster. Among our Latin and Composition and French and Maths we had to read the Orkneyinga Saga to prepare for the Bursary Competition. He also found time to take us for Handicrafts, the boys doing woodwork and straw basket making and weaving wicker or cane into trays and baskets and ornaments. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for a spell at the end of the school day, then home. I chose straw basket making and cane trays and baskets.
The girls went next door to the cooking room doing I know not what, sewing and dress making and knitting and cooking spring to mind. I cannot remember who taught them, not John Drever anyway. We boys had utterly no interest in the more domestic things the girls had to do, none at all. Not then anyway!!.
As most of us were from farms, and if not then a farm was not far away, we who did straw baskets had to find a sheaf or two of good straight straw. Always from cleanland oats after a turnip crop the previous year, shortish, straight straw, well ripened, harvest gold. Take the sheaf to the barn and strip off the ears and the leaves, giving us “gloy”, clean straight straw ready for basket making. Take it to School for Mr Drever’s inspection, if not quite clean enough take it home and do it again !! Otherwise store it in some cupboard or other till needed. Thrashed straw was of no use.
We had to hand make a special cord for the coming task, made with imported raffia. We went down to the shore to the Sand Dunes on Mill Bay and found some specially hard Marram grass to add to the cord. Take some raffia, twist it into a continuous cord, feed in a small amount of Marram for extra strength. Two strands doubled, cross woven, twist each strand right handed, cross over left handed to make a self supporting two ply cord. Very hard and strong and quite attractive, a skill on its own.
Learn to hold the already woven ball under your arm, a bit of a job to keep all tidy and not let it fall to the floor and run out to lie and trip anyone. Easier said than done. There was a certain amount of twine to make before we were introduced to making the basket.
The technique is essentially the same as for the well known Orkney Chair. For a basket start at what will be the centre of the bottom with a small length of straw and double it back on itself to make a starter about six inches long, Catch your cord in the loop of the bend, wind your cord round the starter at one inch spacing, less if you wanted to be a bit fancy but one inch was a general measure.. Then loop it spirally round and round about one inch apart each time. Tuck the loose end into the straw, well hidden. A clove hitch was a good starter tie in the initial bend
Turn the free end of your straw back, feed in some more straws and start stitching to the starter, looping each stitch under the previous. And so on and on, making an increasing flat oval until the desired size of the bottom of the basket is reached. Round if you liked, mine was oval. Fresh straw fed in a few straws at a time into the working end, stubble end first and inside the centre to keep it out of sight in the finished basket. Keep just the right amount in your hand, practice soon tells you how much. Pull the stitches just so, tight but not too tight. Better too tight than too slack, but you can only pull so much. It is surprising how hard a few straws can get when pulled tight into the basket. Or an Orkney Chair for that matter, almost as hard as wood.
Having reached the limit of the bottom, usually oval, now to turn up the straw for the sides. Begin with a half turn, complete it on the next round and we are now rising into the sides. Here the shape becomes critical, a good eye needed to keep a nice shape. A slight outward slope at first, curving gently further out a bit, then, as the sides climb, straighten it upwards again. Gives a nice figure “S” outline shape. For the rim just wind the cord continuously round and round the last run, keep it tight, then with the sail needle stitch the flying end out of sight into the body of the basket.
The one I made has fencing wire for the handle with the ends bent at right angles and inserted some five rows below the rim. Then the handle reinforcement is filled out with straw, wrapped close with twine, the wire out of sight within the straw.
The basket I made was 18 inches long, 12 inches across, eight inches deep, a classic measurement but you could make what you fancied. In its time it carried many an egg to Willie Oman in Trail Street in Thurso, and our shopping back home. Did service for a picnic, the odd Bring and Buy Sale. For age it has done pretty well, and I still use it.
But not a match for the Orkney Straw Backed Chair made as a wedding present for our Grandparents Wedding at Campston in Tankerness in Orkney. Still there with Hamish in Greenland Mains, a few woodworm holes but otherwise as good as new, a present from Grandma’s Campston Tait family..
From Wm Tait’s Diary of 1880. ,
Aug 18 Wed At Cattle Show - preparing barn for wedding.
Aug 19 Thur Elizabeth (his sister) married this night …very fine night
{Married David Pottinger of Upper Stove, Deerness}
Aug 20 Fri At Kirkwall with long cart with cousins from Caithness (Taits)
Aug 21 Sat At Kirkwall with three carts with seats.{from the barn wedding?}
Straw Baskets and Straw Backed Chairs are still a great Orkney Tradition.
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