What can you do with grapevines? Weave a rustic basket! Follow along with my detailed instructions for crafting a grapevine basket, starting with gathering the vines. Each step is accompanied by photos to make the weaving process easier to follow. This fun project results in a beautiful basket, and while it’s easy enough for beginners to complete, even experienced basket-weavers will enjoy this craft with grapevines!

Step 1: Gather Grapevines

You can find grapevines by visiting a community vineyard, or you can do what my husband and I have always done: find wild grapevine growing on our woodland property or ask permission to get it from a neighbor’s property. Usually, they’re glad someone is willing to rid them of their possible nuisance. We’ve pulled down vines that have grown 30 feet up a tree. The only tools you really need are a good set of clippers and maybe a pair of gloves. After pulling wild grapevine down from a tree or even pulling it from the ground, snip off unwanted stems and leaves until you’re left with a single main stem. Some wild grapevine can be gray, some is pinkish, and there’s a reddish brown variety with lots of hair under the outer bark.

Tips for Gathering and Preparing the Vines

• Keep some notches on your stems. You’ll use these later to secure your weaver stems when you’re wrapping them around the basket.
• Keep your stems as long as possible.
• There is no need to soak the grapevine. It remains pliable for a few weeks after being cut.

Step 2: Select the Starter Pieces

Study the various stems you have to work with then pick the straightest ones. You’ll want to use those for your six starter pieces. Try to keep them within a similar volume of bulk, and cut them to about the same length. The older the stem, the stronger and thicker it will be.

Use these pieces to determine the size of your basket. ecide if you want a big or small basket. The length and thickness of the vine will determine the outcome. Sometimes the grapevine itself will determine whether you have a choice in the matter.

Step 3: Weave the Starter Pieces Together

1. First, lay out three of the six stems next to each other.
2. Begin interlacing with the first weaver stem using an over and under pattern across the three laid-out stems.
3. Weave the following stems in an alternating pattern under and over. This secures all six pieces, forming the bottom of your basket.
4. Don’t worry that it looks gappy. Later on, you will go back and fill in the gaps with thinner and more flexible pieces.

You have assembled the basket bottom!    When you’re finished weaving the first six starter pieces, it will sort of look like a big spider with long legs and a checkerboard body, like in the photo above. This will be the bottom of the basket. At this point, you can clearly see how big your basket will be based on the length of the first six stems, which I’ll refer to as “spokes” from here on out.

Step 4: Assemble the Base

The next step is to choose a long stem and begin weaving it over and under around the six starter spokes, forming a circle around the checkerboard base. Tip: It’s a good idea to choose the longest grapevine stem available for the first weaver piece.

Go With the Flow and Don’t Mind the Gaps

When you’re building rows with the weavers, sometimes you’ll end up with a gap that departs from the over/under pattern. Don’t worry about it. In the final product, it won’t be noticeable.

The grapevine has a mind of its own, resulting in a unique basket with a charming free-form quality. Go with the flow and keep going. Simply make things fit according to the twists and turns of the vine. You’ll get a real feel for this as you go along or as you make more baskets.

Step 5: Tuck in the First Weaver Stem

Now that you have weaved your first stem all the way around the base, you’ll want to find a place to tuck the end into. Sometimes, when you find a good place to tuck in the end, it might stick out. In that case, you can simply clip it off for a smooth finish.

Step 6: Form the Bowl Shape

Next, it’s time to take another big step. You’ll be able to pick up the skeleton basket without it losing its shape.

1. Pick up the basket, then begin bending the spokes, working them gradually until they form a bowl shape. It helps to keep it upside-down when you’re forming the bowl.
2. Use the weavers to help establish the bowl shape by pulling them tightly where you’re bending spokes. This is when the notches can come in handy.
3. Always remember to stop once in a while and center things to your liking.

Step 7: Begin Working Up the Sides

Continue adding weavers to create the sides of the basket. Remember that grapevine is a material with unique qualities, so you might end up with gaps caused by natural bends along the vines as you’re building up the sides of the basket. (Photos Above) When that happens, simply fill them in when you come around with the next layer. Remember, it’s grapevine, not perfection.

Don’t Panic if You Break a Spoke

Once in a while, you may break a spoke while building up the sides of the basket. It even happened to me with the one I made for these photos! I just kept going, being careful not to break it off completely. After you build layers over the damaged spoke, it won’t show, and it won’t compromise the strength of the basket. The weavers will support it from above and below.

Clip the ends as you go. Sometimes as you’re building up the sides of your basket, you won’t be able to find the perfect spot to tuck in the ends of your weavers. In those cases, simply clip the ends to blend them in as much as possible. Tip: Make sure to clip the ends at an angle for a smoother finish.

Step 8: Tuck in the Spokes to Form the Rim

Once the sides are built up to a certain point, it’s time to start tucking in the spokes to form the rim of the basket. When you are deciding when to move to this step, take into consideration that the spokes will raise the sides a bit more once they’re tucked in—so you’ll want to stop a little shy of your ideal height.

Choose the handle spokes first. This is very important! Before you start tucking in the spokes, you have to choose the best two spokes to leave out for the handle. They will need to be across from each other and as balanced as possible. Remember, it’s not going to be exactly perfect.

Step 9: Start Bending the Spokes to make the Rim

1. Bend the spokes to begin intertwining them over and under one another. (The grapevine tolerates quite a bit of bending.) Always do this in the same direction.
2. Eventually, you’ll need to push the spokes down and tuck them in somewhere along the sides. You’ll probably have to do some guesswork.

I know I keep repeating myself, but try to remember you’re working with grapevine, which has lots of character—including twists, bends, and notches.

You’ve Created the Basket Rim! Now that the rim spokes are tucked in, you will be left with two spokes that will be used later for the base of your handle.

Next, fill in the bottom of the basket before you make the handle. Close the gaps with thinner pieces of vine.

Step 10: Fill in the Bottom

Surprise, you thought it was time to build the handle, but this is the best time to fill in the bottom. This can take awhile because you have to weave each piece between each spokel around the base, going from the widest to the smallest circle. Choose the thinnest and most flexible stems for the best results.

Tip: It’s easy to accidentally break the weavers during this step. To avoid that, support the stems with your thumbs or fingers at the pressure points.

Ensure the bottom lays flat. As you’re finishing the bottom of the basket, stop every once in a while and set it down on a flat surface. If it doesn’t want to sit straight, add pieces strategically for the best balance. You might have to wait till the very end and even clip off some thickness created by the character of the grapevine, especially where there’s a natural bend.

Start building the handle adding spokes to the two spokes you had left free , tucking in the new handle spokes.

Step 11: Build the Handle

1. Start with a nice, thick piece of grapevine and tuck it into the gaps along the handle sides as much as possible. Sometimes it’s a good idea to integrate the added handle pieces along the rim of the basket.
2. Keep adding pieces, twisting the added spokes around the original handle spokes.

Inspect the finished handle and the entire basket. Check for stems poking out or bark that needs to be stripped.

Step 12: Admire Your Hard Work

Once everything is assembled, check it over one last time. Clip off any ends that are still sticking out. The finished product is ready to be admired—by you and everyone else!

Find Creative Uses for Your Baskets

All that is left for you to do is enjoy your beautiful handmade basket in fun creative ways such as filling it with stuffed animals, displaying seasonal flora or a festive autumn arrangement! Next, coming soon, I will show how to make a unique wreath for a wall or door hanging. What will you do with your new basket? Happy basket-weaving!

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