Bangalow Palm leaf sheaths are an incredible material for basketry and weaving, definitely one of my favourites and I have plenty of them I can source from my own garden and the surrounding local area.
The process in preparing them for use sometimes feels like it takes as long to complete as it would to weave a small basket like this one!
It is quite involved and takes some time, physical strength and a few tools that will make the task much less difficult.
Firstly they are trimmed to remove the leafy part, the sheaths are then soaked overnight in my huge pond, weighted down with rocks. A bathtub will also work as some of them are really huge!
Once sufficiently soaked where they become soft and rubbery they are wiped clean and wrapped in a towel.
They are then ready to be cut into strips with the use of a quilters mat and heavy duty rotary cutter. A metal ruler helps to press the sheath down and guides the cutting wheel to cut strips of consistent widths. Great care is needed here as this can be a bit dangerous if you don’t pay close attention.
There will still be some variation to the strip widths as the sheaths can be quite curved and bowed in places but I think this just adds to the rustic nature of weaving with natural materials.
The central part of the sheath is very thick, especially on some of the largest sheaths. Once I have cut strips from both outside edges, I use my folding garden knife to split the remaining middle part down the length before cutting it into more weaving strips.
It’s of course so worth it in the end, prepping what you have access to in your local area or own garden, versus ordering online or driving to a Spotlight store and paying for prepackaged materials from far away places. It definitely brings a wonderful sense of achievement and satisfaction and is completely sustainable.
I do love how this basket is made from the same sheath yet the colour variations that are achieved by using inner and outer sides of the sheath and then splitting down to reveal the inner white fibre from the middle can create so many options for the making process – once you get to that part! The possibilities really are endless.
Just keep going, experimenting with new ways to do things and seeing what happens, you never know what you might discover.
Happy making, whatever your creative practice may be at the moment.
Cath
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