Baskets

To make a beautiful gift basket, go to the expert. Sara Toliver owns The White Fig, a popular gift basket company, and she’s passing on all her tricks of the trade. Not only does this collection include 80 amazing ideas for any holiday, celebration, or theme, but there are also extensive pointers on techniques and numerous budget-friendly tips. Bright, cheerful photographs showcase baskets for babies and children, and for men and women. Absolutely every aspect of putting together the basket is covered, from choosing a container, selecting the filler, and arranging the items inside to final touches, such as shrink-wrapping and ribbon-tying. Those who want to take the craft further will appreciate the final section on starting a gift basket business.

Susie Vaughan offers a fascinating, step-by-step description of how to make a delightful selection of strong, natural-looking and colourful baskets, mostly using materials which have been gathered from hedgerows, woods and gardens. Firstly, she covers the few tools required, then goes on to give a detailed, illustrated description of materials which can either be gathered from the annual prunings of a wide selection of bushes, or those which are farmed and can be bought from specialist suppliers. Her detailed step-by-step description of making a basket is accompanied by numerous diagrams and full-colour photographs to help explain the finer points of detail. She then explores variations in design, both of the shape of the basket and the alternative weaving patterns that can be employed to make the finished work that much more special. Finally, a superb gallery of photographs of finished baskets is included to provide you with ideas and motivation to go on to more adventurous projects.