Crocheted Raffia Basket

Pattern/Technique: Crocheted Raffia Basket by Anne Weil (part of a kit from The Crafters Box)

New skills: crocheting around another material

Lessons: The optimal thickness of the raffia bundle seems to be roughly the same diameter (maybe even a bit larger) than the crochet hook.

It's quite challenging to keep even tension on the working yarn while also holding a core material--particularly one that needs to be bundled tightly like raffia. Manipulating the material, while trying to insert the crochet hook into the linen loops and avoid snagging raffia hurt my hands, so I ended up cutting this project short and doing 1/3 of the recommended number of coils.

I noticed that the coil of the basket can be manipulated to be flat or very steep/conical. It's unclear whether this is endemic to this style of basket, or due to some issue with my tension.

What I'd do differently: The technique is quite interesting but trying to keep an even core of raffia was a challenge, and manipulating the crochet hook was physically painful over time. If I attempt a crocheted basket again, it with a more uniform core material like cotton rope, and one of my soft grip crochet hooks vs. the wooden hook included in the kit.

Braided Raffia Basket

This was another "start the project, let it languish for a year, then finish it in a flurry of holiday crafting motivation." I find that projects I don't find intrinsically enjoyable usually end up in purgatory for a while and then at some point my completionist brain kicks in. Thank goodness our COVID-enforced staycation provided a ripe environment for clearing out a number of dangling projects over Christmas.

Pattern/Technique: Braided Raffia Basket by Anne Weil (part of a kit from The Crafters Box)

New skills: working with raffia

Lessons: It's better to gauge how much raffia you need by feel rather than counting; the strands have a ton of variation in thickness. I didn't do a perfect job of this, and my braid ended up slightly thinner toward the outside of the basket.

I don't think I'm cut out to be a basket-making artisan. I found a number of steps to be physically taxing or even painful; braiding the raffia under tension made my hands hurt, and getting the needle into the braid during coiling required a lot of force against my index finger and thumb.

The curvature of the bowl is dependent on the angle you hold the braid while sewing the coil. Hold it away from you for a steeper bowl, and toward you for a shallower bowl.

What I'd do differently: Realistically I think this will be my last time making this style of basket.