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.
