Threads 109 - Baskets in Mexico part one
I have just returned from a very exotic week in Mexico attending my grandson’s destination wedding.
I found a great variety of baskets in the local market but was not able to visit any basket makers.
I had always believed that baskets could not be made by machine but here for the first time I saw baskets stitched by machine. Using a very fine thread and stitching together rows of what I think was fine natural material, some of which had been dyed. There were elements of hand work, and I did find one small coiled basket which I think was made by hand. In the above photo you can see some plastic material baskets which I did not photograph.
The baskets were interesting from the design point of view. Several were made from a circle or oval shape and some were folded in half to form a container. Some were used as a simple flat circle like the fan and others were used as a basket, with a placket holding the two sides together as seen below. The fan has a wooden handle which was split to hold the woven mat and held in place with a clip known as fasteners and it made a very firm handle. A braided edging was stitched around the fan.
The large circular basket was also stitched around the edging and a 3 cm placket was inserted between the two sides. The handles were cleverly created by cutting out an opening and then stitched around using a bias border. I wondered if this circular design could be used to make a rush basket or possibly willow? The pink pom-pom tassel amused me and I had to take a photograph, it seemed so Mexican!
