Fishing creel or problem solving 101.

The Fishing Creel is now completed thanks to Anne's work on the nylon strapping and the webbing hinges.

The shoulder strap was the first problem I encountered and solved. How would I hang a basket from the shoulders so it sat on the hip? The webbing was woven into the body of the basket towards its back. Initially, I had the webbing coming through the rim, but realised the lid sat over this rim. Problem #2 was solved by pulling the webbing from out of the rim, a not too easy task.

As I wove the lid, the next problem was how to create the hole into which the fish are placed. Lots of ingenuity led to the hole creation. And adding five rows of three-rod waling with round cane enabled me to finish the lid with some success.





The next problem to solve was how to securely fasten the lid. "The Complete Book of Basketry Techniques", by Sue Gabriel and Sally Goymer, gave me some clues. I used some leather lacing I had in my supplies to fashion the plaited loops. For the "stick" I used a piece of thick cane. As a variation on the suggested technique for securing this to the basket, I drilled a hole through the cane and then threaded a cotton lace through and tied it well.











As you can see, the peg fastening works well.








This basket is now for sale on my etsy site, and will be on display at the West Carleton Art Society's Exhibition and Sale on October 8,9 and 10. It will be part of the themed display there on fish, in the lovely village of Carp.