Recently a dear reader asked me to do a tutorial on how to make a hairpin lip. In case you aren't sure what that is, it is simply a lip made from round reed that is added near the rim of the basket, on the inside, so that a lid has a place to rest neatly rather than sitting precariously on top of the rim. If that still isn't clear, you will soon see what I mean.
I needed a basket to start with, so I chose to make one called "Blue Moon". The pattern is available for free at Bases to Weave .
This pattern does not call for a hairpin lip, but you can add one to most any round basket you want.
Here's mine:
My example shows a saw-tooth border, but you can use the same technique on a basket that has a traditional rim.
To make a hairpin lip, you will need to cut a number of short pieces of round reed. The length and size of round reed may vary by pattern, but in my example, I used #2 round reed. I wasn't sure how long I needed them to be since this pattern does not include a hairpin lip, so I made mine 10" long, just to be sure they would be long enough.
You will need to cut enough pieces to go around every other spoke on your basket. My basket has 24 spokes, so I cut 12 pieces @ 10" long.
In the photo below, I am inserting the first piece of #2 rr around a spoke, from the outside to the inside of the basket. Insert it just under the rim, and above the last row of weaving. Even up the ends and then pull the loop snug against the basket:
Again, you want one hairpin around every other spoke, so just continue until you've inserted all your pieces.
If it looks like a hot mess, like mine above, then you're on the right track!
The next step is to twine around all these little pieces. The tricky part is keeping them from crossing each other as you twine. This is only mildly annoying and will get easier after twining the first row.
To get started, simply take a LONG piece of #2 rr and make a loop near the middle as you normally would for twining.
You can start anywhere.
The picture below shows the beginning of the twining:
Keep twining around and around, for as many rows as your pattern indicates.
**As you twine, make sure you keep pushing your twining snug against the inside wall of the basket. Pulling on the ends of the hairpins as you do this will help.
In my example, I did 5 rows of twining. The lid I wanted to use was about 1/2" smaller than the top opening of my basket, so I had to make sure there was enough of a lip for my lid to rest on.
(If you are weaving your own lid, you don't need to worry so much about that as you will be making the lid to fit, instead of making the lip to fit the lid....make sense?)
To end the twining, simply cut the ends and tuck to the inside.
Ok, now what to do with all the ends that are still sticking up?
We are going to do what is commonly called a "locking row", and it is very simple.
Again, you can start anywhere for this step.
You will take one of the pieces, bring it over the next one to the right, and bend it down towards the bottom of the basket (see photo below).
Repeat, all the way around, one time. When you get back to where you began, simply loosen the first piece and tuck the last piece into the space and pull snug.
If you made your hairpin pieces extra long, like I did, then you'll need to trim the excess. Leave about 1/2" sticking out (see photo).
The finished hairpin lip looks like this:
And now for the finishing touch...the lid!
Incidentally, I made this lid myself....I bought the flat round piece at a wood craft supply store, and attached a wooden ball to the lid using a screw. Easy! And much cheaper than buying one ...maybe not as nice, but it works for me!
I hope you've enjoyed this little tutorial and have found it helpful! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email!
Happy Weaving!
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