Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Basket weave bunny tail grid to catch your floral details
- 23 August 2023
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Choose a block shaped container for this design. Any square would do... even a deeper vase if you want to use longer stems. Fill your container with water.
Gather a bundle of fluffy bunny tail grasses.
Pair the grasses so that you have a bunny tail pointing to either side.
Place the grasses in rows on your working surface.
Weave in two more matched grasses through the rows.
I use a simple over and under weaving pattern. If you are unsure how to weave you can find a Tutorial below this post.
Weave in the next row...
To complete the open weave grid
now the next part is the hardest! Picking up an open weave is always the most difficult part of a woven design mechanic. I tell you about my trick... and give you another option in our email this week. If you are not yet receiving my Wednesday morning (Vancouver time) email you can sign up below this post. Also, I would love to connect with you so reply to the email if you have a comment or questions... or say hi.
Carefully place the grid over the opening of your container...
Book readers: if you want the grid to last longer I suggest designing something like the grid I used on page 12. The blades of grass is now in the water and can continue to hydrate. Simply adjust this so that the fluffy bunny tails peek over the edge and the cut stems are in the water below.
For more information about my book.
The Effortless Floral Craftsman
And place the floral details to rest on the grid but remain hydrated in the water below.
Add in a few curled grasses to dangle over the orchids. And add a few sparkling dew drop crystals to finish the design.
You can find a way to carefully curl grass in my book on page 288 but to get you started I also have an easy way linked here below the post.
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Tutorials
For this tutorial I focus on a simple weave pattern that does not require you to soften or prepare the leaves to be more durable or flexible. This is the starting point in...
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Most leaves and foliage can be slightly manipulated to curve or curl.
When weaving a more labour intensive design you might want to/have to break for a few hours. This is the best way to keep the project from dying out too quickly.
Stack snippets of grass on a wire frame to make a floating pyramid armature
Cut the Phalaenopsis orchid with a bit of green stem attached. This will make them last longer.
Weave a canopy or parachute shaped armature in a way that you can place the stems in two vases to keep it hydrated.
My block design is shaped around a Styrofoam block. It is bulky but lightweight and a great way to reuse packaging.
Craft a pretty little critter by threading dried blossoms onto a wire.
Craft a platform to highlight small flowers
Weave a small panel that fits snugly in a container for a minimal, foam free design that is quick to make but looks spectacular.
Give your woven grass a water source by designing the basket in a vase rather than placing the vase in a basket
Suspend flowers over a water filled container by weaving a natural grid.
Favourite Flowers
Phalaenopsis, Moth orchid
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I left the grass to mature so that the tips mirror the sun bleached yellow of the orchids.