I did a little camping this weekend. The weather was nice and I got to work on some crafts. The onset of warmer weather here means that the bark peeling season is upon us. So, one of the things I chose to work on was this little basket made from the bark of the quaking aspen tree. There are many books that describe this particular basket style, but specifically I used Mors Kochanski’s book Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills & Wilderness Survival to walk me through the project. I usually shy away from making bark containers like this because I have a tendency to cause runs in the bark that often result in a ruined product. But I took my time and things worked out well. I never understood the idea behind adding a rim to the opening of the basket until mine dried out and started to warp. I had always thought the rim was for decoration but now I see its intended function is to prevent the mouth from warping as the bark begins to lose moisture. So I ended up adding the willow rim a few days later. I soaked the basket in water to make it pliable enough to receive the willow. I am hoping I used a stout enough piece to hold the shape when things dry out again. I was lazy with the lashing and used unpeeled spruce roots and there was enough extra lashing material left over to use for the handle. All I need now to make the basket complete is something to put in it.

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