How to Weave a Pine Needle Basket

The following teaching (and blog post) was shared with our Richmond Environmental Educators (REED) on June 4, 2024 by Andrea Phillpotts and Teya Wijayakoon. Both would like to acknowledge they are settler teachers in SD38 schools.

We gathered in Richmond to learn this skill on the traditional, unceded lands of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language speaking people. Steveston has two traditional village sites: qʷeyaʔχʷ (Gary Point) and qʷɬeyəm, a place called “driftwood place” where Musquem camped in the summer. Andrea would like to thank her Indigenous teacher who gave Andrea permission to share the pine needle basket making technique with students and fellow teachers as it was not sacred knowledge and she recognizes the power of educating teachers. Thank you to all the teachers who support our learning.

Pedagogical Intent of Pine Needle Basket Weaving

Why do this activity?

Making pine needle baskets is a great way to connect with the land, recognize the gifts of plants around us, honour Indigenous protocols when it comes to harvesting, reflect on how different plants were used for different purposes, and dig deeper into First Peoples Principles of Learning.

Andrea’s teacher uses Ponderosa Pine which has needles in clumps of three. Shore Pine also works, with needles in groups of two. If you need a visual exemplar of how to weave, here’s a Youtube video from an American settler artist. And here’s a fancier version of how to make a basket including a different start, some more tools, and pretty stitches.

Weaving a Pine Needle Basket Instructions, Tips & Tricks

Andrea’s tips for preparing needles

1. Look for fallen needles or branches downed in a storm. Thank the tree for its offering. Offer water as thanks. Do not pull needles off living trees. There is lots of potential in the collection of needles for lessons about pine trees, gratitude, and connecting to other life forms.
2. Avoid mildewy needles or those possibly in reach of dogs.
3. Bundle up needles in toonie circumference bundles with rubber bands.
4. Possibly wash once home (omit if fresh and not buggy / muddy)
5. Dry fresh needles for 3 weeks. Green will fade; fresh needles not ideal for baskets as
they will shrink.
6. Before use, soak in boiling water for 30 minutes minimum to soften. Soaked needles can be kept moist under a towel or put in the freezer until your project is done.

Instructions for weaving the pine needle basket

(watch video links posted above, if necessary)
1. Gather supplies. Plan for approximately 2.5 hours to complete a basket

2. Cut off an arm’s length of sinew and split into 2 pieces, if you wish, depending on the
thickness of the sinew. A full thick piece is sometimes harder to sew with.

3. Thread your needle. A thicker sewing needle is easier to thread but a slimmer one pierces the pine
needles better.

4. Take a pine needle with a nubby end on it. Fold nub to create a little “heart.” Create a
centre by sewing around the nub in a coil. You might need to wrap the sinew around the
nub a few times to get something to sew onto. This will be where you start your basket.
Once the centre coil is established, remove the nub from the second pine needle and
attach, making a pinwheel. Add a needle every 3 stitches or so and work in a spiral.
When you run out of sinew, leave the tail and add a newly threaded length.

5. Snip off the tail when you’re done with the basket. This is not a perfect system-
experiment! If you need to add more sinew, leave a little tail and thread in a new piece of
sinew.

6. Once the beginning round is established, try to make stitches evenly spaced. Be patient.
When you’re ready to do the sides of the basket, start to stack the row of needles going
up. The sinew is nice and bendy and sticky which helps with the process.
Stop adding needles when you’re finishing up. Think about a final row of stitches to
smooth out.

7. Try experimenting with stitches, maybe leaving nubs of needles, dying, using different
sinew.

8. Embrace imperfection.

9. An additional connection comes from the Aboriginal Support teachers in SD38 who
commented on traditional women’s work and the rich community and connection that
would happen when women got together to make baskets, repair nets, weave, and other
activities. Thank you!

Supplies

One bundle of prepared needles with a diameter of 3 cm (toonie’s circumference.)

Arm length (50 cm) of artificial sinew x 5 (split into 2-3 smaller pieces, depending on the sinew)for one basket. So 250 cm in total for an entire basket (with sinew split into 3 threads.)

needle-scissors for trimming

towel in case needles are wet

For a group of 25 people (aprox. class size)

25 bundles of prepared pine needles (will need soaking beforehand)

62.5 m of artificial sinew needed (68 yards.) Currently in 2024, $28.50 for 300 yards of artificialsinew off Amazon (2024 prices)

25 embroidery needles (apx $20 total) Best; large eyed embroidery / tapestry needles which are of a good size and not too sharp. For advanced makers, a sharper needle might be suitable for fine stiches.

10 scissors for snipping artificial sinew

one paper bag per person for holding sinew, pine needles, and sewing needle. Aprox $9 for 50 paper bags (with a sticker to anchor individual needles.)

Total cost in 2024 is around $58 for 25 people.