Weaving a Willow Berry Boat
from Locally-Foraged Willow
@ Wild Roses Festival
In the Boho Barn
Register for Event
I love using this small tray to harvest quick snacks from my garden. Its shape is especially well suited to berries. By placing the boat beneath the branch I am harvesting from, I can easily catch any fruit that falls as my hand brushes by.
In this beginner-friendly workshop, you will learn to shape willow using a simple wooden jig, allowing the form to emerge naturally as you weave.
We will explore how to find and identify willow for harvesting and how to gather it responsibly. You will also learn methods for drying, storing, and preparing willow for weaving.
By the end of the session, you’ll have your berry boat well underway and all the skills needed to carry your weaving with you during the festival, returning to it as you wish.
Plan for about one additional hour of weaving to complete your boat. We will be working with fresh willow, rather than soaked, so as long as it stays out of the sun and wind, you should have two to three days to finish your piece.
What It Means to Finish Your Weaving as You Journey Through the Festival
We will begin your berry boat together in the Boho Barn. After that, it travels with you.
Tucked under your arm as you cross prairie grass. Past canvas tents, shopping and music, laughter and dancing. Resting in your lap, it will finish in its own time. Between stages and speakers, between conversations that linger, your hands will continue their work, something steady to return to when feeling needs form.
A Few Practical Notes
All of the learning you need to complete your boat happens at the beginning of our session. Once you understand the structure, you will repeat the same weave from start to finish. This allows you to settle into the rhythm of the willow and work at your own pace as you move through the festival.
The length of your boat can shift as you weave. You may continue extending it if you are enjoying the process and would like a longer tray, or begin drawing it in sooner if you prefer something smaller that fits comfortably in one hand.
When your tray is complete, the final gesture is trimming the ends of the willow. Garden snips or small shears work very well, and we will have snips available during the workshop. If you choose to finish weaving later in the weekend, you are welcome to bring your own shears to the festival, or simply trim the ends once you return home. It is perfectly fine if your willow has dried when you do your final trim.
Email Freyja at halfmoonbaskets@gmail.com with any questions.