Weaving Tools

Basket weaving tools can be specifically designed for basket making or ordinary tools found around the house or garage.

Basic Weaving Tools

  • Awl

  • Bent Tip Packing Tool

  • Clothes Pins or Spring Clips

  • Measuring Tape

  • Needle Nose Pliers with narrow nose

  • Pencil

  • Reed Cutters (Pruning Shears/heavy duty Scissors)

  • Small hand wood plane/shaver, sharp knife

  • Spoke weight

  • Spray Bottle

  • Water container (bucket or dish pan)

  • Old Towel

  • Band-Aids


Optional Tools

  • Bone Awl

  • Diagonal cutting pliers/side cutting pliers

  • Plastic Cable Ties

  • Reed Gage

  • Straight Weave rite™ tool










Letter Opener

My favorite weaving tool is a flexible letter opener. It works great for tucking spokes, packing and opening spaces. (Submitted by Marilyn Margrave)


  • Use a vegetable peeler to taper the ends of flat oval reed for rims and overlaps. It is smaller than other tools used for the same purpose.

  • Use a 17” x 16” quilt mat or other similar size mat that is marked in square inches. It can be used for cutting short spokes, marking centers and laying out a square or rectangular base. When cutting anything longer, run a tape measure underneath the mat and tape the end to the table just beyond the desired spoke length. (Submitted by Marsha Foster)

Packing tool with cable tie & Pencil with cable tie

  • Tired of that round handled packing tool or pencil rolling off the table? Use a plastic electrical tie to keep the tool in place – wrap it around the handle and snip off the end. The tie’s locking nub will keep the tool stationary so it will always be handy. (Submitted by Jan Oberlag)


  • Mark all your tools with your name or initials using a wood burning tool or permanent marker. Any tools left behind from a class or from just weaving with friends can easily be identified and returned.

  • Sandpaper is a wonderful item to keep in your tool bag to sand handles, bases and to remove pencil marks.

Finger Tip Thimble

  • Fingertip thimbles (also called quilter’s thimbles) can be used to help you pack a basket. They are available in small-medium-large sizes and have a small lip that catches the reed so you can save your fingernails. (Submitted by Jan Oberlag)


  • Use a small wet sponge to pull your weaver through when it becomes too dry or to dampen small areas of your basket.

  • There are several items that can be used to secure and retie a coil of reed for future use. Place a rubber band, cable tie, VELCRO® straps or a pony tail holder (kind with two plastic balls) around the end of the coil before cutting the last holding tie. The tie will need to be tightened as the reed is pulled. Recoil the reed and hold the coil together with long twist ties, craft pipe cleaners or VELCRO® straps.


Staple Pullers

  • Use a staple remover to go between the rim and the basket when you start or end a lasher. The tool has a groove just the right size for the lasher to slide through. A beading scoop can also be used for this function. (Submitted by Jan Oberlag)


  • Try using an ordinary table knife to open spaces between the rim and basket. A table knife is also handy for guiding cane when weaving chair seats.

  • Recycle a coffee can with lid or use a small plastic container with lid for seagrass. Pull an end of the seagrass through a hole made in the top of the lid. It doesn’t make any difference if the end is from the outside or inside of the roll. Be sure the lid is tight. Secure the lid with tape if needed. You can pull and cut a length of seagrass for your project without ending up with a tangled mess.

Coat Rack with Reed
Coat Rack with shower hook
Coat Rack with belt loop hoop

  • Everyone has experienced the frustration of retrieving a single piece of reed from a coil. We continue to search for that magic solution that will let us easily weave in a solo manner so we don’t have to call hubby or interrupt a fellow weaver. Use a standing coat rack. It has plenty of hooks for reed and you can increase the hanging capacity by using round belt storage loops from your clothes closet and even old shower hooks. Be sure to weight the base of the coat rack. I use a tent weight/sand bag. I’ve had as many as 15 different coils of reed hanging down from the rack. When it starts to get a little messy, coil the reed and hang the coil on the coat rack. (Submitted by Jan Oberlag)


  • Make your own packing tool from the handle of a spoon. Cut handle from bowl, grind the cut end of the handle to a smooth tapered end.


  • Browse the aisles of stores you never know what useful “thingamajigs” you might fine to help when weaving. Small bungee cords work well for keeping coils of reed contained. “Quick release clamps are helpful when attaching a rim with attitude.” Ponytail holders can be used to band lengths of reed. (Submitted by Marsha Foster)

  • A 10” or shorter strap hinge can be used as a spoke weight. The side can be flip over to weave reed while the other remaining spokes are held in place.


  • A cloth tube stuffed with pea gravel makes a flexible and heavy spoke weight. When laying out a round or oval base, it can be used to form an arch to hold half the spokes in place and it can be moved as you weave around the base to keep spokes from sliding. (Submitted by Marsha Foster)

  • Recycle empty plastic prescription, spice and other small plastic containers to hold small micro clips, needles, cable ties and other small objects.

These tips and tricks have been passed from weaver to weaver over the years. MBG does NOT claim originality but provides this form for sharing those deemed beneficial to new and experienced weavers.