BASKETRY

One of the most obvious crafts to start researching, was basketry. Basketry, or braiding plant material in general, is a technique that is used in historical and ethnic footwear a lot.

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I wanted to find out if it was possible to translate these principles to my own environment. I made an appointment with a local basketry artist to explore the available local plant materials and the braiding techniques required to work with this material. Mieke Langenhuizen is a very skilled basketry artist, who grows a lot of the materials she uses in her own garden. She works with many different materials, for example birch bark, willow bark and rush. Birch bark is a firm but flexible material. It can be softened by heat due to the tar that is inside the bark. Willow bark on the other hand is a very stiff and hard material, which can be softened by soaking it into water. Rush is a very fragile material, which can also be softened by soaking it into water. This makes it flexible and therefor can be braided in a very tight and firm way.

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Wet weaving and braiding rush together with Mieke Langenhuizen

Because of its flexibility and ability to form a fine and firm structure, the first iteration is done using rush, coming from the Dutch wetlands. First the rush needs to soak in water to become flexible and stronger. When it dries out, it will break in the weaving process. Once woven, braided, or twined, the construction is strong and can dry out without breaking. The bottom of the shoe is constructed using the plaiting technique. Then the ends are twined around the rectangular bottom and find its way up around the shape of the foot.