Kisses for My Sweetheart

Fifteen years ago on Valentines I found myself in a hospital, very ill, about to deliver the best Valentine anyone could ever get, a bouncing baby boy. He was born at 2:54am the next morning so while others celebrate with candy hearts and chocolate, I have a growing boy to remind me that life is sometimes very sweet.

But for those of you that do celebrate Valentines (and not Dixmas as we celebrate on Feb. 15th, the celebration of everything Dixon), I have a nice little project that you can create and fill with Hershey's kisses to give to your valentine.

If you've made my strawberry basket, good news, you already have all the skills necessary to make this basket. This basket demonstrates how one little change can really change the entire feel of a basket. So lets begin.

Kisses for My Sweetheart Basket

12 spokes of 1/2 flat/flat cut at 24" & centers marked

#2 or #3 round reed (rr) not cut
1/4" Flat/oval dyed or natural or a little of both

Soak cut reed until pliable. Lay six reeds down side by side with centers lined up.








Weave three above and three spokes below the center line in and over and under pattern.

 

Use a scrap piece of 1/2" reed as a spacer to evenly space out the reed both horizontally and vertically.

You should now have a nice square shape.

 

Starting on the fourth spoke from any corner, start twining around your square with the round reed.

 

 

Weave until you reach the third spoke from the corner on the left and stop. Now, unweave that corner so that you have to spokes vertically together and two spokes horizontally together like so:

 

 

Now lift both spokes and you are going to treat this like it was your corner.

Showing weaving that corner.

Once you reach the second spoke, switch so that the horizontal spokes are now on top.

Weave those, keeping the center very close so you don't have a "gap". 



Keep tight to the center.

Like this.

 

Twine three rows of round reed.

 

 

This is what it looks like at this point.

 

 

Soak and upset. Pin with clothes pins as needed, especially on corners and center

portion of the heart.

 

Starting on top of a spoke on one of the long sides of the heart, start weaving in an over/under manner. Keep alternating sides so you don't develop a "bump" on one side of your basket. Keep your weaving as tight as possible next to the twining. Clothes pin each corner and turn together. It will take at least 3-4 rows before you no longer need clothes pins.

Remember to always overlap four spokes hiding behind the fourth spoke. 

 

 

Keep weaving until you are happy with the height. Add colored reed if  you like, or natural, or alternate or even cane. Make it your own! 

 

 

 

Use your hands to shape the basket as you weave it.

 

 

When you are happy with the height, take two pieces of very long round reed and starting on one of the long sides, twine three rows.

When you've completed three rows, ending at the beginning spokes cut them off.

















Soak your basket well. Cut and tuck reed.

 

Your basket is now completed. Leave it natural or stain it.

 

Fill it with Hershey Kisses and give to your valentine.

 

When the holiday is over, use this as a candy dish. This would be equally adorable in a baby's room filled with cotton balls or in a little girls room hung on the wall.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!