Course Description

'Mollie was a great teacher - calm and patient. I felt like we achieved a lot in the time without being rushed'

At a glance, this course:

• Keeps traditional skills alive
• Uses natural sustainable materials
• Supports people's wellbeing

About the course

Spend the day making this lovely gathering basket, using English rush, harvested by Mollie from rivers in Somerset. You will learn to make a check base, use a mould to help shape the basket, use a paring weave to build the sides and undertake a beautiful track border. The basket will be finished with a lovely twisted, cordage handle. This soft and tactile material is a joy to work with and you will finish with a fantastic basket with multiple uses.

The course will give you:

• experience of a new material, English rush, to weave baskets with.
• the opportunity to learn a number of new skills applicable to weaving with soft plant materials
• skills to weave your own beautiful and useful rush gathering basket.

This course is suitable for:

Beginners and those wanting to practice their weaving skills. Weaving does require some strength and manual dexterity. Please check with the courses team before booking if you have any mobility concerns via  courses@sustainability-centre.org.

What to bring:

• Clothes you are happy to work in
• Sharp secateurs if wished, but all tools are provided
• This course will take place indoors
• A packed lunch or lunch can be purchased from the onsite Beech Café

Cancellations, refunds, and bursaries:

Read the full Adult Courses Cancellations and Refunds Policy and Courses Bursary Fund Information.

About the tutor

Mollie’s basketry story started in the woods in West Sussex, where she trained to be a bushcraft instructor.  Around the open fire, she first learned to use tree barks to make pouches and vessels.  From that moment, weaving bark and plant fibres has been an integral part of her personal and working life.

Mollie has been teaching basketry for over 15 years, from her own studio and for many other establishments and organisations, including City Lit College in London.  She is proudly a Yeoman Basket Maker of the Worshipful Company of Basketmakers.  Mollie weaves in willow, rush, bark and many mixed plant materials and weaves a wide range of projects and commissions from interior lighting, fencing, coffins and of course, plant fibre baskets.

​@molliemcmillen_basketmaker