Kimuir basket repair and Ose basket interpretation.

Question: Why undertake a really tricky repair on a skein work Ose basket? Answer: Through close examination, (and then creating my own interpretation), this heritage basket can divulge important technical knowledge not seen on the original basket or mentioned in any basketry book.

The series of photos show a Kilmuir Ose basket, in the buff honey coloured willow, both before and after repair. (Sarah has deliberately made the repair visible with brighter buff willow). Alongside is Sarah’s Ose basket interpretation that technically replicates the original, but with white and blue coloured skeins and listing on the handle.

Sarah has a long held love of Ose baskets, it’s the basket that captured her heart and got her into basketmaking. 4 years ago Sarah travelled to the Museum of Island Life on the Isle of Skye to study this basket. What I subsequently realised is that the Kilmuir Ose basket in the museum is what I would call an ‘exhibition piece’. In other words it was a fancier white willow version, perhaps even made especially for the museum. An example of the ‘everyday’ Kilmuir basket, made just down the road from the museum at what was known as the ‘factory’, (operating 1908 - 1956), was the next day shown to Sarah by a lovely local, whose grandfather had made the basket. In buff willow, this everyday basket was far more like the one Sarah was sent to repair and subsequently has seen other examples of.

By having a basket to repair that was in such a state Sarah could really see the remaining hoops and ribs, devoid of the ribbon like skeins of willow, revealing the exposed bones of the basket so to speak. And when you examine closely enough, a basket does speak to you, its damage reveals its strength and weaknesses, the nuances in construction and techniques become evident. Sarah’s final Ose basket puzzle has been answered, why the positioning of tiny nails on the ‘hoop’ handles? Then discovering these hoops aren’t in fact created as she’d previously thought.

So why does this matter? Well it furthers knowledge into the Ose heritage basket. Sharing this can contribute to myself and other basketmakers creating interpretations of this type of basket with greater ability and expedience. Together the future of this wonderful basket brightens.

Sarah’s looking forward to the next chapter of her Ose basketmaking journey….

White & indigo skein work Ose basket £365, made to order. 2026.