The pine needle basket is another example of an early american craft which is no longer popular. People would use the dried pine needles they picked up around them to make useful and pretty baskets.
The baskets were done in all shapes and sizes and decorated with beads, sequens, colored thread; anything that would make them distinctive and pretty.
We were able to buy some completed baskets on Ebay and also some basket making materials. However, the source of needles moved away and is no longer selling them.
The needles from long leaved pines work the best because they average 8-10 inches in length. For those of us who live in the Southwestern USA I think Ponderosa Pine needles might work. They average about 5 inches in length and are easy to collect. That’s apt to be a problem in the spring and summer because dry ponderosa pine needles burn like gasoline so the fire danger will be extreme.
We will be adding pictures of pine needle baskets we have collected as time permits.
Who makes pine needle baskets? Looking through auction listings I see pine needle baskets which are said to be made by:
1. Native American Indians in the Southwest.
2. Antique USA
3. Seminole Indian
4. Coushatta Indian
5. Amish Heritage (new items)
6. Pine needle and raffia
7. Cherokee Pine needle and river cane
I get a real sense of a mixture of old and new from a variety of heritages.
Pine Needle Baskets on Ebay There were 55 baskets listed the evening I wrote this. As before, there are all kinds from new to old, from real to fake. Someone is also selling needles in case you want to make your own.
Making your own pine needle basket is possible. We have a book, which I hope to scan and publish, that tells how. It looks like a lot of work though. Where we live the only long needle pines are Ponderosa Pine and the maximum needle length is about five inches. The folks in Florida can pick up pine needles which are eight or nine inches long. However, one seller we bought from, said she wasn’t doing it anymore because of the snake problem.
I have seen clean, dry bundles of the long needles from Florida sell on Ebay for as much as $16.00. Since they are available free to those of you who live in that part of the country I have included them as an example money making idea on our make & sell website.