Care of wicker baskets?

[Kingfisher]

Swythyn Troutbeck that is flippin lovely.

[Greentura]

It's looking good, gave the mixture a good shake and decanted it to a plant sprayer, gave it a thorough coating inside and out and stood it on some cardboard in the sun. The smell of linseed oil is in the air and I'm off to have dinner out with the family. It has gone to that golden honey colour from the straw it had dried to this morning. How many coats would you recommend, or is it just the one?

[Greentura]

The wicker box when i got it last year

Soaking for a day

The ingredients for the treatment

The mixture

The cleaned and dried box

The finished result


To say I'm happy with the results is an understatement, it's far better than i could have hoped for

[Kingfisher]

Looks excellent Greentura. I'll be doing mine soon if it ever gets here.

I like the walking stick ferrules nice touch.

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Superb sir....

[The VFC]

Just found this in a 1953 "Angling" mag - "To preserve a creel - the life of your willow creel can be doubled if its edges are protected by a binding of thin pliable leather..... To keep the interior sweet and clean scrub it fairly often with a solution of salt and water. Then, after rinsing the creel, hang it in the open to dry".

Thought I'd share!

[Hannay]

Another thumbs up here for Haydn's recipe. I bought a wicker basket for £4 and to be honest I probably overpaid for it such was its distressed state! However I was aware of Haydn's "cure" and it really does work miracles. That and a good soak in water overnight can transform any sorry looking basket.

[Creel]

Hi all I have soaked my old creel seat in the bath it was very tight and was very happy with it but after a about a week it went back to being lose again. Any ideas how to keep it tight thanks.

[Wallys-Cast]

Soak it in a pva solution, the same 3/1 mix ratio as used to prime walls before plastering is perfect. Just stand the basket in an old tray of some sort which is big enough to catch the drips and pour the mixture over it while brushing it well in. The remainder can be collected from the tray and reused any time on other baskets.

I varnished mine afterwards (all three of them) and they are all still as tight as a drum after 6 years.

Wal.

[Paul D]

What a great idea Wal, why didn't I think of that??