The Basket Maker's Catalog
Please print this FREE pattern and share with your friends.
This pattern is easy-to-make and recommended for you if you have never made an egg basket.
You'll learn the Kentucky-style 'eye' and rib construction. The spherical shape makes this the simplest egg basket.
Supplies Needed: Scissors or Shears, Chip Carving Knife or Razor Knife, Slip-joint Pliers, Pencil, Measuring Tape, Container to hold water, Basketry Awl and 2 Twist Ties
Click here for 10" Melon Shaped Egg Basket Pattern PDF 
file size 369 KB
Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF files. This is a free program available from the Adobe web site. Follow the download directions on the Adobe web site to get your copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Calculate Supplies for 1 to 20 Melon Shaped Egg Basket baskets with the Basket Supply Calculator. The Supply List gives you the least expensive way to purchase the supplies for your quantity of baskets. View on-line or print to your printer.
Video Instruction: Lashing the Eye of an Egg Basket - PHOTOS and VIDEO.
This supplement to the instructions below shows an easy way to nail your hoops together and a video showing how to lash the 'Eye'. The 'eye' of an Egg Basket or Rib Construction Basket is used to tie the hoops together and give the ribs a place to rest. Many times the hoops are nailed together first then lashed.
Materials / Supplies
| Description | Item | Add to Cart |
|---|---|---|
| 2 ea. - 10" x 3/4" Round Hoops | Item 6103E | Add |
| 2 ea. - 18 gauge Brass Pins - To secure the hoops | Item BP58E | Add |
| 8 ft. - 1/2" Flat Reed - Eyes | Item 1012F | Add |
| 20 ft. - #6 Round Reed - Ribs | Item 2060F | Add |
| 90 ft. - 3/16" Flat Reed | Item 1316P | Add* |
*This item has been rounded to 1 pound because it is less expensive to purchase 1 pound than to purchase the foot quantity.
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The 'eye' of an Egg Basket or Rib Construction Basket is used to tie the hoops together and give the ribs a place to rest.
These instructions show an easy way to tie the 'eye' found on many white oak egg baskets from Hart County and the Mammoth Cave area of Kentucky.
Measure and mark the half-way points of both the handle and rim hoops. The handle and rim will cross each other at these points with the handle on the outside of the rim.
Make sure the joint area on the handle is at the bottom of the basket.
Make an indentation with your basket awl on the inside of both the handle and the rim at the marked half-way points.
Place a #18 5/8" brass pin or nail in the indentation on the inside of the rim and, with a pair of pliers, squeeze the nail through the rim from the inside to the outside.
Notice that the head of the nail is being held by the 'jaws' of the pliers.
Stop when you feel the point of the nail on the outside of the rim. Repeat this on the other side of the rim.
Next, align the point of each nail with the indentation on the inside of the handle.
Squeeze the nail all the way through both rim and handle. Make sure you miss the pliers as the nail emerges. Do this for both nails.
Position the pliers on your nail and with a good squeeze the nail will bend. Again do this for both nails.
Notice that both the head and the point of the nail are touching the flat part of the jaw tips.
Bent nail on the outside of the handle.
Head of nail on the inside of the rim.
The following video shows lashing the 'eye' of an egg basket using a wet 4 foot piece of 1/2" flat reed.
