Welcome to the Asymmetrical Basket Online Course
I’m Joe Gregory, and after many years of teaching willow weaving through in person workshops, I’m delighted to be bringing my teaching online.
The Asymmetrical Basket is my first online course, bringing one of my most popular workshops into your home. I’ll guide you through making the basket from start to finish, while sharing the fundamental techniques of round basketry along the way.
You’ll be able to learn at your own pace, pause and practise, and return to the lessons whenever you need to.
This is the beginning of the Creative with Nature Online School, with more courses to come...
The basket that teaches you to weave
The Asymmetrical Basket has been one of my most popular workshops for more than a decade, with hundreds of people making their first basket through this project. I’m delighted to now be able to bring the workshop online, so you can learn with me wherever you are.
This is a practical, step by step course where we’ll make the Asymmetrical Basket together from start to finish. As we work, I’ll introduce you to many of the fundamental techniques that form the foundations of round basketry, helping you develop an understanding of the willow and become more confident in working with it.
The basket’s beautiful, contemporary shape make it an enjoyable project in its own right, but it has also been carefully chosen because it brings together so many useful basketry techniques. Each stage builds on the last, allowing you to gradually develop your understanding of tension, control, shaping and construction as you weave.
With over 6 hours of detailed video tuition, I’ll guide you through the process at a pace that allows you to see how each technique is done and understand what you’re looking for as you work. You can pause the videos, practise a technique, return to a previous lesson or revisit the course whenever you need to.
Learning online doesn’t mean learning alone. Alongside the course, you’ll also have the opportunity to join live Zoom Q&A sessions, where you can ask questions, share your progress and get help with particular stages or techniques. It’s a chance to show your work, troubleshoot anything you’re unsure about and connect with others learning the craft.
The course is suitable whether you’re completely new to willow weaving or already have some experience. You don’t need to rush, and you don’t need to get everything right the first time. Willow is a natural material, and part of learning to weave is learning to work with what the willow gives you, adjusting as you go.
You’ll have lifetime access to the course, so once you’ve enrolled, the lessons are there for you to return to whenever you want.
More than anything, I hope this course gives you the same enjoyment that I’ve found in working with willow for more than 20 years. I hope you’ll surprise yourself with what you can make.
Lifetime Access
Learn at your own pace. Return to the course whenever you like, wherever you are in the world. Take your time, practice between lessons and revisit the videos whenever you need to.
6 hours of detailed tuition
Follow the process from the first weave through to the finished basket. With over 6 hours of detailed, cinematic video tuition, you’ll be able to clearly see each technique and follow along at your own pace.
Designed for beginners
A complete project that will guide you through the process step by step. Perfect for beginners, but also a great way for more experienced weavers to revisit and strengthen the fundamental techniques of round basketry, or simply enjoy a beautiful project from start to finish.
Course Curriculum
- Lesson 1: Intro to Base (2:28)
- Lesson 2: Preparing your rods (4:28)
- Lesson 3: Understanding the direction of your willow (1:18)
- Lesson 4: Using your Bodkin/ Piercing Base rods - adding base rods (3:19)
- Lesson 5: Working with the curve (0:57)
- Lesson 6: Preparing the pairing weave (2:21)
- Lesson 7: Starting the Pairing weave (4:12)
- Lesson 8: Weaving whilst separating the spokes (6:40)
- Lesson 9: How to shape your spokes as you weave (5:18)
- Lesson 10: First change (2:49)
- Lesson 11: Carry on your weave (2:59)
- Lesson 12: First tip to tip join (4:42)
- Lesson 13: Adding your first chasing weaver (3:45)
- Lesson 14: Carrying on chasing your pairing weave (3:53)
- Lesson 15: How to change butts whilst chasing (4:50)
- Lesson 16: Weaving continued + Trimming up as we go (3:03)
- Lesson 17: Tip join whilst chasing (3:25)
- Lesson 18: Weaving continued (2:51)
- Lesson 19: Last butt to butt join (4:22)
- Lesson 20: Measuring up the basket (1:53)
- Lesson 21: Finishing your base (2:52)
- Lesson 22: Intro to side stakes (4:29)
- Lesson 23: Preparing your side stakes (2:15)
- Lesson 24: Cutting and shaping your side stakes (8:18)
- Lesson 25: Adding your side stakes + how to use a Bodkin (9:38)
- Lesson 26: Trimming your side stakes (3:14)
- Lesson 27: Curling the side stakes (2:29)
- Lesson 28: Raising the side stakes (4:10)
- Lesson 29: Weaving a hoop (5:47)
- Lesson 36: Intro to the French Rand weave (4:06)
- Lesson 37: Setting up the French Rand (12:41)
- Lesson 38: Starting to weave the French Rand (4:13)
- Lesson 39: Joining your first row (1:39)
- Lesson 40: Intro to Stacking (7:19)
- Lesson 41: Finishing your first Stack (2:05)
- Lesson 42: Wrapping down (1:16)
- Lesson 43: Weaving the French Rand (6:26)
- Lesson 44: Trimming up a French Rand (4:26)
- Lesson 57: Intro to the Asymmetric Boarder (1:23)
- Lesson 58: Starting your Asymmetric Boarder (2:44)
- Lesson 59: Weaving the first half of your Asymmetric Boarder (9:02)
- Lesson 60: Finishing the first half of your Asymmetric Boarder (2:20)
- Lesson 61: Weaving the second half (11:14)
- Lesson 62: Preparing for the handle (0:43)
Meet your Teacher
Hi, I'm Joe and I've been weaving with willow for more than 20 years.
What began a a hobby to help me through a long illness grew into a lifelong passion and eventually into Creative with Nature, where I've had the privilege of teaching people of all ages and abilities from around the world.
Over the years, I've taught hundreds of people to weave. Some arrive having never picked up a piece of willow before. Others have been weaving for years and want to develop their skills further.
What I love most about teaching is seeing that moment when someone realises they can do something they weren't sure they were capable of.
Willow weaving asks you to slow down. To pay attention. To work with your hands and to trust yourself as you go. My role is to give you the knowledge and guidance you need, but also the space to find your own way of working.
That's something I've tried to bring into every workshop I've taught, and it's at the heart of this course too.
Joe Gregory
Basket maker · Sculptor · Teacher · Creative with Nature
Learn to trust your hands
At first, you're thinking about every movement. How to hold the willow. Where to place it. How tightly to pull. How to keep the shape under control.
But with practice, that begins to change.
You start to work with the material rather than fighting against it. You see when something isn't quite right. You make a small adjustment and carry on.
Little adjustments along the way prevent bigger problems later.
As you work, the techniques begin to settle into your hands. You stop thinking quite so much about every movement and start to feel what the willow is doing.
That's where the real learning begins.
Slow down. Notice. Adjust. Carry on.
Willow Soaking PDF
A Complete Guide to Preparing Willow
Preparing willow is one of the most important and often most confusing parts of willow weaving.
Many of the problems people experience don’t begin in the weaving itself, but long before that, in how the material has been prepared.
If you’ve ever had rods snap mid-weave or found yourself unsure whether your willow is ready, this guide is designed to help you understand why and what to do differently.
Inside, you’ll find a comprehensive, experience-led resource built from over 20 years of working with willow, bringing together the knowledge that is often difficult to pass on in a single workshop or conversation.
Learning together
Although the course is designed to be worked through at your own pace, you’ll also have the opportunity to join live Zoom Q&A sessions with Joe.
These sessions are a chance to ask questions, share your progress and show your work, as well as getting help with any stages or techniques you’re finding difficult. Sometimes it only takes a small adjustment or a different way of looking at something to help it fall into place.
They’re also an opportunity to meet other students, see what they’re making and share in the experience of learning willow weaving together.
The first session will take place on 11th October at 5:30pm UK time. Further sessions will be arranged based on interest and feedback.