Here are some long promised coconut palm weaving processes
first The Dilly Bag
and next The Fruit Bowl or Calabash
the beautiful serpent like weave on the headband was taught after my teacher had been with some weavers from Vanuatu. The ladies wear them for dancing and ceremony and he also said they make the flowers below and stitch them around the band. how beautiful and if you chance to see the vibrant green against some unruly dark curls you will see the island regality! Lily made plenty of these to sell in Port Douglas market and to give to friends. we all ended up using them to keep our hair back.
and for the advanced lesson, The Taro basket/backpack in New Guinea style as far as I know.
ok that was fun! now i will scramble my brain and make a double size Taro Basket! {it took hours upon hours} but the result is magnificent and brings a lot of amusement! What an achievement. thankyou to my teacher Aaron. i hope we have many more days weaving at the beautiful Davies Creek! Aaron related to me the islanders can whip one of these up so quickly make straps, sling it on for taro harvesting and when done, toss it into the forest once more! I would love to go there one day for weaving…
here you can see the creation of a few days. Note the coconut palm mat which it’s all modelled on… not my work. something to aspire to next year! on the front right is a square bottomed basket. see if you can work that one out!! 
Weaving coconut palm brings me a lot of splendid happiness!
and now the large Taro basket looks golden and strong in it’s dry form some months later.
what are you weaving into your life at the moment? would you like to do a Coconut Palm Weaving Workshop with me next year in Queensland?
RosaLindenTree 
Aloha! You have beautiful skills. PWould love to know how to weave the head and for my daughter if you have time to share. So lovely! Seems like a good one to start with.
Hi Jillian. A long lost reply from my long neglected blog! I’m far away from the coconut palms sadly and cannot demonstrate the technique at this time! It’s a clever inside out bent flat plait! Haha sounds crazy! Good luck and happy weaving!
Hello, I am in search for guidance regarding the bottom of the taro basket
Hi cooper. For the base I gently squeeze the
taro basket between my knees to create a line I can plait along. First with all the south facing leaves I plait and then I turn the basket and plait all the previously north facing leaves.
Thanks for the info! I shall try again today!
To finish that, the basket is upside down while I am plaiting the two rows of the base. Does that make sense at all? How exciting! I wish I could just show you, it’s difficult to verbalise!
Roselinde
I tried to make one of these last winter but I think the coconut leaf was too small (the fronds weren’t long enough) or else I just made the body of the basket too big. The ends weren’t long enough to plait so I ended up making the bottom of the basket into the top. Then to solve the problem of no bottom, I made a flat hat/plate type piece and sat it into the bottom, resting on the rim. It now has tumeric growing in it. That worked, but I would like to have another go at getting it right next winter.
It makes sense. However Im not sure exactly how you plait all the south facing leaves together, do you start with 3?
Hahaha so happy I figured it out!
Hi! Thanks for your tutorial! How you prepare the palm leaf before you weiving? How to choose it?
Hello Maria.
The palm leaves are freshly cut. Usually the second or third newest leaf. Just one from each tree. They are usually un damaged and long enough to weave with. I have friends who climb the trees professionally I cannot do it!
I keep the fronds dry and shade for 3 or so days before I weave them.
Good luck!
Roselinde
Very good
Hello, your weaving is awesome
Do you sell your beautiful baskets?
Kind regards
Sal (‘:
Hello Sal. Thankyou for the compliment! I weave and sell my coconut baskets when i am in queensland. So not until june/july 2016!
Roselinde
Thanks so much for your super tutorial and all the fabulous pictures! I just moved to Maui with my husband and have been obsessed with palm weaving so it was nice to have a few new projects to give my brain and fingers a workout. Next up is a huge taro basket…just have to find the right frond 🙂
Oh yeah and we take tons of basket head pictures too!
Keep up the beautiful work! I eagerly await more tutorials…
thanks Sarah i wonder if you’ve made a taro basket yet! i look forward to getting up to QLD this winter once more and weaving so much coconut! R
Wonderful work and very much appreciated step by step guide. Thanks!
I missed the explanation for the 4 corner bowl you have in your penultimate photograph on the bottom right corner. That’s my request for the next post 🙂
The palm mat on that same picture looks amazing. Did you do that too?
Congratulations and thanks for sharing.
Thanks Nico
I did not make the mat in the picture, though I have learnt the technique. Yes the four corner bottom bowl is a favorite. A great mathematics reflection in weaving. Next year then for these two methods!
thanks Roselinde
I adored reading this post and looking at the wonderful pictures I would love some.of these baskets in.my.house. You guys have done a amazing job in sharing the process of weaving. You’d like the maori weaving in.nz I’m sure I loved it when we lived there.
My granfather use to weave here in.the uk too with willow etc.
All I am weaving at the moment is a stinnking cold we are expecting a storm here too.
Thanks for sharing, peace Emma
Thanks Emma. I have done a little flax and willow in nz with mike Lillian an exceptional willow weaver! Lucky you having a weaver in the family! Are any of his baskets and tools still in your life? Hope you are well again. Letter arrived!!
Thank you
Rosi
Hey Rosi
Sadly if my grandads tools/creations are about one of my uncles has them 😦 But I have my.memories 🙂
Glad you got letter.
Your uk friend :+) xxxx
beautiful! love love love basket heads! and photos of you on here too! the best one basket body and basket head – love you mob xxx
A true basket case! Thanks dear one xx
AWESOME! I started with the same designs this year too. Did the smaller baskets, bowls, a little bit of matting and two hats, but didn’t get to the large baskets that you did. I really want to do a big one. I’m experimenting with other kinds of palm leaves now that we have left coconutlandia…
Hi again! It’s so fun isn’t it! I forgot to show the hats I made this year. A couple of great ones and a friend wearing one from last year. Going strong and sailing the high seas!! Where are you travelling now? Rosi
Oh we are in Brisbane for the Summer while my partner works. Definitely missing the wide open spaces and non manufactured horizons! Also spinning from the change of pace that city life brings…but feeling lucky to be able to catch up with family and our homeschooling community here. 🙂
There is no doubt that you have the bastard gene required to be a basket maker.
If you were ever my pupil, you would soon be my teacher.
Oh stop it! Soon, being a lifetime. (Secretly very honoured by your comment mike Lillian.)you just stay alive mike because I would love to come and make a mess in your studio. Lots of love from Rosi
Wow! Fantastic!
Thanks Melissa! Lovely to get your message! R