5 Popular Water Hyacinth Baskets Weaving Styles

Water hyacinth is a fast-growing water plant that has slender rootstock kind of stalk leaves. These leaves will later be dried and woven with different styles into decor and furniture like baskets. There are 8 different types of woven techniques for water hyacinth products, and is named after the shape they would be woven into:

• Rolled weave
• Twisted weave
• Rice nut weave
• Arrow weave = Braided weave
• Open asterisk
• Open hexagon
• Open zigzag
• Close flat weave

However, in this article we would only explore 5 most popular weaving styles that you would likely see on the market for water hyacinth baskets. 

Rolled weave

As the name suggests, artisans would roll dried stalk water hyacinth leaves around a core creating a rope. Artisans will link these rope together to create the final product. Thanks to the strong, thick characteristics of this technique, the rolled weave water hyacinth is most suitable for creating handicrafts like water hyacinth baskets.

Twisted weave

Twisted weaves are a bit like rolled weaves in a sense when rolling water hyacinth. but instead of rolling to a hard core, people would twist 2 or 3 stalk leaves together then sew it into products. Since the making process does not include any kind of cores, twisted weaves are smaller and more flexible, but to have a consistent shape, artisans used a metal frame.

Twisted weaves could be seen in water hyacinth items such as vase, basket, wall decor, lampshade.

Rice nut weave

Artisans bind two water hyacinth leaves together, forming a rice-nut-looking weave. Rice nut weaves are durable thanks to the strong and tight structure they are put in. 

Similar with twisted weaves, rice nut style weaves often combine with a steel frame to keep a consistent shape and would become products such as placemats, vases, coasters, baskets or even handbags.

Arrow weave

Another traditional style that commonly appears is arrow weave. Artisans would follow the same process as rice nut weave – twin two stalk leaves together, but rather than rice nut look, artisan would create weaves that look like fishbone or an arrow. 

With a metal frame, arrow weaves will be used for water hyacinth baskets, trays, placemats and many others.

Open asterisk

Being made from weaving multiple water hyacinth stalks on a steel frame, open asterisk weaves differentiate itself with other techniques by their open holes. 

An advantage of this weaving style is that it will allow better ventilation. It is perfect to avoid mold development in storage baskets. Open asterisk, unlike others, required a metal frame due to its open hole, which would also create a distinct look for decor such as lampshades or lanterns.

Small reminders

• you should keep your water hyacinth basket in a dry environment. Despite the fact that raw material is indeed an aquatic plant, people dried it during manufacture, therefore prolonged contact with water is harmful for the final product.
• Do not wash the item. These items were dried, as we already explained, therefore washing will cause harm.
• We should use dry cloth to clean it. While washing it might damage it, using a dry cloth might gently clean without any damage.
• A basket can mixed multiple weaving style to create a brand new look.

Conclusion

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