THE CRAFTS 
WOOD CARVING AND PYROGRAPHY. LEATHER AND METAL. BASKETRY, ETC. 
Under the management of Miss Emily Peacock, Room 23, 22 East 16th St., Nezv York. All inquiries in regard to the various 
Crafts are to be sent to the above address, but will be answered in the magazine under this head. 
All questions must be received before the JOth day of month preceding issue, and will be answered under "Answers to Inquiries" only. Please do not send 
stamped envelope for reply. The editors will answer questions only in these columns. 
very damp, many times too damp for immediate use, 
though it must always be slightly so for the best results. 
The worker's first process is trimming the leaf. Take 
the large end of a bunch and try each straw separately. 
If pliable it is all right. If not, pull up the straw till it is 
found to be soft and pliable. Cut off and throw away 
all the stiff part. When all the stiff straws have been 
disposed of, retie the bunch, and make the straws at this 
end of equal length from the tie. Now it is ready for use. 
There are many kinds and shapes of baskets. The 
one I shall describe is a small square one, one of the simplest 
forms. The button is the foundation of every basket. 
These buttons are of many shapes and sizes, from the 
tiny one of the round basket, which seems but a peg to 
hang the basket on, to the large one which forms the 
THE MAKING OF A PALMLEAF BASKET whol £ bott ° m ° f ** ? V 7 b + ?*f : A , f + 
For ours we will take from the trimmed leaf 40 straws 
y ' from twelve to fourteen inches in length. Double them and 
THE material from which a palm leaf basket is made 
comes (as its name implies) from the leaves of a 
species of palm that grows in the West Indies. These 
leaves are long, measuring from one to two yards from 
base to tip in center, decreasing gradually in length from 
the center to the outer edge on either side, being, in fact, 
shaped like an immense fan. These leaves are put up in 
large bales and shipped to the manufactories. 
In the early days of the industry each worker or 
group of workers split her own leaf, using for the purpose 
an implement somewhat resembling the hatchel of our 
grandmothers. It was set with sharp-pointed teeth, 
but was unlike the hatchel in having but one set of teeth, 
which were set in a long narrow board in groups of two, 
the distance between the two being determined by the 
width of the straw required. 
For many years, however, the manufacturers have 
whitened and split the leaf in different widths, the straws, 
as they are called, ranging from \ to 1-16 of an inch in 
width. Then it is ready for the worker's order. It comes 
in bunches of from one to two pounds in weight and is 
crease them in the middle. Next we must have something 
to tie these together so they will stay in place, while in 
use. For this, white thread, split straws, or raffia may 
be used. We will take about ten inches of thread, and 
in the middle of that, place one of your selected straws 
where it is creased. Bring either end of the thread around 
to the right side of the straw, so that one strand is over 
and one under the straw. Bring the under thread up 
and cross it over the upper, thus reversing the position of 
the two ends of the thread. Place another straw to the 
right of the first, draw the ends of the thread about this 
as before, crossing the under over the upper, and keep on 
in this manner, till you have tied twenty straws, or half 
the button. Tie the ends of the thread in a hard knot, 
close to the right of the last straw and cut these off within 
\ inch of the straw. Tie the other twenty in the same 
manner. Then lay half the button on a flat surface — your 
lap will do — the straws spreading out to right and left, 
