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Foliage is not included

Festive Willow Decorations

A fun, half day willow workshop weaving simple, festive decorations in naturally colourful willow rods, all lovingly grown locally in the West Midlands. During this morning workshop you will create a couple of simple woven stars and a small wreath using a variety of weaving techniques.

Just add your own simple extras, maybe some berries, foliage and lights to create fabulous displays to use around your home or garden at Christmas.

Tutor will provide materials for this workshop. This cost is included in your course fee.

Suitable for complete beginners and those with some experience using willow.

Date Thursday 14th December 2023
Tutor Clare Shilvock
Time 9.30am – 12.30pm
Ref 3392
Fees £60
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Festive Willow Decorations

A fun, half day willow workshop where you will have the choice of making either a 3D Christmas tree or a festive angel plus a few simple, woven stars. Using a variety of coloured willow and different weaving techniques in your decorations you can create a selection of items.

You may wish to add your own christmas lights and colourful ribbons making them just perfect as gifts or to display around your home or garden at Christmas.

Tutor will provide materials for this workshop. This cost is included in your course fee.

Suitable for complete beginners and those with some experience using willow.

Date Thursday 14th December 2023
Tutor Clare Shilvock
Time 1.30pm – 4.30pm
Ref 3393
Fees £60
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Willow for the garden and home
(bird feeder and living willow heart)

A busy but fun day, making two very different willow items for your garden and home.

Both items will be made with sustainable willow, locally grown with love by Clare and her family @WarwickshireWillow.

In the morning you will learn some traditional basketry techniques (a 3 – rod wale, a pairing weave and a simple trac border) to enable you to create a natural bird feeder or hanging storage basket for your home or garden.

Perfect to use in the winter for suet balls, pieces of fruit or larger items of food to help your garden birds to sustain their fat reserves throughout the chilly months and icy evenings.

Alternatively, how about using your hanging basket in your kitchen as a garlic/onion store, or even to display your favourite trailing houseplant?

In the afternoon, spread some willowy love and make your very own, unique living willow heart!

You will use peat-free compost to ‘plant’ your heart in a pot, and in as little as 6 weeks, it will grow beautiful bright green leaves, bringing a little piece of spring time joy.    Your living willow heart can be kept inside for a few weeks so that you can admire it and full instructions for longer term, simple TLC needed to keep your ‘heart’ happy will also be provided. 

This course will require a certain degree of manual dexterity and hand strength as the living willow rods can be a bit slippery and fiddly to hold onto.

Tutor will provide materials for this workshop. This cost is included in your course fee.

Suitable for complete beginners and those with some experience using willow.  

A picnic lunch will be provided.

Date Thursday 18th January 2024
Tutor Clare Shilvock
Time 10.00am – 4.00pm
Ref 3390
Fees £90
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Image above is of willow beds at Warwickshire Willow.

Grow Your Own Willow

This one-day course will cover both the theory and practice of creating and managing your own willow bed.  Whether you want to create living willow structures, natural fencing, grow willow for basketry or horticultural purposes, this day will provide you with hands on practical experience of planting cuttings, harvesting willow and maintaining your willow bed.

Skills covered:
> Planning and designing your willow bed
> Preparing the ground
> What varieties to plant and why
> Planting a new short rotation coppice willow bed
> Maintenance
> Pests and diseases
> Harvesting willow
> Grading willow for sale and use

Students should bring waterproofs, warm clothing and suitable boots as the practical sessions will be outside

A picnic lunch will be provided and hot drinks will be freely available in the college for the duration of the workshop.

Date Saturday 27th January 2024
Tutor Brigit Graham (Old Hill Willow) and Richard Thomason (Wild About Westhope)
Time 09.00am – 4.30pm
Ref 3416
Fees £85
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Berry Basket

This workshop is a wonderful introduction to basketmaking. You will make one traditional stake and strand basket using several varieties of coloured and stripped willow. Learn the principles of stake and strand basketmaking, making bases, inserting side stakes, 3 rod whale, a trac border and inserting a handle. Your lovely little basket will be perfect for berry or egg collecting.

Tutor will provide materials for this workshop. This cost is included in your course fee.

Suitable for complete beginners and those with some experience using willow.  

A picnic lunch will be provided.

Date Thursday 15th February 2024
Tutor Clare Shilvock
Time 9.30am – 4.30pm
Ref 3391
Fees £90
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Rush and other natural fibres

Suitable for everyone, this course will explore baskets that can be made from rush and materials collected from the garden or further afield. Some garden and wild materials will be supplied, but bring your own too.

Leaves such as iris, crocosmia, daffodil, daylily, gladiolus, are all suitable – cut them long and hang them up in bunches by the tip ends somewhere airy to dry.

A great course for everyone interested in gardening and wild fibres or the cross over between textile and basketry.

You should take home at least one basket.

Tutor will provide materials for this workshop. This cost is included in your course fee.

Suitable for complete beginners and improvers.

A picnic lunch will be provided.

Date Wednesday 28th February 2024
Tutor Clair Murphy
Time 10.00am – 5.00pm
Ref 3406
Fees £110
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Rush Hats – Two Day Workshop

A fabulous two day workshop with Clair Murphy making rush sun hats.

Made over a hat block mould, this sun hat is woven using a pairing weave, or other weaves for those more experienced, and can have a variety of brims to suit your taste. Students will be asked to supply their chosen hat size ahead of the class so that a suitable hat block is available.

This course is suitable for beginners but requires perseverance!

Tutor will provide all materials for this workshop. This cost is included in your course fee.

A picnic lunch will be provided on both days of the workshop.

Date Tuesday 9th  & Wednesday 10th April 2024
Tutor Clair Murphy
Time 9.30am – 5.00pm
Ref 3407
Fees £220
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Weaving Wild - Willow Bark Pouches

In early summer, as the sap rises through the tree, it is possible to easily peel away the once tight fibres of the bark from the inner wood. This provides a supple, almost leather like material it is possible to fold and sew into useful containers.

On this one day course we will learn how and when to peel willow bark, store it and prepare it. We will also explore different wild fibres for stitching our baskets into beautiful little wearable bags to take home.

Tutor will provide all materials for this workshop. This cost is included in your fee.

This workshop is suitable for both beginners and improvers.

A picnic lunch will be provided.

Date Wednesday 12th June  2024
Tutor Jeanette Gray
Time 10.00am – 4.00pm
Ref 3417
Fees £95
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Weaving Wild - Cordage Exploration

As plants reach their peak growth and strength we can utilise their natural properties to make durable and versatile string. We will experiment with a variety of plants to extract fibres for natural cordage. A forage in the Westhope grounds is also planned to harvest a few plants and weeds, maybe brambles and nettles etc. which can be used for further experimentation.

We will also experiment with a basketry technique called 'looping'- using cordage to make knotless netted baskets.

Cordage not only allows you to make beautiful string baskets and bags, it also opens up new possibilities for creating fixtures, fastenings and handles for other baskets you may make.

Tutor will provide some materials for this workshop. This cost is included in your fee.

This workshop is suitable for both beginners and improvers.

A picnic lunch will be provided.

Date Wednesday 10th July  2024
Tutor Jeanette Gray
Time 10.00am – 4.00pm
Ref 3316
Fees £95
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Weaving Wild – Stitched Braid Baskets

Stitched braid baskets are found all over the world, with archaeological evidence of their creation dating back to the Paleolithic Period. On this one day workshop you will learn how to harvest and prepare various materials suitable for this simple yet versatile basketry technique, focusing on locally gathered grasses which we will plait and sew into one or two small pots to take home.

This workshop is suitable for beginners, and will open up a world of basketry possibilities!

Tutor will provide some materials for this workshop. This cost is included in your fee.

This workshop is suitable for both beginners and improvers.

A picnic lunch will be provided.

Date Thursday 10th October  2024
Tutor Jeanette Gray
Time 10.00am – 4.00pm
Ref 3341
Fees £95
One Terrier Loyalty Paw - more info