Weaver, writer, and all-around curious person

Ply-Split Garlic Basket (DVD)

Reviewed by Syne Mitchell on September 14, 2008
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With Linda Hendrickson

42 minutes, Copyright 2006, Linda Hendrickson

You know it's a good video when—in the course of five minutes—it takes you from "What the heck is ply-splitting?" to "Wow. I've got to try that!"

The production values on this video are excellent. All of the instruction is clearly visible in close-ups and the audio quality is good. There is no subtitle track, but between the enclosed printed instructions and the many on-screen titles, hearing impaired folks should be able to follow along. (An interesing aside about the production values, the videographer was Linda's husband John Brockway, who was a director for PBS for more than a dozen years.)

Linda Hendrickson is at ease on camera and explains and demonstrates ply-splitting in a clear and accessible fashion. She begins with a brief introduction to the history of ply-splitting, and lists some resources for more information, then jumps into the technique of weaving cords through temporarily untwisted sections of other cords. The garlic basket is an open-work basket that combines both flat and three-dimensional shaping, and thus provides an excellent teaching example. The handle is woven is Single Course Oblique Twining (SCOT) which feels like a bonus to the basic ply-splitting technique. Also covered is the use of a gripfid. Preparing cords for ply-splitting is not covered; the project uses pre-fabricated cord.

The DVD is divided into seven chapters that let you jump straight to the stage of the project you're interested in. The DVD I watched had a slight quirk in that it dumped me out to a black screen at the end, which was a bit disconcerting. A quick click on the Menu button of my remote put all right again. An interesting note in the credits: dulicmer music in the DVD's soundtrack was played by Peter Collingwood himself.

If you are interested in ply-splitting, basketry, or are simply one of those folks who love learning new textile techniques, this video will be a valuable addition to your library.