The quality of a woven basket depends, in large part, on the material prepared before a single rod is inserted into a base. In Polish basket-making traditions, as well as across Central Europe more broadly, the preparation of willow — from selecting the right species to soaking dried rods before use — follows a sequence of steps that experienced craftspeople refine over years. This article documents that process in detail.
Species Selection
Not all willows produce material suited to basket work. Polish basket makers have historically relied on a small number of species, each with distinct rod characteristics.
Salix viminalis — Common Osier
Salix viminalis, known in Polish as wierzba koszykarska (basket willow), is the most widely cultivated species for weaving in Poland. It produces long, straight rods with minimal branching when coppiced regularly. The rods grow to 1.5–2.5 metres in a single season in favourable conditions, and their bark is smooth enough to strip cleanly when the wood is fresh. Plantations of S. viminalis are found in the Mazovia, Lublin, and Subcarpathian regions, often on the floodplains of the Vistula and Bug rivers where the water table remains accessible to the shallow root system.
Salix purpurea — Purple Willow
Salix purpurea (wierzba purpurowa) produces thinner, more flexible rods than S. viminalis. These are suited to fine work — small baskets, intricate borders, and decorative elements — where heavier osier rods would be too coarse. The wood is harder and more resistant to abrasion, which makes items woven from it more durable in daily use.
Salix triandra — Almond Willow
Salix triandra occupies a middle ground. Its bark peels readily when green, making it convenient for producing "white" (peeled) willow, which has a pale, clean appearance valued in certain regional styles. It grows naturally along riverbanks and in wetland margins, though it is also cultivated in managed beds.
Polish basketry traditionally distinguishes rods by length: short rods (under 80 cm) for base work and fine weaving, medium rods (80–120 cm) for general waling and randing, and long rods (over 120 cm) for uprights and large structural elements. Grading by length at harvest reduces sorting time during weaving.
Harvesting
The timing of harvest determines the material properties of the rods. In Poland, two main harvest windows are used, each producing material with different characteristics.
Winter Harvest (November to February)
Rods cut after leaf fall and before spring growth contain lower moisture levels and reduced sugar content. This material dries more evenly and is less prone to mould during storage. The bark adheres firmly to the wood at this stage, making it suitable for buff or brown willow (with bark intact). Winter-harvested rods from S. viminalis plantations in Mazovia are cut close to the stool — the base of the coppiced plant — using a sharp billhook or pruning knife. Clean cuts at the base encourage vigorous new shoots the following season.
Spring Harvest (March to April)
Rods harvested at the start of sap rise strip easily because the bark separates cleanly from the wood. This is the preferred window for producing "white" willow — rods from which the bark has been removed while fresh. The wood beneath is pale and dries to a smooth, hard surface. Spring stripping is done with a traditional cleave — a forked metal tool through which the rod is drawn — or by hand on softer species. Once stripped, the rods must be dried promptly to prevent surface staining.
Processing and Seasoning
After cutting, rods are bundled and either used fresh (within a few days) or dried for storage and later use. Fresh rods are flexible and cut cleanly; dried rods require rehydration before weaving.
Drying
Bundles are stood upright in a dry, ventilated space — traditionally the loft of a farm building or a purpose-built drying shed. Even air circulation prevents differential drying, which causes rods to warp or split along one side. In commercial operations in Nowy Tomyśl, historically one of Poland's main basket-making centres, large-scale drying frames allowed batches of several hundred bundles to be processed simultaneously. Drying takes two to six weeks depending on rod diameter, initial moisture content, and ambient humidity.
Boiling for Buff Willow
A third type of material — buff willow — is produced by boiling dried brown rods for several hours, then stripping the bark while hot. The tannins released during boiling stain the wood a warm brown-gold colour, which is characteristic of many traditional Polish storage baskets. The process was historically carried out in long boiling troughs heated by wood fires; smaller workshops now use purpose-built tanks. The colour produced varies with the mineral content of the local water and the willow species used.
Soaking Before Weaving
Dried rods — whether brown, white, or buff — must be soaked before use to restore flexibility. White willow rods require overnight soaking (eight to twelve hours) followed by wrapping in wet cloth or hessian for several hours to allow moisture to penetrate evenly. Brown rods take longer to soak through because the bark slows water absorption; two to three days submerged is typical for thicker material. Over-soaking causes the wood to become soft and prone to kinking; under-soaking results in splits and cracks at bends.
Tools Used in Preparation
The basic toolkit for willow preparation has changed little over the past century. A sharp billhook for cutting rods at harvest; a cleave (Polish: rozdzieracz) for splitting rods lengthwise when flat, ribbon-like material is needed; a brake — a fixed forked post — for stripping bark during spring harvest; and a bodkin for opening weave gaps during construction. Lengths are measured against a calibrated rod or marked stick, grading rods into bundles before weaving begins.
The Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw (pem.pl) holds collections of traditional basket-making tools and finished examples from Polish regions, including material documenting the Nowy Tomyśl basketry tradition.
Storing Prepared Material
Dried rods store indefinitely in dry conditions. Moisture is the main risk: rods that absorb humidity from the air before soaking develop surface mould, particularly at the cut ends. Bundles are stored standing on their butt ends on raised slatted platforms, away from walls. Some workshops store long rods horizontally on rafters to prevent the lower ends from absorbing ground moisture. White willow is particularly sensitive to staining and is kept in covered bundles.
The relationship between prepared material and finished quality is direct. A rod that has split during soaking, or that was cut too late in the season when the wood had hardened, introduces weak points into the structure of the basket. For this reason, experienced basket makers in Poland's traditional production areas have historically controlled the full chain — from plantation management through to the finished object — rather than buying prepared rod from intermediaries.
See also: Traditional Weaving Patterns and Basket-Making in Poland.