Innovative Internal Mounts for Basketry
Purpose
To create an internal storage support for more flexible baskets. This allowed them to be treated more easily without distorting their shape, overflexing, or distorting it further. The support was also able to be used during treatment in reshaping in an ethanol chamber. The support allows for any unnatural bending or buckling to be diminished when handled, or mishandled. Finally, when the amount of space for storage is shrinking, as collections keep growing, the room for elaborate external cradle supports cannot always be constructed. These provide support while taking up no room on the storage shelf, other than the basket itself.
Author(s)
Skyler Jenkins
Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona
P.O. Box 210026
Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
Tel. (520) 621-6314
Email: scjenkins@email.arizona.edu
Dr. Nancy Odegaard
Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona
P.O. Box 210026
Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
Tel. (520) 621-6314
Email: odegaard@email.arizona.edu
Marilen Pool
Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona
P.O. Box 210026
Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
Tel. (520) 621-6314
Email: mpool@email.arizona.edu
https://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/
Photo Credits:
All photos, except figure 13– Skyler Jenkins
Figure 13– Leah Bright
Publication: 2018
Description
The general support is constructed of a harder, internal ring, protected by an outer, softer ring that simultaneously provides rigidity and flexibility to the baskets.
Figure 1: Overview of a created internal support.
The inner ring is made of ethafoam (polyethylene) rings or constructing ethafoam into a ring.
Figure 2: polyethylene foam ring mounts.
The softer, outer ring can be constructed from cotton stockinette, Tyvek, or Teflon and filled with polyester fiber fill or batting.
Figure 3: Outer ring materials.
Figure 4: Outer ring filling.
In some instances, when a solid piece of ethafoam cannot be utilized as the interior ring if the basket is too wide, acid-free corrugated board and/or coroplast can be used for the sturdy internal ring.
Figure 5: Optional outer ring materials.
Figure 6: Example of optional materials in use.
The external ring does not always need to be a ring, it can remain straight in a snake-like fashion, and be used for avoiding damage to a delicate or broken rim.
Figure 7: Tyvek sewn into a ‘snake’.
Figure 8: Tyvek ‘snake’ in use with a basket with handle features.
In case of taller baskets, several mounts can be constructed to cover all areas of flexibility.
Figure 9: Three separate mounts within a tall basket.
Materials, Tools & Supplies
Cotton stockinette (Dynarex, 3” X 25 yards)
Tyvek (spunbonded olefin fabric, Gaylord)
Teflon film (polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) polymer, Gaylord)
Ethafoam, white (ring mounts 12”x12” with 6”, 8”, and 10” rings, perforated 1/8” or ¼” or plank polyethylene foam, Gaylord)
Polyester fiberfill (Fairfield, poly-fil) Polyester batting (Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores)
White polyester thread (100% polyester covered polyester, Coats & Clark)
Blue board (B-flute acid free corrugated board, Gaylord)
Coroplast (white corrugated polypropylene board, 4mm, The Home Depot)
Low-melt adhesive (applicator: 3M Scotch-Weld, Hot Melt Adhesive LT, adhesive: low-melt ethylene-vinyl acetate polymer and hydrocarbon resin)
Needle and/or sewing machine
Construction
To begin, choose and/or construct the size of the rigid polyethylene foam (or acid-free corrugated board) ring that fits inside the basket with adequate room to hold an outer ring. This can depend on where your internal support is being placed within the basket.
Figure 10: Choosing the right size of ethafoam (Polyethylene) ring.
Next is deciding on the type of external ring material, depending on the nature and stability of the basket material. Note: Cotton stockinette can catch on more rough materials, while Tyvek and Teflon are smoother.
Figure 11: Too rough of material for using cotton stockinette.
The outer stockinette rings are created by taking a desired length of the tubing, sewing one end closed, filling with polyester fiber fill and securing the end back on itself to create a ring shape using white polyester thread and a needle. Note, the stockinette has a premeasured width. For the Tyvek, the width is not predetermined, so both width and length must be measured out depending on desired final shape. These can be created by cutting a long strip of the fabric, folding it in half (smooth surfaces to the inside), and sewing along the long edges. The pillow can then be turned inside-out and stuffed with polyester fiber fill.
Figure 12: Tyvek ‘snake’ created before insertion.
Figure 13: Completed internal mount.
For the Teflon, the polyester batting can be placed on the outer edge of the foam ring to provide enough padding, and the Teflon wrapped around the ring and secured at the end by tucking. The length of the outer ring material is dependent on the size of ring or snake desired. For constructed outer rings, not snakes, the ring should fit snug onto the inner ring without slippage and should be able to stand on its own, in order to create an outward pressure to support the basket.
Figure 15: Internal mount fitting snugly within a flexible basket on a storage shelf.
Comments
The basket shown in the construction section (Figures 10, 11, 12, and 13) was not a real object, but a sunhat purchased from Michaels craft store, cut up, and manipulated and distorted into shape.