BASKET WEAVER HOME CULTURAL BACKGROUND 1. Baskets Past and Present 2. Symmetry in Alaskan Baskets 3. How to Weave a Basket SOFTWARE TEACHING MATERIALS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CSDT HOME

Alaskan Basket Weaver

Symmetry in Alaskan Baskets

The decorative designs on many native Alaskan baskets are geometric. Different decorative shapes are created either through different methods of weaving the materials that make up the basket or by weaving in colored grasses over the main basket material (this is also called "false embroidery". There are many possible designs, but the most commonly used designs have been given names by the Tlingit and other tribes. Most of these designs utilize simple geometric shapes in various combinations and patterns. Furthermore, the designs are often presented as being symmetrical in some way or another.

(Image courtesy of Teri Rofkar)