Last fall I had an abundance of yarrow leaves. I harvested a big handful in hopes to see what color might be extracted from them in the dye pot. Of course, I got busy with other projects and they sat in my harvest basket for a few days.
When I finally got back to them, they had dried into an intriguing comingled shape and remained a deep shade of green. A happy accident indeed!
I played around with the concept by intentionally laying them into a circular pattern at the bottom of small baskets. When they formed nicely to the shape, I knew I needed to save this plant craft for spring as they would be a perfect natural replacement for store bought Easter basket "grass." You don't need any kind of adhesive or spray to assist the basket to keep its shape or preserve the color.
My yarrow plants are already sprouting leaves so I was able to harvest from my garden to line the inside little baskets I wove from vines we were clearing out on our property. While the leaves aren't currently as large as those that have grown all summer, the baby ones will still work for this project. You will just need a few extra. If you have your heart set on filling a large basket, you'll need to wait until the fall to do this project. Set a reminder now so come September, you can get crafting and be ready for next spring.
Don't grow Yarrow? No worries! I have found it growing along paths and they are more easily spotted in the wild this time of year as their color and shape will stick out amongst the brown leaves and short grass.
M A K E Yarrow leaves Basket Scissors
-Taking your small basket, begin laying the yarrow leaves around the highest perimeter point where you would like the "grass" to touch, working your way down towards the center. -You may need to use scissors to trim the stems if they aren't very frilly. To cover the stems of one leaf, I overlay the tip of another on top of it. -Once you get towards the center, the circles will become tighter. For the very bottom, I fold a few small leaves in half to cover the space.
-Leave to dry for a few days. When it is dried, it will feel crisp and the leaves will have intermingled. You will be able to pull the whole liner out in one piece.
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