TRADITIONAL CRAFT KITS®
Develop your craft skills with handmade basketry, pottery and weaving kits!
Retail stores, please email for wholesale pricing. Educators, please email for quantity discount.
Basket Making Kits & Basket Craft Supplies
Traditional Craft Kits is a family-owned company that values the magic of creating art that we not only admire but use in our everyday lives. We sell a variety of basketry kits, including coiled basket kits, wicker basket kits, plaited basket kits, and twined basket kits. We also have a selection of clay pottery kits, prehistoric craft kits, and yarn weaving kits. There is great joy and power in learning a new skill, and all of our kits include quality craft supplies and thorough instructions that will guide you along the way with color photos. We have basket-weaving kits for beginners that will provide the space for culturing patience and persistence by trying difficult projects, feeling pride in accomplishment, and the benefits of mindfulness through working on a long term project in a fast-paced world. Explore our website to find out more about our unique line of basketry, pottery, weaving and prehistoric craft kits.
Our motto is: Learn. Create. Inspire.
Learn traditional craft skills.
Easy-to-use quality materials.
Color step-by-step instructions.
Family owned and operated.
Made in USA.
At Traditional Craft Kits we believe that people have enormous creative potential. With our kits we challenge people to expand their comfort zone and turn raw materials into pieces of art. We know that this process is good, healthy and necessary for people and society. Our mission is to keep traditional crafting relevant in our modern world. We offer a product line that teaches hands-on skills, sparks creativity and inspires appreciation for handmade arts.
We have developed a line of craft kits that brings together the symbolism and designs found in many cultures by applying them to the art of basket making, pottery and other craft techniques. We have chosen crafts that are fun, educational and challenging. Learning these traditional skills opens up a whole new and fulfilling world of creativity.
Our projects vary from simple to complex. Our beginner basket kits take as little as an hour to complete, where our more advanced coiled designs take as much as 20 hours or more. This provides you with a lasting memorable experience and the satisfaction of accomplishment. These projects can be worked on at home, school, vacationing, camping, in waiting rooms and with friends or family.
Our kits come with the materials you need to make the product shown on the cover of the kit booklet. The projects are small enough to introduce the craft without overwhelming a beginner. Once the skill is learned you can make your own custom projects in a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials of your own choosing!
Wholesale pricing available for qualified merchants. Please email for more information.
About Traditional Craft Kits
Katherine Ogilvie
Owner
SYMBOLS AND DESIGNS
All across the world humans have used symbols and designs to express ideas, stories or feelings. Symbols were first used to communicate. Many early languages began with drawings. Even today we use symbols to express ourselves. Some of these designs are sacred and have special meanings. Many tell a historical story or myth to be passed down through generations. Suns, stars, moons and animals are very common designs. Interestingly we can also see the same or similar symbols used across cultures. In appreciation for worldwide cultural expression, our kits include designs from many locations. Once you learn the skill of creating a basket or piece of pottery, virtually any design can be woven into the basket or painted on the pot.
Our kits will teach you the following craft skills:
BASKETRY
Basketry weaving is a fun and relaxing activity that people of many cultures have enjoyed for many thousands of years. In most places of the world, baskets can be found. Different geographic areas have their own unique styles, largely based on the materials that are available there. Traditional materials come from such things as grasses, rushes, barks, reeds, canes, roots, split leaves, split twigs and also animal parts such as sinew. Tools can be fashioned from stones, bones and metals. Preparing basket making materials is a very important and special part of the process of weaving a basket.
Because the average person in today’s world does not have access or time to prepare raw materials for basket making, we have chosen the best, most accessible and easiest to use materials for our kits. For example, raffia might not be a traditional material in the Americas, because it is found in the tropics, but it does a great job as a substitute to rushes, reeds, roots, split leaves, split twigs and sinew. Basically, we want you to learn the skills so you can continue to create more baskets with whatever materials inspire you.
The four main types of basketry are coiling, plaiting, twining and wicker. Each type requires different types of materials and has many variations of designs, shapes, sizes and techniques. Our kits are designed with the beginner in mind. However, we also offer many kits for the more advanced basket maker, who is willing to put in several hours to complete a more elaborate pattern. Many of our kits include design templates so that you can create your own patterns and order supplies from us as needed.
POTTERY
Pottery is also a traditional craft that most cultures that had access to clay performed. Pots were made for practical uses such as foods storage and preparation, as well as ceremonial and decorative purposes. Today we still enjoy hand made pottery made by artisans and sold in many galleries across the world. We have developed our pottery kits so that you can complete an air dried pinch pot and decorate it with as many decorative design options as you like.
OTHER CRAFTS
People are extremely creative and when there is a need for something, it can be made. We have also included several other craft kits such as weaving, ornaments, noise making instruments, rock carvings.
FEEDBACK
We welcome your feedback and would always love to see your finished designs. As an interesting note, I took a basket making workshop, and every basket made at the workshop looked different from the others. We were all attempting the same basket with the same instruction. So please do not be discouraged if your basket looks different than the basket in the photo on the cover of our kit booklet. It’s unique to you. As you make more baskets, your own style will emerge. Every year we will expand your line of kits to add more crafts techniques and design options. If you have a recommendations please let us know!
In compliance with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, products made by this business are not “Indian made” by a member of a federally or officially state recognized Indian tribe. Styles and designs are incorporated, as requested by the many national and state public parks and museums that carry the kits in their stores, to bring respect and appreciation for handmade arts and crafts.
Qualified educators may be eligible to receive 20-25% off discount for their class orders. Please email for more information.
Wholesale pricing available for qualified merchants. Please email for more information.
