Name: Sunflower Willow Weaving Workshop
Start: 2025-05-31T10:00:00+01:00
End: 2025-05-31T15:00:00+01:00
Location: The Southern Malting, Kibes Lane, SG12 7BS Ware, United Kingdom

Sunflower willow weaving workshop – Join us and tutor Judi Evans for a series of Basket Weaving Workshops.
In this popular workshop, you will learn all the skills required to weave a beautiful sunflower for the garden.
Spend a relaxing day learning to make a beautiful willow Sunflower. You will then use the same techniques to make some simple bunting which you will take away to finish, as a small bonus project to keep your new skills in mind as you go back home.
We will start by using a pairing weave to create the centre, then insert rods around the circumference, shaping them into petals. Additional decorative weaving can be added to the petals if desired. To finish, we will attach the flower to a long stout rod, ready to adorn your garden.
The skills learned in this workshop are suitable for complete beginners and are especially relevant for anyone who would like to take their learning further and make a basket at a later date. This workshop is aimed at complete beginners and is a great introduction to weaving with willow.
Bonus….! This workshop includes materials to make a short length of willow bunting. Once started, this small project is to take home to practise your willow weaving skills. Judi will demonstrate the bunting weaving during the workshop and start everyone’s bunting off, but makers will take this home to finish.
Tools and materials and handouts are provided, however if you have a favourite pair of secateurs, please bring them along.
Important to note!
Willow weaving is a wonderful craft, and whilst it is suitable for total beginners, it may not be accessible for everyone. All willow work requires a certain degree of flexibility and dexterity in the hands, but especially strength in the hands too. If you are unsure whether you will be able participate or not in this workshop, then do get in touch to discuss requirements in more detail.
Judi is a regular stallholder at our Tudor Square and Southern Maltings markets. She first discovered her love of basketry 16 years ago, but it wasn’t until 2017 that she had the opportunity to immerse herself more fully in the fascinating craft. In 2018 she spent a year learning with Cambridgeshire Basket maker Debbie Hall, who taught her many willow skills which she further developed in 2019 through a City and Guilds Certification in creative Basketry. She continues to hone and develop her skills, learning with basket makers across the UK and running beginners workshops locally for small groups, where she hopes to pass on her love and enthusiasm for this ancient craft.
Judi is a member of the Basket Makers’ Association, The Heritage Craft Association and Hertfordshire Basketry.
Additional Information:
The workshop is being run with a maximum capacity of 6 and will run for 5 hours from 10am – 3pm on Saturday 31st May at a cost of £65 per head. Tea/ Coffee and cake is included but you will need to bring your own packed lunch. A half hour break for lunch is included in the timings.
The session will be held in our downstairs function space which is on the ground floor.
Please check our website for Judi’s other workshops – she will be leading workshops on plant supports, plant collars, bird feeders, tension trays and foraged coiling.
PLEASE NOTE: Sales for this workshop need to be completed one week prior to the workshop to allow time for the correct amount of willow to be prepared and soaked in advance.
Southern Maltings is the trading name of Ware Arts Centre Limited and is a registered charity (Registered charity no. 276998). All events are run by volunteers and proceeds go towards developing the Southern Maltings into an amazing creative arts centre which will enable us to put on a wider and more frequent range of events and activities for the whole community.