A short glossary of useful terms:
Cassies, Caisies, Cubbies, Kishies
These are just a few of the names of the many traditional baskets made in Orkney.
‘Cubbie’ is regularly used as the generic name for a basket.
I call my baskets Caisies, which broadly describes baskets with upright “spokes’ or Taetes and finished with a top and bottom Fesgar.
Cubbies are regularly regarded as coiled baskets, similar in construction to the back of an Orkney chair.
A Kishie is a basket with upright spokes but is constructed in a ‘V’ shape, without a bottom Fesgar. They were once extremely common and used for carrying peats from the hill.
Fesgar
The top and bottom horizontal rows of the basket which securely fasten the ends of the Taetes. Often of the same material as the Taetes, but can be of any other suitable stuff.
Fettle
The loop of twine for carrying/hanging the basket. Usually of same twine as the Geng, but often of a contrasting dye.
Floss
Rushes, usually Juncus conglomeratus, prepared for use. Also, traditionally used as material for making Twine.
Taetes
The upright ‘spokes’ of a Cassie/ Caisie. The chief material of the basket, made from oat straw, rush, various grasses and stems of perennial plants including docken and heather.
Geng
The name given to the rounds of twining cord.
Twine
String of various materials used for twining around the Taetes. Traditionally this was made from Floss, Bent, or oat straw, which was a time-consuming task to produce enough to make a basket. With the advent of imported Coconut and Sisal fibre twine, the practice more or less died out, although it is a skill some still retain. The hand corded twine inevitably makes the basket more expensive to produce.
Stuff
All of the various materials useful for making baskets: - Oat Straw (Black oats or regular oats), Rushes (Floss), Marram grass (Bent), Dockens, False oat grass, Fountain grass, Knapweed, Aster, Heather, any other grass or plant fibre that proves suitable.
Bent
The local name for Marram grass. Also, traditionally used as material for making Twine.
Gloy
The prepared oat straw ready for making up into a basket.
Dye Stuff
I always dye the twine I use as I prefer the individual look of it. Using various vegetable dyes from the garden or kitchen I can experiment with different shades and tones with the aid of home made mordants of tannin, iron and copper. The results are fairly variable, giving a wide variety of finishes and an individuality to the basket.