To the untrained eye, a willow rod will seem quite ready even long before it actually is. It looks good. You can feel its quality. It appears clean and supple and easy to handle. Then, however, you ask it to bend, and the problems begin. It is not uncommon for a novice basketmaker to encounter issues with material that is too dry, too rigid, and inconsistently soaked. Before worrying about the basket’s base or rim, or the finished shape, a beginner might find it helpful to learn how the willow reacts in your hands.
The easiest method for testing a willow rod is to gently bend it rather than to fold it sharply. Take a rod near the thicker end and gently guide it into a soft curve. If it curves easily without a sharp crack, it is on its way to becoming a ready willow rod. If the surface is beginning to split, if the rod resists the curve, or if the bend creates a hard angular bend rather than an easy curvature, then the willow needs more moisture. It is likely better suited to an exercise of a different nature. A willow rod that bends with difficulty is not going to teach you anything good. If the rod does not respond, it will simply require increased force from your hands to move it into the shape you need. This is not what you want to learn at this stage.
Another factor in the readiness of a willow rod is its diameter. A thicker rod may be ideal for the stakes or the thicker sides of a small basket. A thinner weaver rod, however, may be easier to handle while doing an over-under weave. In a novice basket, if a weaver is too thick for the number of weaves you are attempting, the rods may separate, the sides may flare out, or the weave may appear heavy long before the basket begins to take form. Separating willow rods into thin, medium, and thick sizes before weaving helps you have fewer rod choices to make as your project is underway.
Once you remove willow rods from a soaking tub, it is important to check them again to ensure they are moist. A willow rod can begin to dry out while you are working on the project, particularly at the very tips and especially if the ambient temperature in the room is high. If there are any dry spots in your basketry project, the use of a spray bottle and a small damp towel may help to keep the material at an optimal moisture level.
While you want to ensure your willow is moist, you don’t want your materials to be saturated. The goal is for the willow to be pliable enough that you are able to complete the project, not to have to stop repeatedly to moisten your willow as you work. Should a rod feel ready at the start of a row but then seem to become less so as you work your way through that row, it may simply need further moistening. Rather than trying to force it to work, it is better to moisten the willow.
One way of testing willow rods of different sizes for their readiness is to take three rods of differing dimensions. Test these rods with the same gentle bend and observe which willow is the most difficult and which willow is the easiest to bend into a soft curve. You will also want to notice which rod seems the easiest to weave with a short over-under test on a scrap willow stake or panel. These tests demonstrate the change from bending a weaver through the air to weaving a willow weaver rod over and under stakes and through a tension that is light but discernible.
When you are first beginning your projects, it is easy to mistake a stiff rod for a strong rod. A stiff rod will seem to be a strong rod, but it is liable to crack at a sharp bend or to pull your basket out of shape. The rod should not just be able to be made to bend; the rod must also possess a liveliness, a flexibility, and a suppleness. You want the willow to have life within it. It is important that the willow follow your guidance without being able to be bent too far to one side. If a willow willow rod splinters, cracks, or becomes brittle under a sharp bend, that is an indication it is not ready to be used. Through practice, you will begin to learn how to distinguish between a pliable but firm material and a stiff but dry rod.
Before starting a weaving session with a small basket or tray, check your willow rods once again from the base end to the tip. Observe them closely for signs of brittle spots, inconsistent thicknesses, and sections of uneven thickness. If your rod is flexible, sorted, and suitable for the size basket you are constructing, your first few rods will become easier. You will no longer be fighting the willow to move it into the right position; rather, you will be allowing it to move as its shape will allow it to.