Basket Weaving
Basket Weaving is a crafting specialization within the Tinkering skill that allows players to create a variety of decorative container baskets from plant-sourced reeds. The system is closely tied to the Plant System, as all raw materials come from decorative plants, and produces both functional containers and a versatile plant-based dyeing system.
Learning Basket Weaving
To learn basket weaving, you must read a Basket Weaving Book ("Making Valuables with Basket Weaving"). The book requires Grandmaster Tinkering (100.0 skill) to use. Once read, the book is consumed and the knowledge is permanently learned on that character.
Basket Weaving Books can be found on vendors in The Royal City
Overview
The basket weaving system involves several interconnected processes:
- Cutting reeds from decorative plants using clippers
- Softening reeds into a usable crafting material
- Crafting baskets via the Tinkering skill using softened reeds
- Extracting plant pigments for color mixing
- Creating natural dyes to color items in plant-derived hues
Clippers
Clippers are the essential tool for basket weaving. They are crafted through the Tinkering skill and have a limited number of uses before breaking.
Clippers have three operating modes, toggled via the context menu (single-click the clippers):
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Set to clip plants | Cuts a decorative plant into Plant Clippings (used for pigments) |
| Set to cut reeds | Cuts a decorative plant into Dry Reeds (used for basket crafting) |
| Set to cut topiaries | Reshapes hedge-type decorative plants into topiary shapes |
To use clippers, double-click them and target a decorative plant (a plant that has reached the decorative stage in the plant system). The plant is consumed and you receive the appropriate material based on your current clipper mode. The material inherits the plant hue of the source plant, so growing plants of different colors gives you colored reeds and pigments.
Gathering Materials
Dry Reeds
With clippers set to "cut reeds" mode, use them on a decorative plant to receive Dry Reeds. These are stackable, and reeds of the same plant hue will stack together. Dry reeds retain the color of the plant they came from.
Softened Reeds
Dry Reeds must be processed into Softened Reeds before they can be used for basket crafting. Softened reeds are the primary crafting material for all basket recipes. Like dry reeds, they are stackable and retain their plant hue — colored softened reeds can produce colored baskets.
Craftable Baskets
Once you have learned basket weaving and have softened reeds available, the following baskets become available in the Tinkering craft menu. All baskets function as usable containers for storing items.
| Basket |
|---|
| Basket |
| Picnic Basket |
| Round Basket |
| Round Basket (with handles) |
| Small Bushel |
| Small Round Basket |
| Small Square Basket |
| Square Basket |
| Tall Basket |
| Tall Round Basket |
| Winnowing Basket |
Plant Pigments and Natural Dyes
In addition to basket crafting, the plant system supports a full pigment mixing and dyeing workflow. This allows you to create Natural Dyes in a wide range of colors to dye equipment, furniture, and other items.
Step 1: Plant Clippings
Set your clippers to "clip plants" mode and use them on a decorative plant to receive Plant Clippings. These are then processed into Plant Pigment through Alchemy.
Step 2: Plant Pigment
Plant Pigment is a colored liquid that can be mixed with other pigments to create new colors. Double-click a pigment bottle and target another pigment to combine them.
Mixing requirements:
- 75 Alchemy or Cooking to mix most pigments.
- 100 Alchemy or Cooking to mix with Black or White pigments (these are unstable).
Mixing rules:
- You cannot mix two identical pigments.
- You cannot mix two variations of the same base hue (e.g., Dark Red with Bright Red).
- Saturated (already-mixed compound) pigments cannot be mixed further.
- Bright pigments cannot be further diluted with White.
Pigment Color Mixing Table
Primary Colors
The three primary pigment colors — Red, Blue, and Yellow — are obtained directly from plants of those colors.
Secondary Colors (Primary + Primary)
| Mix | Result |
|---|---|
| Red + Blue | Purple |
| Blue + Yellow | Green |
| Red + Yellow | Orange |
Bright Variants (Color + Same Color, or Color + Plain)
Mixing a color with itself or with Plain produces the Bright variant of that color.
| Mix | Result |
|---|---|
| Red + Red (or Red + Plain) | Bright Red |
| Blue + Blue (or Blue + Plain) | Bright Blue |
| Yellow + Yellow (or Yellow + Plain) | Bright Yellow |
| Purple + Purple (or Purple + Plain) | Bright Purple |
| Green + Green (or Green + Plain) | Bright Green |
| Orange + Orange (or Orange + Plain) | Bright Orange |
Dark Variants (Color + Black)
Mixing any primary or secondary color with Black produces the Dark variant. Requires 100 Alchemy or Cooking.
| Mix | Result |
|---|---|
| Red + Black | Dark Red |
| Blue + Black | Dark Blue |
| Yellow + Black | Dark Yellow |
| Purple + Black | Dark Purple |
| Green + Black | Dark Green |
| Orange + Black | Dark Orange |
Ice Variants (Color + White)
Mixing any primary or secondary color with White produces the Ice (faded/pastel) variant. Requires 100 Alchemy or Cooking. You cannot mix White with Bright pigments.
| Mix | Result |
|---|---|
| Red + White | Ice Red |
| Blue + White | Ice Blue |
| Yellow + White | Ice Yellow |
| Purple + White | Ice Purple |
| Green + White | Ice Green |
| Orange + White | Ice Orange |
| Black + White | Ice Black |
Special Colors
Some pigment hues come directly from special plant colors and cannot be obtained through mixing:
| Color | Source |
|---|---|
| Pink | Pink plants |
| Magenta | Magenta plants |
| Aqua | Aqua plants |
| Fire Red | Fire Red plants |
Additional Mixed Results
| Mix | Result |
|---|---|
| Black + Plain | Metal |
| White + Plain | Off-White |
Step 3: Color Fixative
Color Fixative is a crafted reagent needed to turn a plant pigment into a usable natural dye. It is produced through Alchemy.
Step 4: Natural Dye
A Natural Dye is created by combining a Plant Pigment with a Color Fixative. Each natural dye has 5 uses before it is consumed.
To use a natural dye, double-click it and target the item you wish to dye.
Items that can be dyed with Natural Dye:
- Clothing and shoes
- Leather and metal armor (not bone armor)
- Weapons
- Jewelry
- Talismans
- Books, runebooks, and spellbooks
- Statuettes and decorative plants
- Shoulder parrots
- Artifact items
- Tokuno-dyeable items
- Locked-down or secured furniture in a house you co-own
Items that cannot be dyed:
- Hooded Shroud of Shadows
- Monk Robes
- Bone armor
- Items not in your backpack (unless they are locked-down furniture)
Topiaries
With clippers set to "cut topiaries" mode, you can reshape hedge-type decorative plants (Tall Hedge, Short Hedge, and Juniper Bush) into various topiary shapes. Double-click the clippers and target an eligible hedge plant to open a selection gump showing the available topiary designs. Choosing a design reshapes the plant in place and consumes one use of the clippers.
The Silver Sapling
The Silver Sapling is a special silver-hued tree found in the world that serves two purposes:
Resurrection
The Silver Sapling functions as a resurrection point, similar to an ankh. Ghosts who walk near it or double-click it while dead will be offered resurrection.
Seeds of the Silver Sapling
Living players who double-click the Silver Sapling receive a Seed of the Silver Sapling (one per day). These seeds can be planted within the Stygian Abyss to set a personal resurrection point. If you die in the Abyss within 24 hours of planting a seed, you will be resurrected at the location where you planted it, with your possessions intact.
Seeds can only be planted inside the Abyss and expire after one day.
Tips
- Grow a variety of plant colors to have access to the full range of pigment hues. The base colors Red, Blue, Yellow, Black, and White are the building blocks for all mixed pigments.
- Bright plant hues (from cross-pollination) produce Bright-hued reeds and pigments directly, saving you a mixing step.
- Natural Dyes are extremely versatile — they work on far more item types than standard dye tubs, including weapons, jewelry, and artifacts.
- Since each Natural Dye only has 5 uses, batch your dyeing projects and prepare multiple dyes if you have a lot of items to color.
- Basket crafting produces functional containers, not just decorations — they can be used for storage in your home or on the go.