The Skills of Corn Husk Basket Weaving

One of the basic demands of life in the countryside was possessing the skill to make useful objects from a diversity of natural materials. In this particular sense, corn husks proved to be extremely versatile – they were used to make different toys, as well as decorative and useful objects. The precious knowledge of corn husk basket weaving was passed from generation to generation, from mother to daughter. In the past, corn husks were used in peasant households, in particular, corn husks were used to fill mattresses, their wide leaves were used to cork bottles, washing lines were made out of corn husks and people even put corn husks under a loaf of bread while it was baking in a stone oven.

The advantages of corn husks and their usefulness have long been known in Prekmurje as this material is very durable and is suitable for weaving different goods, like corn husk baskets, doormats and other kinds of mats, corn husk ornaments and all kinds of useful objects. The corn husk basket played a key role in people´s everyday lives. It was used to carry food to the fields and girls even used it as a school bag. Making a corn husk basket, however, requires a lot of patience, as well as diligence and accuracy.

The return to natural materials and the desire for crafting have resulted in the revival of the art of making corn husk objects and have made corn husk objects popular once again. Therefore, preserving this tradition, as well as passing it on are tremendously important. Silvija Gerenčer from Dobrovnik believes it to be so too, that is why she has learnt the skills and subtleties of corn husk basket weaving from experienced Prekmurian craftspeople.