A basket wall seldom starts out slanted. It often begins as one stake tilting slightly, another stake following that angle, and eventually, the woven basket tilts as a whole. By the time it looks tilted enough for you to take notice, several small errors have added up: uneven tension, gaps between stakes, a thick stiff rod, or a tilted base before the walls began.
First, examine your stake spacing. Look down into your basket and check to see if your stakes are still evenly spaced. If two stakes have moved closer together, the spaces between the rows will look too tight. If they have widened on another section, you could see visible gaps in your weave. Gently push the stakes with your fingers, if they have become adjustable. Once the wall grows taller, you will have more trouble.
Then, check how you pull the weaver. As you pass each rod through a stake, it’s common to unknowingly pull one side of the wall more than the other. This pulls it in one direction and creates a lean. After you’ve placed the weaver down, don’t just yank the rod tight; it’s more effective to tuck the row with a gentle downward/inward motion and let it go. The rows should be pressed tight together but not pulled tight enough to create a slant.
A thicker rod can contribute to leaning as well. A thick rod might push a side of the basket wall away from you, while a thin part might lay down flat. Remember, natural willow is not perfectly uniform and your hand must be able to adjust to those shifts. As soon as you feel resistance to the weaver, slow down and ease the weaver around. A sudden bend could cause the stakes to bend and the row to bulge.
An excellent time to check your basket is in the middle of your work. Set your basket down and gently rotate it to view it from the other angles. Remember to check the basket at the back as well; this is a good time to notice if it is leaning. Your hands may move in a slightly different way when the weaver pulls away from you than when it pulls towards you. Look at your base as well. If your base is slanted or your spokes weren’t spaced evenly before you started the walls, the basket might lean even if the wall rows are even. If that is the case, your next rows should be slightly better than the others and don’t force anything.
If you feel the basket leaning slightly, you can correct that with several rows. It is not worth it to make an adjustment all at once. That could result in a tight spot, snapped weavers or an inward curve. Leave just a little more space on the tight side while you pack it a little more firmly on the loose side. Maintain your over-under pattern while you do this because once the pattern breaks, your basket will be harder to see.
When your basket is behaving as you want it, notice what you have changed. Your stake spacing is even, the pull you’re applying isn’t too forceful, maybe you swapped it out for a thinner weaver. It is far more important to notice this than to cover up any errors. Basket making, especially early on, trains your eye to spot the lean as it is happening, and when a slow adjustment can make the next rows easier to follow.