If it is tall, then you will put the front on the outside. And this means your needle always goes IN the basket on the OUTSIDE. The front is always facing you, no matter what its shape. So the basket will be made going counter clock wise and the concave side (bowl side) will be away from you. The needle will have an up-angle as you stitch the sides, but for now go straight in.
If it is a shallow basket, then you will want the front side on the inside of the basket. So it will be made going counter clock wise and the concave side (bowl side) will be facing you. The stitching will still be done with the needle going in the basket on the side facing you. What makes it a "front"? Well, some stitches look the same on both sides--but not all. Your stitching will always look better if you have the side that the needle goes in as the front side. Most left-handed people will go clockwise, but the stitching stays the same. The direction of the coil (clockwise or counter-clockwise) will determine the direction of the spiral if the stitch is a spiral stitch. To start out we will do a stitch that looks the same on both sides. But first, two rows of the Split stitch. Cut a piece of drinking straw (I like Burger King Straws-they are less likely to break than McDonnald's and are a little bit bigger) and thread it on to the needles. This will act as a gauge. Just remember to keep it FULLof needles at all times and everything will fall into place. With just a twist of the straw, the needles will align themselves into a tighter bundle. So once in a while, give them a twist. The gauge will alsohelp save your hands from the pain of hours of pinching everything tight and holding it all in place.
OK, tie a square knot with the old and the new ends on top of the edge. Do a couple of stitches, then go back to the knot. Put the needle into the basket at least two rows deep, then thread the needle with the ends, and pull through. If you give the raffia a tug while you clip the end off, the ends will spring back into the basket. This is how it will be done in all open core work for now.
On this example, I have
more than 4 rows. Also, instead of stitching into the center of the raffia, I
stitched beside it. Continue to do the split stitch--this will look similar. Bravo!!!! You have completed 4 rows! So it only took you 3 hours. You will get faster in time. Row 5 - stitch twice in each spot (Straight Wheat Stitch). When you are doing this, it will look as if you have one diagonal (slanted) and one vertical (straight up and down) stitch all the way around. Remember to keep the gage FULL at all times. This picture will not look exactly like your basket. I did not do two rows of the split stitch first. And I am on row 7 here.
Row
6 First you Straight Wheat Stitch twice in the same place in the Vertical Stitch
. This creates a V that has one vertical and one diagonal stitch. You will stitch
in the vertical stitch
each time, twice. The needle goes in the vertical stitch and exits the vertical
stitch (Up and Down stitch). That is all there is to the Straight Wheat Stitch.
More will come as I get time. 
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