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Borders · Family 47

Basketweave with Wilton 47

Two passes per row, four alternating columns, and a whole cake side that reads as woven cane.

Basketweave is the largest decoration on the site: it covers an entire cake side, and it is built from two passes that alternate - a vertical rib, then a horizontal weave that covers the ends of two ribs at once. A 20 cm cake takes about eleven minutes and 44 passes. The 47 has a plain flat blade with a slight serration, which is what gives the weave its edge shadow.

Tip
Wilton 47
Icing stage
Medium peak
Difficulty
Advanced
Teeth
2
Symmetry
10×
Cure
14 hours
Finished size
200 mm
Released
8 September 2026

By The Sugar Bench · Released 8 September 2026

Method

5 steps, pressure stated at each one

Hand position and bag pressure are stated for every step, because that is where most failures happen.

Basketweave with Wilton 47 — Step 1: Mark the columns

Step 01 of 05

Mark the columns

With a skewer, make eleven light vertical marks around a 20 cm cake side, 22 mm apart. Mark the top line 6 mm below the top edge. These guides disappear under the first pass and are only needed for the first four columns.

HandTurn the turntable to bring each mark to the front rather than reaching around the cake.
Bag pressureVery light with the skewer - a deep line shows through the weave.
Basketweave with Wilton 47 — Step 2: Pipe the vertical ribs

Step 02 of 05

Pipe the vertical ribs

With the 47 flat against the cake side and the serrated edge to the left, pipe upward from the bottom line to the top line, 22 mm long. Pipe four ribs, then stop and check they are parallel.

HandBlade flat on the cake, tip touching, whole arm travelling upward while the wrist stays fixed.
Bag pressureMedium at the bottom, fading slightly toward the top so the rib does not bulge.
Basketweave with Wilton 47 — Step 3: Add the first horizontal pass

Step 03 of 05

Add the first horizontal pass

Turn the tip so the blade is horizontal and pipe from left to right across the top 6 mm of ribs one and two, stopping at the boundary with rib three. Then do ribs three and four. Keep the horizontal passes 6 mm tall.

HandThe horizontal pass is a short 44 mm stroke; start it 2 mm before rib one so the weave edge is square.
Bag pressureMedium at the start, fading to a quick release so the pass does not drag the rib.
Basketweave with Wilton 47 — Step 4: Continue with the offset rows

Step 04 of 05

Continue with the offset rows

Pipe the next four ribs, then a horizontal pass covering ribs two to three and four to five - that is the one-column offset. Continue around the cake, alternating offset and non-offset rows.

HandRotate the turntable a quarter turn at a time so each set of four ribs arrives in front of you.
Bag pressureMedium, and constant across the whole row - a basketweave with varying pressure reads as handmade in the wrong way.
Basketweave with Wilton 47 — Step 5: Top and bottom borders

Step 05 of 05

Top and bottom borders

Finish with a 12 mm shell-like pass of the 47 along the top and bottom edges, which is what hides the cut-off ends of the ribs. Leave the cake fourteen hours at 18 C before boxing; a full basketweave is the heaviest decoration on the site.

HandRotate the cake, keep the tip at 45 degrees, and pipe the top border after the bottom so any drips land on already-piped work you can wipe.
Bag pressureMedium with a fade at the tail end, as with a shell.

Scroll sideways for each step →

Vertical first, then horizontal over it

The vertical rib is piped from the bottom of the cake upward at 90 degrees, 22 mm long. The horizontal pass then covers the top 6 mm of two adjacent ribs and stops, leaving the bottom 16 mm of each rib exposed. That sequence is what creates the illusion: the eye reads the horizontal pass as going over the vertical ones.

Offset every other row by one column

The reason a basketweave looks woven rather than gridded is that alternate horizontal rows are offset by exactly one column. Rows one and three sit above columns one and three; rows two and four sit above columns two and four. If you forget the offset, the result is a brick wall, and a brick wall is the most common basketweave failure.

Count in fours

Work in sets of four: four vertical ribs, then two horizontal passes covering ribs one to two and three to four. Then four more ribs. On a 20 cm cake you will fit eleven sets of four around the circumference, which is 44 vertical ribs and 22 horizontal passes.

Medium peak, not firm

Basketweave needs icing that is slightly softer than a shell border uses, because the horizontal pass has to bond to the ribs without dragging them. Mix at medium peak and let the bowl stand for ten minutes. If the horizontal pass pulls the ribs sideways, the icing is too stiff, not too soft - add a teaspoon of cream per 300 g and it will stop.

Weave in two colours, or not at all

The card art uses a single ink-wine weave with gold ribs, which reads best at cake distance. Two-colour weaves (wine ribs, gold horizontal) are dramatic but demand perfect alignment, because every offset error becomes a colour error. If this is your first basketweave, use one colour for both passes and rely on the blade's shadow for structure.

Failures and fixes

Symptom Cause Fix
Weave looks like a brick wall The one-column offset was not applied to alternate rows. Re-check by counting: row one starts above rib one, row two above rib two. Unpicked basketweave cannot be repaired in place, but the next two rows can restore the pattern.
Horizontal passes drag the ribs sideways Icing too stiff, so the pass bonds to the rib and pulls it. Loosen with a teaspoon of cream per 300 g and let it stand ten minutes; stiff icing, not soft icing, causes drag.
Ribs bulge at the bottom Constant heavy pressure through the whole upward stroke. Fade the pressure toward the top of each rib so it tapers into the horizontal pass.

Before you bag up

  • Eleven column marks, 22 mm apart
  • Four parallel ribs before any horizontal pass
  • Horizontal pass 6 mm tall
  • Alternate rows offset by exactly one column
  • Top and bottom borders piped last

This card describes a method, not a formulation tested for allergens, shelf life or food safety; the ingredients, hygiene and safety of anything you give to someone else are your responsibility. Nothing here is sponsored and there is no affiliation with any tip or ingredient manufacturer. See the terms page for the full note.

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