How to make a Polymer clay woven basket (fimo or sculpey)

Baskets are a lot easier than they look.  Still, like everything, they take practice.  Beginners have a hard time rolling the clay into smooth, even, snakes.  I tell the kids that the snake shouldn't look as though it has just eaten an elephant!  The third picture shows snakes that have simply been twisted together.  The strands have to be twisted slowly, evenly, and purposefully. Otherwise the twist will be concentrated in one section and will eventually break. The basket may look woven, but it is just coiled out of long twists.  It is not necessary for the twist to be all in one piece.

This is the same technique I use to make braided rugs.