Buff Willow ‘Cracking’
Help! I got a weaving kit from my own two hands and it’s buff Willow. It seemed very very dry. Thin tips snapping at even the slightest movement. It said to soak for half an hour per foot online but my own two hands said start with an hour or two so I started with an hour and if I went very slow and easy I could get a 90° bend but anything over that it would literally crack and make a cracking sound. I have since try that two test at 2 hours, 3 hours and 4 1/2 hours. After the soaks I did a 12-20 hour mellow (I did 2 different batches and checked at a few points) and I’m still getting this Cracking seem in the photos and it makes a very noticeable crack sound when it breaks. I don’t know what to do because at an hour it was definitely not pliable enough and I can definitely feel a difference between the 3 hour and the 4 1/2 hour is definitely more pliable but it’s still breaking but the kit says do not soak over 6 hours and says it is only longer when cold. The first five photos are after the 4 1/2 hours soak and 16 hour mellow and the last photo is after the two or three hours soak in 10 to 12 hour mellow.