What began as a way to pass the time during the 2020 pandemic has turned into an award-winning craft for Winnsboro artisan David “Tex” Willis.
Born in McKinney and now living in Wood County, Willis recently learned that one of his handcrafted pine needle baskets earned a blue ribbon in the Creative Arts competition at the State Fair of Texas. It is his third consecutive first-place finish at the fair, following blue ribbons in 2024 and 2025.
Willis said he began learning basket making during the COVID-19 pandemic by watching videos on YouTube and experimenting with materials he could find locally.
His first baskets were made from wild vines, often wisteria. Preparing the vines involved scraping away the outer bark, allowing them to dry and then soaking them in water for about 30 minutes to make them flexible enough to weave.

FROM WILD VINES TO LONGLEAF PINES
Willis later came across a video about making coiled baskets from pine needles and decided to give it a try.
The process uses longleaf pine needles, which can grow to more than 20 inches long. Finding the needles locally, however, can be a challenge.
Longleaf pine once covered large portions of the South but declined as forests were harvested and replanted with faster-growing varieties used for commercial timber production. Restoration efforts are underway in parts of its historic range.
Willis said he has found a few places locally where he can gather the needles. He has also planted several longleaf pines on his own property with hopes of eventually having his own source.

A TIME-CONSUMING PROCESS
Making a pine needle basket requires patience.
Most of Willis’s baskets take at least 12 hours to complete. Bundles of pine needles are coiled and stitched together with thread, with each new row building on the one before it. Keeping the coils consistent is important to maintaining the basket’s shape.
According to Willis, his 2026 State Fair entry took about 72 hours to complete.
Willis credits some of his attention to detail to his time in the U.S. Army and his later career as a finish carpenter. Both required patience, precision and a willingness to spend time getting the details right.
As he gained experience with pine needle basketry, Willis said he began adding other materials to his work. Some of his baskets include dyed needles, beads, leather, feathers and shed antlers.
He said he has also incorporated turquoise and other stones into some pieces, carving and fitting the stones into antler used as part of the basket.

THREE YEARS OF FAIR HONORS
Willis said he got the idea to enter the State Fair competition after visiting the fair in 2023 and seeing baskets displayed in the Creative Arts area.
He entered his work the following year and received a blue ribbon. He returned to the competition in 2025 and won again.
His 2026 entry made it three consecutive first-place finishes.
The basket remains on display at the State Fair of Texas as part of this year’s Creative Arts competition.
For Willis, basket making has grown from something he learned during the pandemic into a craft that requires hours of preparation and detailed work. Willis said it gives him a reason to continue looking for local natural materials and experimenting with ways to incorporate them into his baskets.
Other examples of Willis’s work can be found locally at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts gift shop and the Culture Club Gallery in Winnsboro.