Sweetgrass Baskets, South Carolina’s Gullah Craft
The coiled marsh-grass baskets of the Gullah Geechee coast: where they come from, how they are made, where to buy one.
Sweetgrass baskets for sale on Edisto Island, South Carolina. U.S. National Archives, public domain.
What Sweetgrass Baskets Are
Sweetgrass baskets are coiled baskets sewn by hand from marsh grasses, made by the Gullah Geechee people of the South Carolina and Georgia coast. In 2006 South Carolina named the sweetgrass basket its official state Lowcountry handcraft. Every basket is sewn by hand, one coil at a time.
From Rice Fields to Art
The craft came from West Africa with enslaved people brought to grow rice on Lowcountry plantations. The first baskets were tools, above all the wide, flat fanner used to toss threshed rice so the wind carried off the hulls. As rice faded, the baskets changed from work tools into the bowls, trays and lidded baskets sold today. Learn more on our Gullah Geechee culture page.
How a Basket Is Made
Sweetgrass: the soft grass the baskets are named for.
Bulrush: a stiffer marsh rush that makes the coils strong.
Pine needles: add the darker brown bands.
Palmetto: leaf strips split thin and used to sew each coil to the one below.
The maker builds the basket outward, coil by coil, opening a gap in the row below and pulling the palmetto through. The traditional tools are a sharpened piece of cow rib bone and a pair of scissors. A basket takes hours to days of work, depending on its size.
Where to See and Buy Sweetgrass Baskets on Hilton Head
Buy from the maker or from a gallery that works with makers, and ask who made the basket. Prices follow size and how tight the weave is.
Read the guideThe Gullah Sweetgrass Gallery in the Discovery House sells baskets by local makers, and the museum runs sweetgrass basket workshops. Free to enter.
70 Honey Horn Dr.
Read the guideA small museum of island Gullah life, with workshops and storytelling through the year. Tours by appointment.
12 Georgianna Dr.
Near Charleston, basket makers sell from roadside stands along US 17 North in Mount Pleasant, a stretch named the Sweetgrass Basket Makers Highway.
More Gullah Heritage
Gullah Heritage Trail Tours: a narrated bus tour of Hilton Head's Gullah neighborhoods with native guides, from the Coastal Discovery Museum. From $25.
Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, on the site of the first self-governed town of freed people in the US: free trail, exhibits and guided tours.
Gullah Geechee culture on Hilton Head: who the Gullah people are, their language and food, the Gullah Museum, Mitchelville, and Gullah heritage tours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I buy sweetgrass baskets on Hilton Head?
The Gullah Sweetgrass Gallery in the Discovery House at the Coastal Discovery Museum, 70 Honey Horn Dr, sells baskets by local makers.
Can I take a sweetgrass basket class on Hilton Head?
Yes. The Coastal Discovery Museum runs sweetgrass basket workshops; check its calendar for dates.
What are sweetgrass baskets made of?
Sweetgrass and bulrush, pine needles for the brown bands, and strips of palmetto leaf to sew the coils together.
Is the sweetgrass basket South Carolina’s state craft?
Yes. In 2006 South Carolina named the sweetgrass basket its official state Lowcountry handcraft.
Why are sweetgrass baskets expensive?
Each one is sewn by hand, coil by coil, and a basket takes hours to days of work, depending on its size.
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