AROUND HOME : The Basket Book by Lyn Siler (Sterling/Lark; 1988)

A BASKETRY BOOK IS expected to have clear, concise instructions for making baskets, but Siler also offers lovely illustrations, detailed diagrams and pretty pictures. The baskets are familiar types: melon, egg, picnic and pie, with a few unusual pieces such as a wool-drying basket (on legs) and a square-to-round feather basket with an attached, unhinged lid. The basket-making techniques include ribbed, woven and splint, and there is a very useful section on materials, terms and variations, including a reed-dyeing recipe using walnut hulls. Siler lists suppliers of materials as well as several magazines and newsletters dealing with basketry. The difficulty in all this: Choosing which basket to try first. (Hardcover $24.95; paperback $12.95. The illustrations are available in poster form from the same publisher for $8.95.)