Hi-- I've just played around with piping a basketweave onto waxed paper...never a cake. But someone asked me to see if I could do a basketweave cake.
My question is, do you have to measure & mark off the lines for it to work out...or do you just start piping and it will look right as long as my lines are tight and straight?....
Also, how much extra should I charge for basketweave?
I love basketweave, it is my favorite. I know when I first started doing it I measured it out but with practice I was able to just eyeball it. The one thing I can tell you about piping basketweave is to ice a crumb coat in the same color as you will use for the basketweave. It hides a multitude of sins compared to if you crumb coat in say white icing and your finished product is blue. All your errors will show through otherwise. Best of luck to you!
I love doing the basket weave, it's pretty simple and I do not measure. I just make it work. Good luck and have fun with it!
Jacqui
I also love doing basketweave. I've never measured and haven't had problems. When you get to the end, you can kind of fudge it if the weave doesn't line up. 
I agree with Samsgranny ... make sure to do a crumb coat in the same color you'll be doing the basketweave. It makes life much easier!!!
For a party cake, I charge $5-$10 extra for basketweave, depending on the size of the cake. For a wedding cake, I charge my elaborate design price, instead of my basic design price.
Good luck!!!
wow! I really admire those who do not mark the cake!
Without the division I will get lost.
This is what I do... I crumb coat the cake and then mark with a spatula even divisions. I start with alittle mark on the top edge of the cake, then divide in half, continue marking cake in half again into fourths... and half again, and again until you get as many divisions as you want.
When I get as many as i want, I mark them all the way down on the sides of the cake with a spatula
Good luck!
Hi nenufares, I too did the exact same thing you do when I first started. But I found it soooo tiring to do all that marking and just jumped in and started one time without it. It gets easier with practice and now it is my favorite style. 
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