World's Largest Sweetgrass Basket Earns Guinness Record

Corey Alston spent months weaving something that had never been done before: a sweetgrass basket standing nearly four and a half feet tall and weighing as much as a large dog.

Guinness World Records made it official this month. "Big Percy," as the basket is called, is now the largest sweetgrass basket on the planet.

The South Carolina State Museum commissioned the piece last fall and will celebrate with a free public party on August 7 in Columbia. Visitors can expect treats, live Grammy-winning music from Ranky Tanky, and a plaque presentation honoring Alston's achievement.

But this record means more than numbers. Sweetgrass basketry came to South Carolina's Lowcountry with enslaved West Africans and has been kept alive by Gullah Geechee families in Mount Pleasant for generations.

Alston, 44, is a fifth-generation basket weaver whose ancestors were enslaved Africans brought to the region. He learned the craft from Mary Jackson, one of the most celebrated names in Mount Pleasant basketry, and has spent nearly 25 years perfecting his work.

Creating Big Percy required rethinking a centuries-old process. The basket measures 52.6 inches tall, 43.3 inches wide, and runs 11 feet around. Alston had to hire a woodsmith to build a special cradle several feet across just to keep the walls from bending while he worked.

He gathered materials the traditional way: sweetgrass, brown marsh bulrush, palmetto fronds, and pine needles from the same marshes and roadsides that supply his smaller pieces. Everything was harvested and sun-dried before he began sewing in February.

A typical Alston basket weighs one to three pounds. Big Percy tips the scales at 80.

Why This Inspires

Alston's work already sits in the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery and museums across the country. But this basket represents something bigger than one artist's career.

"Big Percy represents generations of preservation and cultural continuance," Alston said in a museum statement. The record puts an international spotlight on a craft that might otherwise fade into history books.

The museum's cultural history curator, Ramon Jackson, wants visitors to see sweetgrass basketry as a living South Carolina tradition, not a relic of the past. By keeping Big Percy in the permanent collection, the museum shows that this art form continues to evolve and inspire.

The August 7 celebration features two members of Ranky Tanky, the Charleston band that has won two Grammys for their Gullah-inspired music blending jazz, gospel, blues, and soul. Their presence connects another thread of Gullah Geechee culture to Alston's achievement.

Big Percy proves that ancient traditions can still break new ground.