Home-made Brotform

So I was at Ikea last night and I saw they were selling bundles of willow canes for $5.99.  Being a big experimenter I figured I really needed to try my hand at this.  Besides at $30+each I could never afford to buy one.  So I just wondered, has anyone tried this? the canes they are selling are a bit brittle so I figre I need to soak them but all I know is if this works I will be VERY excited.  I will try to post some images as I start the project if anyone is interested.