Weaving from birch bark. blank. Methodology. Examples. Birch bark weaving basics for beginners Birch bark weaving technique

This master class opens a cycle of birch bark weaving tutorials, thanks to which you will learn the fundamentals of this craft and be able to gain enough experience to create your own unique products. It’s worth starting with an understanding of the principle of birch bark weaving, which is always based on a “cell” - a cell.

Planning and preparation

Previously, it was already considered how to prepare the material and the workplace. But before you start weaving, you need to imagine the product: shape, size and purpose.

In this master class, I will make a primitive napkin that will serve as a stand for a mug of hot drink, and you, repeating after me, try to learn the main principle of birch bark weaving and the basic techniques for weaving ribbons.

So, the future napkin will be a flat square multi-layer rug with a side of eight cells and a width of no more than 10 cm. Birch bark is a good heat insulator, so the utilitarian purpose of such a product is in place.

To make it easier to navigate, the article contains photographs and diagrams depicting the technology for performing some elements.

Ribbon preparation

The notorious cell in birch bark is formed by the edges of two perpendicularly intersecting ribbons. In most cases, tapes of the same width are used, which at the intersection gives a simple geometric figure- square.

Sometimes different widths of tapes are also used, and, thanks to this technique, the product is given an interesting decorative look, but the variety of shapes and density of weaving is greatly narrowed.

To make a napkin with a side of eight cells, you need to prepare a minimum of 16 ribbons. It is better to take into account probable emergencies and stock up with two or four additional tapes. The length of the tapes is described in a separate article.

Ideally, the tapes should be of elastic birch bark with an intact face layer. Width and thickness should also be the same. Low-grade birch bark or even paper is also suitable for training, but then expect trouble.

Next, you need to bend all the tapes in half to determine the center. Do not pay attention to the fact that the tapes may be different lengths and even more so, do not try to purposely adjust them in length - this is a completely unnecessary action, which will only lead to a greater consumption of birch bark. The main thing is that the ribbons are longer than the width of the intended rug. In extreme cases, the bands can be increased.

Mat set

Almost every wicker product made of birch bark begins with a set of rugs. The rug here will not necessarily become a bottom, it is a kind of cellular plane, which, with the help of various manipulations, can even be turned into a container of an interesting shape. So, for example, two opposite edges of the rug can be closed, forming a single cylinder.

A set of any rug begins with four interlaced ribbons that form four cells. That's the whole principle of weaving from birch bark - alternate weaving of ribbons located perpendicular to each other.

Pay attention to the photos: with canonical weaving from birch bark, all cells of the final product are square and the same. During the weaving process, situations may arise when the cell needs to be rectangular, overlapping two or three adjacent strips, but this is temporary and such situations should not occur at the stage of tying the rug.

From the very beginning, the birch bark strips to be picked up should be positioned in such a way that their middle, prudently marked by a fold line, always coincides with the fold line of the adjacent parallel tape. This is done for symmetry, so that the ends of each tape are equidistant from the center. In this case, there will be no situation when one of the tapes suddenly runs out without having completed its weaving maneuver.

There are two weaving techniques: straight and oblique. The choice should be made already at the stage of product ideation, but the rug set is the same for both techniques. In this master class, I will introduce you to straight weaving.

An important point: when tying a rug for a straight-weave napkin, it is better to place the longest ribbons along the edges of the napkin. They will be used in the formation of the edge and their length will be very critical for us.

Birch bark has an unpleasant property: to curl. When the tapes are heavily twisted, it is necessary to straighten them. This can be done by pulling the tape in your hands over the edge of the scissors or other object in such a way as to force the birch bark to twist in the other direction, compensating for the natural bend. Be careful not to ruin the delicate front surface of the birch bark. Some varieties of birch bark are very vulnerable, and cracks in the surface and a torn edge on the sides of ribbons and lentils can be observed.

There are several ways to pick up a rug:

• messy,
• alternately on each side
• alternately in pairs on each side.

I recommend the last method, it's easier to track the fold line of the strips in the center of the rug. Look at the photos: the mat consists of an even number of strips, the size of each side increases by two strips per pass symmetrically from the center (2 - 4 - 6 - 8 stripes, four iterations in total for this product).

Check the tightness of the weave. How smaller size gaps in the corners of the cells, the better and more valuable the product, and the more difficult it is to manufacture. Staples can be used for weaving, which will prevent the ribbons from spreading during the growth of the rug and other manipulations. Paper clips are also very useful if you decide to postpone weaving for some time.

As a result, the rug is symmetrically typed and has the shape of a square. From the center of the mat, there should always be an equal number of ribbons on each opposite side. For some products, a rectangular rug can be made, but this is all decided at the design stage of the product.

Edge weaving

The next step in our first birch bark weaving tutorial is creating the edge. Finishing the edge and redirecting the tapes to form the next layers is the moment when the rug is shaped into the final product. On this milestone many mistakes can be made, some of them we will consider in the learning process and learn how to correct them or not allow them at all.

Flip the rug right (yellow) side down. With a straight weave of a napkin, both ends of each strip are bent in the opposite direction during the formation of the edge and meet each other.

For convenience of description, let's number some tapes with Numbers (vertical), and others with Letters (horizontal). The cells will be designated as in a rectangular table: at the intersection of the bands (A1...D8).

To correctly and at the same time with least problems to braid the edge with straight weaving, it is necessary to work immediately around the entire perimeter of the product. This process is difficult to describe within the framework of the article, so I will consider the formation of an edge on one side of the napkin, with the emphasis on the fact that the reader will independently carry out similar actions with four sides at once.

Tape A will serve as the main edge-forming tape here. Determine from which edge of the mat this tape overlaps with a perpendicular strip. In my case, in cell A8.

Now fold the end of tape A (in cell A8) in the opposite direction with a white layer inward. At the same time, it will overlap the extreme tape 8 perpendicular to it. Do the same manipulations with the three remaining corners.

A very important point: the alphanumeric designation that I entered is not tied to a specific tape and works for each side. Rotate the mat 90 degrees clockwise and Tape 1 from the previous position becomes Tape A at the current position. Based on this correction, it follows that when the tape A is bent with the third layer, this same tape A at the end of its path should lie under the same tape A at the other corner. I hope you understand.

You should end up with four layers of birch bark in the corner cells, and at the same time, the end of each strip A in each corner cell is on the third layer (!).

The primitive diagrams show a cut of tape A parallel to the edge of the napkin at various stages of edge formation. Write in the comments how useful such a schematic image is.

Next, you need to fix the new layer with the ends of the tapes 3,5,7. To do this, you need to bend them in the opposite direction, overlapping upper layer ribbon A, and weave under the nearest perpendicular ribbon (under ribbon C in cells C3-C5-C7, respectively). In cells A3, A5, A7, as well as in the corners, there will be four layers of birch bark. The folds of the tapes in the diagram are shown as semi-transparent rectangles.

When the tape does not fit under the cell, it is necessary to increase the gap between the layers with the help of a kochedyk. To be honest, any object that has the right size can help here. I sometimes came across paper clips, dinner utensils or an awl, etc., on hand. The most important thing here is not to break the upper transverse tape.

When the end of the working tape is “fluffy” or bent, you can cut it again in the form of a trapezoid and restore elasticity.

In cell A1, it is necessary to cut the used end of tape A flush with the edge of the napkin. Make sure that all four sides of yours look the same in terms of the location and order of the layers of tapes.

It's time to use the second end of tape A. On all four sides, you should carry out the same actions as with the first end of tape A, but only in the opposite direction.

So, you need to bend the end over the previous layers and fasten it with ribbons 2-4-6, weaving them under the strip B in cells B2-B4-B6, respectively.

At the final stage of the edging we have six layers of birch bark on the corners of the napkin (A1 and A8) and five layers on the intermediate squares (A2-A7).

It is worth replacing that when making the same napkin using the oblique weaving technology, the number of layers in the extreme cells can be no more than four, while a decrease in the layers of straight weave birch bark will lead to delamination of the edge.

If we talk about making an edge with straight weaving for a certain container, then the main condition for the absence of delamination is the presence of a middle layer that will be sandwiched between layers of adjacent cells.

Completion of weaving

When the edge is braided, you should start building up new layers in each cell. In the process of completing weaving, you will inevitably face two tasks:

1. Docking and excision of tapes
2. Working layer selection

Additionally, there may be a situation with the build-up of tapes. However, an overview of all the nuances does not fit into the framework of this master class, so I will put them in separate articles.

At this stage, it is required to braid all the protruding ends evenly into the cells of our napkin. It is necessary to strive for a minimum discrepancy in the number of layers on all cells, as well as for the formation of a uniform surface texture.

To complete the first product, it is enough to close all the "white" cells with the front "yellow" color.

So, we weave the ribbons with the remaining ends between the layers, closing the white cells until both ends of the birch bark strip meet. Then one of the ends is cut off, and the second end is woven over the first with a new layer. At the exit, the remaining end is excised at the exit point along the very edge of the cell so that there is no visible part left.

It is recommended to cut off one of the meeting ends with a residual length in the width of the cell. Then this trim will rest against the exit point of the second end, which will freely weave between the trim and the top layer of the cell.

If the length of the tape is not enough, it is required to weave (increase) a new tape of the same width in place of the previous one. Of course, the length new tape should be enough to cover all "white" areas.

When weaving my napkin, it turned out that all the ribbons were too short, but I had no problem building them up without sacrificing aesthetics and strength.

The completion of the product is always a crucial moment, because as it is formed appearance products, and it is necessary to leave as few defects as possible. To eliminate such defects, I will also try to make a separate article.

Conclusion

Making the first product is a very important step in mastering the technology of birch bark weaving. When creating a primitive product - napkins for a hot mug - almost all the basics of birch bark weaving were involved.

Despite the primitiveness of the napkin, its simple square shape, the execution of this product using direct weaving technology is a complex process. If you can figure out the formation of the edge, the extension of ribbons and at the same time not violate the principle of weaving, observing the necessary density, then in the future you will no longer encounter problems with mastering this craft.

I remind you that if you have any questions, I am always ready to answer them in the comments, personal correspondence or even a detailed answer in the form of an article. In addition, I ask you to actively leave correct and positive comments, because it is this form of author support that will be the best engine for the development of the resource: it’s not difficult for you, but it’s nice for me. :)

Creation of many types of items for various purposes, as well as some elements of products from other materials.

About the occurrence of birch bark weaving

You can’t say anything sensible about the history of the emergence of birch bark, I think. Another thing is that quite a few facts have been testified about the use of birch bark itself, because fragments of birch bark were found that were used for writing, for example. But you must admit that these Novgorod letters dating back to the 11th century were not wickerwork. The emergence of birch bark weaving, as a craft, according to various sources, is attributed to the 18th - 19th centuries, and this is not such a distant past.

I have neither the goal nor the desire to find out when the first piece of birch bark was woven and when it became mainstream, well, in the sense, when this craft became widespread.

I can only say that many evidences of really ancient crafts are documented on the basis of the age of the found products made of very durable materials, which birch bark is not, or on the basis of the age of the tools used in production. For example, pottery is considered to be very ancient, as fragments of pottery were found that are about 8 thousand years old. This also includes weaving, because the oldest loom has a history of 6 thousand years.

But here's what's interesting if you look at the simplest fabric, then you can see perpendicular threads intertwined with each other. It is easy to see that a similar technique underlies weaving from birch bark, where instead of threads there are ribbons. When such a principle of interlacing takes place, nothing prevents it from being extended to other materials, which means why not birch bark weaving arise as soon as a white-trunked tree is found by a person. In any case, this is just speculation and unsubstantiated lyrics.

Birch weaving as a craft

Based on the definition of craft (small manual production), birch bark weaving unequivocally falls under such an interpretation. If we take into account that birch trees are widely found in the northern part of Eurasia and North America, then we can draw conclusions about the approximate area of ​​distribution of birch bark weaving, because when there is material, there will be someone who will use it. Another conversation is that not every type of birch is suitable for weaving, but this is a completely different story. On our land, birch bark was most widely used by the inhabitants of Siberia and the Far East, according to some open sources.

I will allow myself one more assumption about birch bark weaving: birch bark jewelry, various kinds of souvenirs, toys, etc. arose later than utilitarian products. I think that dishes, shoes, and maybe elements of furniture were originally produced, that is, something that allows you to make the life of a peasant more comfortable.

For bulk items, it was possible to weave a container with a lid, for picking berries and mushrooms - a basket or box. Any peasant could weave bast shoes on his knee or repair them right while moving from village to village, if we talk about shoes. For storage of things, chests and caskets could be woven or braided. I would not be surprised if some master of those times came up with a headdress made of birch bark.

Later, most likely, toys and some ritual objects, amulets, which could be on the shelves of fairs, began to appear.

If you do not consider the use of birch bark as weaving, then there is an abundance in general: from construction to fishing floats. You can read about this in an article about the properties of birch bark.

Birch bark could prolong the life, for example, of a broken ceramic product, if it was braided while maintaining its integrity.

Weaving from birch bark goes well with other types of birch bark processing. For example, the outer layer of tuesas can be partially or completely woven, and advantageously complemented by embossing and birch bark carving.

Slightly worse, in my opinion, woven elements look on products, for example, from a rod. I would try to refrain from such crossbreeding, but this may be a matter of taste. From a utilitarian point of view, it does not matter at all what materials are used in the product - here its specific applied benefit is important. The best solution is a compromise between practicality and aesthetics.

Weaving from birch bark XXI

Now weaving from birch bark is still alive in some places in the form of school circles, lives among rare old masters without successors, almost does not live at the level of enterprises engaged in the streaming sale of products. You won’t earn much on this now, and it’s easier to realize yourself in areas other than dying crafts. I, in turn, try to keep information about weaving from birch bark on the Internet.

Of course, you can disagree with me and, by typing the phrase "bark weaving" in Yandex, show many sources where there are craftsmen, and even online stores with an incredible range of wicker products. Yes, someone is still doing it seriously, but definitely not the youth, which means the craft is getting old, and someday it will probably be lost.

You can talk a lot about the reasons for this state of affairs with crafts in general and birch bark weaving in particular, but only this reasoning is a useless exercise. Having studied some needlework, you or I will do much more than just shaking the air about the fact that the world has become synthetic and there is nothing natural left in it.

On the website "SPLETENO.RU" you can see many workshops on weaving from birch bark, where, first of all, the basics of birch bark weaving are considered, allowing you to create complex utilitarian or artistic products on your own. Among the master classes there are training materials on the implementation individual elements, from which basketry is built, as well as articles on the implementation of full-fledged popular items from start to finish.

I really hope that the reader will like and use the information from the articles, and I also hope that you will support the author with a kind word in the comments or show the results of your work to replenish the gallery of photographic materials.

I remind you that the site has a system for sending errors, and although I try very hard to write in an accessible and competent way, I periodically rewrite some articles, it doesn’t always work out as well as I would like, so the help of readers in improving the resource will also not be superfluous. Thanks to everyone who has already helped me make the site more literate.

The article used some materials from the site muz-school9tihvin.eduface.ru

Birch bark is birch bark, or to be more precise, its upper layer. Everyone knows that natural materials- this is the best raw material for making all kinds of crafts for home and personal purposes. That is why, from ancient times in Rus', a tradition was born to make things and household items from birch bark. We will conduct a master class on weaving from birch bark with a video selection for beginners at the end of the article!

It is very important that such products are strong and durable. To this day, things made by hand from this material have been preserved. They are not only individual and original, but also beautiful. If you pay attention to various kinds of products for the home, in Ancient Rus', then almost 90% of them are made of birch bark.

Convenient and multifunctional crafts were in demand not only in ancient times, but also now. Everyone knows that birch bark has a number of properties, thanks to which, for example, midges and bugs will not appear in crafts where flour is stored. Therefore, it is extremely convenient and useful for a person if baskets for cereals, flour, sugar and other bulk substances are made of such material.

Birch bark is extremely resistant to putrefactive bacteria. Therefore, it tends to retain its original appearance and quality of the content in it for a long time. In addition to these undeniable qualities, birch bark has a useful bactericidal property. This fact has been proven by scientists, it is believed that it contains silver ions, with the help of which products are purified, poisons, bacteria and toxins are removed.

Birch bark is a hypoallergenic material, it does not cause itching and irritation on the skin. Many women of fashion prefer exclusive products from it. Because they look not only original, but also spectacular. Each product made of birch bark is a masterpiece, a work of art, so knowing the technology of weaving things from it is very exciting and useful.

In today's article, you will find do-it-yourself birch bark weaving technologies, with detailed wizard- class and manufacturing technique. Here you will discover a world of unexplored fantasies that you did not even know about before. Therefore, in this master class, you will find a lot of useful things for weaving birch bark at home for beginners.

A box, a box, a basket, a bracelet, a cube - all these things can be woven from birch bark without having any special skills in this matter. In addition to the main lesson on making birch bark crafts, you will watch videos according to which you can easily make a thing.

Making a beautiful birch bark box will not take much time and will not take strength. Therefore, prepare your workplace. Let's start making crafts.

Learn to weave birch bark for beginners in a detailed master class

• Knife - cutter
• Birch bark ribbon (20 pieces of 45 cm)
• A flat awl with a hook-shaped blade - kocheldyk.

More than that, you don't need anything. Proceed to form the frame of the future box, it will look like a small basket and a handle.

1. Weave a fabric, always a rectangular shape. As a rule, weaving must begin with 4 ribbons, passing their ends through each other.
2. When will it work right size, bend up the birch bark ribbons.
3. Shape the handles for the basket according to its size. Weave the handle on the fold.
4. Continue weaving from birch bark, bringing out a rectangular box that has a handle.
5. Weave a birch bark ribbon around the handle, which needs to be divided in half so that it is thinner.

Your product is ready. We will be glad if you like our master class. Use birch bark crafts for joy, store things that are pleasant and dear to your heart in a basket.

Tourism is widespread nowadays and more and more foreign citizens want to visit Russian Federation. Many of them are looking forward to bringing home numerous accessories and crafts for relatives and friends. One of these things may be birch bark crafts. When choosing an accessory for the home by a foreigner, recommend a birch bark basket or bast shoes. This craft will be not only original, but also exotic for the guest. Any person will be delighted to know that such a thing is not only beautiful, but also useful.

In the ancient oven, a lot of bread was not accepted. It was highly valued and was in short supply. For this reason, there were no problems with its safety. In the Middle Ages, only members of the royal nobility ate fresh bread, and ordinary peasants got only stale crusts. They began to think about storing bread after most people had a lot of bread. It was at this time that the need for storage arose. Then wicker baskets and small bags began to appear, which were kept suspended from the ceiling in barns. In Rus', they began to weave small containers for storing bread from birch bark. Later, wooden bread bins began to appear, which are the most popular and environmentally friendly. It was birch bark bread bins that were a reliable repository for such a treasure.

Video on this topic of the article

The birch forest gave folk craftsmen a wonderful material - birch bark - light, durable, affordable.

Birch bark consists of many thin but dense layers. Every year a new layer grows on it and it becomes thicker. The outer layers are usually painted white, and the inner one can be yellow, ocher, brown, yellow-green ... This side is called the front side by the masters. Therefore, all products are woven in such a way that the front side is visible, and the white layer is inside the lash.

Weaving is one of the most ancient ways of processing birch bark. From her narrow stripes, just like from bast, in the Russian North they made shoes, pesteri - shoulder bags for picking mushrooms, baskets for berries, toys, dishes, utensils. Many things that the peasants wove in the past have not lost their practical significance even now.

Remove birch bark from the dead birches: fallen or dead. Among the fallen, you need to choose those in which the wood is still strong, and the cambium layer, located between the trunk and the birch bark, has already collapsed, which means that the bark will easily separate from the trunk. Make an incision on a fallen or dead tree. Under the birch bark you will find a dark brown loose layer of cambium. Pry the birch bark with a knife, and it will easily separate from the trunk. Birch bark taken from dead birch trees has its own special decorative qualities. Its inner layer is painted in red-brown color with various shades. If the birch bark is steamed in hot water and rubbed with a stiff brush, it acquires a pinkish or greenish-yellow color.

To remove a long tape from the trunk, draw a line around it in a spiral with an awl. The distance between the turns must be equal to the width of the strip being harvested (fig. 1, pos. 1). Usually, a ribbon 1 to 3 cm wide is used. Small souvenir products are made from a narrower ribbon - 0.5 to 0.7 cm wide. It is difficult to keep a constant distance between the turns, and hence the parallelism of the lines, by eye. Therefore, it is desirable to make a special scriber. It is a steel wire bent in half, the ends of which are sharpened into a cone, rounded and polished so that they easily slide along the birch bark, leaving shallow but clearly visible dents on it. Cut the birch bark along the drawn lines with a cutter and wind the finished tape into a ball. It is even more convenient to cut a birch bark tape of a given width with a special cutter with a limiter. The cutter blade cuts through the birch bark, and the stopper hook simultaneously separates the tape from the trunk.

Rice. 1, pos. 1

The main tool used in birch bark weaving is a flat awl with a hook-shaped bend (Fig. 1, pos. 2). In various regions of Russia, it was called differently: a cat, a kostyg, a pile, a kodochig, a kochedyk, or simply a bastard awl. But still, a flat awl is better known as a kochedyk.

Rice. 1, pos. 2

In addition to the kochedyk, the weaver always had a sharp knife under his hands, with which he cut the ribbons and sharpened their ends. In addition to these two tools, we will also need a shoe awl with a square section, straight with a rounded and polished tip, a joint knife or a shoe knife. Useful in work and scissors. With a shoe awl, we will pierce holes for stitching birch bark, we use a straight line instead of a pencil. Sliding along the birch bark, the polished tip should leave a well-marked mark. The cutter cuts the birch bark into separate ribbons.

For temporary fastening of the lash during the weaving process, simple home-made clamps are used. They are made from a birch rod with a thickness of a pencil and a length of 7-10 cm each. A hole is drilled in the middle of the workpiece, and then it is split from one end along the core to this hole. Instead of homemade clips, you can use clothespins, and when working on small things, paper clips.

Ribbon lash is a rhythmic alternation of squares. Their sides, formed by the interlacing of birch bark ribbons, can be parallel to the base or at an angle of 45 °. In the first case, weaving is called straight, and in the second - oblique. According to the execution technique, direct weaving is simpler than oblique. Therefore, it is necessary to master the techniques of tape weaving from it. Before you get started, practice on paper tapes.

Travel salt shaker

Any product is woven using a template (Fig. 2, pos. 1). To weave a salt shaker that is convenient to take on a hike, you need to choose a template. It can be a box, a bar with a square base. Birch bark ribbons are taken equal in width to one third of the side of the base.

Rice. 2, pos. 1

Lay three ribbons face up on the table and interlace them with the other three. Trim the ends of the tapes into a wedge shape for ease of use. Then bend the ribbons along the edges of the base, press against the edges of the template and tie with thin twine. Starting from the base (bottom), sequentially braid the vertical ribbons of the lash with three rows of horizontal ribbons. Remove the template. It won't be needed anymore. Weave the vertical ribbons together so that the top edge is formed. salt shakers. Close all ends in a whip, leaving only two ribbons at the edge of the square hole. With them you will fasten the neck to the body. Insert the ends of these two ribbons under the ribbons on the top of the cube. You will get two loops. Pass a specially prepared tape into them several times to form a multilayer ring. Pull on the ends of the ribbons and the loops will tighten the ring, pressing it firmly against the top of the salt shaker. Close the remaining ends in a whip. For strength, put a birch bark ring with a special lock on the neck. How the lock is cut out can be seen from the figure (Fig. 2, pos. 2). Immerse the ring connected by the lock for several minutes in hot water. Steamed, it will easily be put on the neck of the salt shaker, and when dry, it will squeeze it tightly.

Rice. 2, pos. 1

No matter how hard you try to fit the tapes tightly to each other, there will still be at least small gaps between them. This means that salt from such a salt shaker will spill out. To prevent this from happening, the whip must be compacted by weaving a second layer of ribbons into it. They are slipped under the first kochedyk. Remember, before you start weaving, you placed the ribbons right side up. Now the front side is inside the salt shaker, and the wrong side is outside. This was done to keep the inside of the salt shaker clean. The same surface should be on the outside. Therefore, the tapes of the sealing layer are woven with the right side out. They complete the work on the salt shaker by making a wooden cork.

The cork is cut out in such a way that it fits snugly into the neck, and its protruding part has a beautiful and convenient shape.

Then the salt shaker is wiped with a cloth soaked in vegetable oil to remove a bluish coating from the birch bark, and rubbed with a dry cloth until a barely noticeable gloss appears.

dust jacket for book

Straight weave can be used in the manufacture of a dust jacket for a book (fig. 3, pos. 2). A template for weaving is cut out of thick cardboard in the form of a rectangle in the format of a book. Thin birch bark ribbons are laid face up, intertwined, a template is placed on them and braided on both sides. Then they are braided with the help of a kochedyk with a second layer so that the ribbons are woven with the right side out. Separately, a bookmark is woven from two narrow ribbons folded in half and attached to the top edge of the dust jacket.

Rice. 3, pos. 2

Lukoshko

A basket for storing food or picking berries can be square or rectangular. The number and width of the tapes used depend on its size. If you decide to make the bottom square, then take an even number of ribbons. Figure 4 shows the sequence of weaving a small basket with a square bottom of eight ribbons. To prevent the whip from falling apart, temporarily fasten it with four clamps in the places where the extreme ribbons are intertwined. In the middle, set the template so that its edges are at an angle of 45 ° to the woven tapes. Lifting part of the whip, remove the clamp and press the whip against one of the edges of the template. Press the other part of the whip to the adjacent edge. By weaving the ribbons pressed to the edges in a checkerboard pattern, you will get one of the corners of the basket. Fasten the woven corner with a clamp and weave the remaining corners in the same sequence. Then continue to weave the side of the basket. For rigidity, weave a birch or wicker hoop into it. Make the perimeter of the hoop equal to the perimeter of the bottom. Cut the ends of the rod into a mustache and tie with strong threads. Put the finished hoop on the body, and bend the ends of the ribbons through the hoop, sequentially slipping them under the ribbons of the first layer of weaving from the outside. As soon as the ribbons run out, slip in new ones and continue working until you have braided the entire basket. The second layer not only strengthens and seals the whip, but also decorates the product.

Rice. 4, 5, 6, 7

Folk craftsmen even developed special techniques for decorative braiding. Figure 4 (pos. 7) shows the sequence of execution of decorative elements, the so-called "envelopes". Other methods of patterned plexus are also known: “checkerboard”, “steps”, “belt”.

It remains to tie the handle to the braided basket. On opposite sides of the board, cut two narrow holes, equal in width to the tape prepared for the handle. Pass the tape through the slots several times. Wrap five or six layers of tape folded together with the remaining end, tightly pressing the coil to the coil. In order for the turns to hold firmly on the handle and not to move after the next turn, the end of the tape must be slipped under the top tape of the handle.

Bar case

Cases for tools or for a whetstone can be made using the oblique weaving method (Fig. 5, pos. 1). Such a bar is usually taken for mowing. The case is woven out on a template cut out from the board. For weaving, six birch bark ribbons are prepared. First, two ribbons are intertwined, bending them in half, and then the rest are intertwined sequentially. The whip is put on the template and braided, tightly fitting one tape to the other.

Having closed the sides, the case is braided with a second sealing layer. A strap is attached to the back wall, for which the case is suspended from a belt or wall.

coasters

For weaving a cup holder, you need to take narrow ribbons. The narrower they are, the denser they will lie on a cylindrical shape. For the template, a wooden cylinder is taken, hand-hewn or machined on a lathe. Before starting work, the tape can be held a little in warm water. Steamed birch bark becomes more elastic and easily bends around the shape. However, the birch bark ribbons should not be pulled too tight, otherwise the cup holder will be difficult to remove from the template when the ribbons dry. The side of the cup holder can be made not straight, but “teeth” (Fig. 5, pos. 2).

Tueski

Folk craftsmen often decorate tueski with wicker "shirts". Figure 6 (pos. 1) shows the device of a box designed for storing dry products.

Pester

This is the name of a shoulder bag for picking mushrooms like a knapsack. It fits well on the back and doesn't pull the arms like a basket. The motley is also woven according to a pattern - a box that is suitable in shape and size, just like a basket. The side of the front wall is made lower than the rear, and the side walls have a bevel at an angle of 45 ° (Fig. 6, pos. 2). Having closed the front and side walls, they continue to weave the back. Its protruding part serves as a pestle cover. Having closed the edges of the cover, braid the pestle a second time and attach the straps. They are made in the same way as the basket handle. For strength, place a canvas strip between the tapes. Attach two fasteners in the form of flat boards with cutouts equal to the width of the birch bark ribbons on the low wall of the pestle. Slip the planks at the corners under the lash ribbons. Make loops of twine or rawhide and tie them at the corners of the lid.

Birch bark ribbons can be used for braiding glass and metal utensils: bottles, cans, flasks (Fig. 3, pos. 1). Birch bark braiding not only decorates nondescript glassware, but also reliably protects it from impacts. In addition, in a flask braided with birch bark, the water remains cool for a long time in the summer. In the old days, thin birch bark ribbons were wrapped around cracked pottery. Birch bark securely fastened individual shards. Thanks to her, clay pots served for many years.

Rice. 3, pos. 1

Birch bark is called pliable thin birch bark, which is fertile ground for creativity. What is made from birch bark? A lot of products: bread bins, boxes, other household items and even jewelry! Wicker souvenirs have always been in good demand, whether they are small crafts in kindergarten or voluminous pester for picking mushrooms.

Such crafts are simple, but look incredibly beautiful. A small master class will help beginners master the art of birch bark weaving. Making something beautiful is easy!

Do not be afraid to start classes in such a type of needlework as weaving from birch bark. For him, as well as for knitting, there are simple and understandable patterns, pictures illustrating the process, and various master classes and video lessons.

Bark harvesting should be carried out in late May - early July. It is during this period that it is easy to remove, it has a pleasant golden hue. Remember that birch bark can only be removed from fallen trees in the places of planned felling. Remove bark from trees standing on the vine, it is impossible: this is how irreparable harm is done, they can die. The basic harvesting rules are as follows:

What tools are used when working with birch bark:

• cutters;
• punches from tubes of different diameters and shapes (circle, oval, rhombus, etc.), sheet steel can be used instead of tubes;
• chasings - tools with the help of which an in-depth relief is applied, both thick copper rods and thick wood (boxwood, pear, juniper) can serve as a material for them;
• awls, the end of which is slightly blunted;
• lime or aspen scoring boards;
• wooden hammers;
• wire;
• metal rulers.

Crafts from birch bark are very popular, they can become not only a worthy decoration of the interior, but also great gift for adults as well as for children. Even beginners will find it easy to figure out how to weave crafts from birch bark with their own hands. Detailed master class this will help, in particular, you can make a beautiful box of birch bark with your own hands.

Gallery: birch bark crafts (25 photos)

It can be oblique and straight, depending on the angle of the intersecting ribbons relative to the horizon. The main one is oblique weaving, such crafts are more durable. straight weave suitable when creating planar products - napkins, book covers, etc. Volumetric products - baskets, vases, caskets, flat-type straps can be made using the oblique weaving method. This master class will introduce you to the technique of making crafts.

An important nuance: in the direct weaving technique, the number of ribbons can be any, and with oblique weaving, only an even number.

In creating a basket of birch bark The first and most important step is to create the bottom. It is obtained by interlacing the stripes until a square is formed on which a chessboard can be seen. The size depends only on the number of tapes used: 4x4, 6x6, etc. The number of tapes: 8, 12, etc. To fix the strips during the weaving process, weights (for example, glass) with clamps are used. After receiving a clear square, they begin to mark the bottom, it may have square or rectangular shape.

Then proceed to the formation of the walls. In the technique of direct weaving of birch bark baskets, the volume is formed around templates with appropriate sizes. All protruding strips in turn should be bent at a right angle to the top and tied with ropes. Then, from any angle, additional horizontal stripes are drawn, and vertical ones are intertwined with them. The height of the finished box depends on the number of horizontal stripes.

In oblique weaving, the corner should be formed at the place of marking, crossing and interlacing adjacent strips. After all the corners are intertwined, the desired height of the birch bark is set. . To ensure that the product has even walls, you can apply the template around which the product was formed. When working, the walls are pressed all the time, and a dense wall is obtained.

After completing the inner part of the tape, bend down and start weaving the outer layer. All crafts consist of two layers, both external and internal will be visible. If the length is not enough, it should be increased: bring it under the previous layer, gently lifting it with scissors or an awl with a blunt end. Usually, birch bark weaving end on the outside of the bottom.

Weaving bread bins from birch bark

If you want to complement the interior of the kitchen with an unusual, but beautiful and unique element made of wood, try to weave a birch bark bread box with your own hands. The weaving technique is called “rug” by folk craftsmen: to collect an even number of strips, fold, stretch and twist on a horizontal plane. front side tapes birch bark should be placed on top, and the resulting surface will be placed bottom to bottom.