Making a Birch Bark Basket
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- I show the process of building a birch bark container with a lid. Working with birch bark is a traditional skill that is still practiced today. Personally I've seen many beautiful baskets made by Atikamekw(first nations) artists in Québec. Amongst other uses, birch bark can be used to build containers, shelters, and canoes. I have become very passionate about working with bark and love to learn as I go and I always try to improve my knowledge and skills.
BIrch bark quiver making video by my friend : • Fabrication d'un carqu...
Books used : Bark Canoes and skin boats of North America by Edwin Tappan Adney & Indian Handcrafts by Keith Wilbur.
Music :
- Parting Glass by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Artist: audionautix.com/
-Acoustic Guitar 1 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Artist: audionautix.com/
Great work... and well done on explaining and sharing how to do it... I will try this think it's just something hands on to learn it by doing it... thanks for sharing there eh!
Thanks for showing how you work. I’ve made a lot of birchbark baskets, but your shape at the beginning is the hardest to perfect, I find. Having a perfectly square base is so lovely.
You are so welcome! I made a pattern that is basicly only 1/4 of the basket. The shape is exactly the same 4 times. So I trace my 1/4 shape and then flip it side to side and bottom to bottom. Which gives your shape 4 perfectly same corners. That shape can be a square or a rectangle and give you a different basket shape. It is hard to explain in a comment but hopefully this is clear as mud ! Thanks for stopping in and checking out my video, regards, Steve.
You’re welcome. I’ll fold a paper in four and cut it once. I’ll stop your video and trace it on the monitor. 😍
early morning came across you i was taken back by how much you looked familiar to my son i make birch items very nice video
Thank you ! I am glad you enjoyed the video. Birch items and work is so satisfying. Have a nice day ! Steve
Your baskets are beautiful. The talent of this craft has undoubtedly been passed down in your blood from your ancestors. 🌀
Really awesome but/and *PLEASE CONSIDER ADDING A NOTE (or embedding a note in vid)* about how this bark comes from a felled (cut) tree. I just think that needs to be spelled out for non-outdoors ppl who might unknowingly kill live trees by peeling little souvenirs for themselves from standing trees. Most ppl appreciating this vid won't do that but IMO every little bit of that kind of reminder/info helps. Thank you for demonstrating this basket. Awesome first nations know-how in action. Thank you thank you!
Bark from dead trees is great. In many ways prettier. What many don't know is you can remove ( top layer ) of bark without harming the tree. the bark will kind of grow back. Actually the bark left just hardens , thickens and turns a darker color. Someone who doesn't know what he's doing could go to deep and harm the tree. I agree with what your saying , to point. I've seen trees in parks that had bark removed for whatever reason and it's not pretty. Trees were alive though. This guys lives in the wilderness and can't really stop vandalism by adding a "note". It would be a better world if he could.
What a great job
Thank you Nancy, I truly appreciate it ! Steve
Another creative work from Nomadic which his work delicacy about basket from Mother Nature contributes material Nomadic needs to create awesome basket. Well done.
Thanks my friend !
I am native and also make birch bark baskets. Loved the bigger pattern for a basket. Can you show us how you do the pictures on the basket?
Is all wood used birch?
@@TheBlackxice might be thin cedar with lots of hot water to bend it
@@AdmiralBiach so same process just different woods?
@@TheBlackxice pretty well, lots of hot water and patience poured onto the cedar
@@AdmiralBiach thanks
Man did you ever impress me, That basket is a great blending of skill, artistry & care. Thanks Brian 77
Brian Spencer Thanks so much Brian !
What a fine piece of art that is! Great work man! Thankd for the inspiration.
Thank you kindly!
Super travail de ''Pro''!...et je ne parle pas seulement de la confection du plat, je parle aussi de la vidéo, bonnes explications des techniques, bonnes prises de vues, bonne musique, tout est parfait.
Merci mon ami ! J'ai eu beaucoup de bonne aide pour la construction ... ça aide beaucoup hihi !
@@NomadicWoodsman Honnêtement est une très belle qualité! 🌟
Outstanding piece.
Thank you so much for sharing your work! Now I can start my project.
Great looking piece. Planning to make some containers soon myself so I’m researching them now. Thanks for what you do.
Thank you, I have made a spruce bark canoe and spruce bark basket video as well that you may enjoy. I will get some more bark project videos out in the summer, I do need to go gather some winter bark here just before the leaves come out. :) Cheers and thanks for passing by my channel ! NW
Very very interesting and instructive.
Tell us a little about you and your journey in making these beautys😉
So beautiful
Thank you! Cheers!
Oh I can't wait to watch this! I have road trips and meet ups this week. Gotta hit the road. I'll be back to watch! I love this stuff!
shlisa shell Hi my friend hope you like the video ! Drive safe and have a good week.
Great video! I had a great trip and meet ups. Learning a new editor. It may be a long time before I will be able to publish it. lol You make beautiful baskets♥ I can wait for the snow vids again!
Thanks ! Me too snow is on it's way soon !!! :)
Wow méchante job! Félicitations. Un des plus beaux paniers d'écorse que j'ai vu!
Merci Martin !
Good job.
Nice job my friend!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks :) !
Wow !! C'est tout simplement magnifique !! Quel talent et très beau vidéo ! Merci de partager on aimerait tous pouvoir en faire un comme celui là 😊
Isa de la Villa merci ! C'est gentil.
Beautiful basket. You are quite an artist and craftsman. Great at producing top quality videos as well. Thanks for sharing. Congrats!
Thanks so much. :)
Молодец -просто -доступно -красиво -под старину
Thank you !
Nicely done...
Thanks !
Awesome basket! Great video! You have lots of skills! Salut! Des Canton de l’eat👍
Thanks so much! 😊 Je suis originaire du Saguenay Lac-St-Jean, merci du commentaire c'est apprécié ! Salutations.
C’est super ce que tu fais! Nous allons apprendre énormément à regarder tes vidéos. Merci!
Beautiful work,so talented
Thank you Jack !
Great work
Thanks !
Amazing!! Truly talented you are!! Thanks for sharing!!
A pleasure sharing ! Thanks for checking it out.
Funny... the music, "the parting glass"...which is Irish...lol
beautiful work you earned a subscriber 👋
Thanks and welcome ! I am working on a video for tomorrow on my birchbark canoe advancement ! :)
wow great job ,i love it
Thanks ! I'm happy you like !
Those baskets are so ornate! The ones I make look very primitive in comparison.
Thanks, they take me up to 40 hours to make. I can make some more simple ones but they won't be as decorative and long lasting. Thanks for checking it out !
👍 👍
Great skills you have there. Love the workmanship!
Thanks I appreciate it ! :)
never used water to bend before just used heat from fire or used a stove top to heat and bend.
👍
Awesome birch bark container. You have a sweet channel!!!!
Thanks ! I appreciate it !
Very nice work
Loved it great work taught me allot thank you for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Birch BAAARK approves
Beautiful work, looks awesome. Would you be able to send me a picture of the pattern you use for the large container ? Also what type wood did you use for the top piece around the rim? Thanks
The rim looks like strips of cedar. Red cedar is very soft, and it can be cut into strips and soaked.
The one I used for this basket was a spruce strip. White spruce. Like Grapes said, cedar works awesome, probably better than spruce. I did many in the past with eastern white cedar strips.
Absolutely beautiful
Great job turned out amazing.
Thanks !
It's really beautiful, I love the décoration and the shape I'm looking for a tool like the one that you use at the beginning of your work , a sort of crock, could you tell me where I can find the same ? Thank you by advence
This is amazing! I uploaded a video on how to extract birch bark in the hopes of making a container or such so this video has helped, thanks a lot ✌🏼
Absolutely beautiful work mate, excellent video thanks for sharing
Great to see you create such a lovely piece 👍
Take care
Roo
Thanks so much !
Great looking Basket .. Since you made a quiver I'm assuming you also bow hunt ? Have you made any bows/arrows.
Stunningly beautiful. What knobs gave this a thumbs down?
Your videos are like a surprise package. You never know what the topic will be. Love the fire barrel.. Excellent craftsmanship in the basketwork. What was the diameter of the birch you harvested the bark from? Thanks for the totorial. Everything is traditional except for the C.T. clamps!
Haha thanks I try to keep videos outdoors related but love to share my different passions lol. Tree circumference was 66 cm so diameter was 21 cm. Clamps work well at keeping the bark in place while i sew. I could make some wooden ones if I really needed too I guess. Thanks so much for watching & commenting my friend.
That place looks familiar ;)
How did you make the geese and other designs???! Beautiful work!
Thank you! 😊 When you use bark that was gathered in early spring it has that dark colour on the inside. It is the cambium layer of the bark which occurs in winter. You can scratch it off and have that 2 coloured design.
Gorgeous work brother. How did you create the geese and snowflakes on the sides? Peace to you from Alaska!
check out my more recent video on scraping winter bark designs on the canoe. The bark is gathered before the leaves come out, then when you scrape off that thin layer, it gives you the 2 different colour tones for the designs. Cheers !
What an amazing piece of craftsmanship. It really is beautiful. I would love to try this. How long was this process?
Thanks Sionnah ! Including the time spent gathering the materials and making winter bark designs, I would say it took me around 40 to 50 hours of work to make my basket.
Nomadic Woodsman I have to say, what you created are priceless artifacts that my 6 yr old daughter's Native American heritage cherish and what many of them created for utilitarian purposes but are also beautiful. Keep creating. Keep teaching. Always remember your feelings as you made each masterpiece. Exceptional work. Thank you!
Thanks so much for the kind words. Really appreciated. Makes me want to continue !
I have made one similar to this but instead of wooden splints around the top, I just used another piece of bark to go around it
That is a great idea, and less difficult to bend the wooden splint. The bark is stiff enough to re enforce the basket and supple enough to go around. I will do that next time !
Quelle dextérité, et merci pour la transmission des techniques ancestrales. C'est du bouleau gris?
Merci ! C'est du bouleau blanc (Betula papyrifera). Coutures de racines d'épinette noire et contour en épinette noir aussi.
Como preparar esse material que você costura??🤔🤔
It would be nice if you could tell me where I could find a tool like the one you are using at the begining of the video , a sort of long open crock , many thanks , and it's a beautiful work well done. !
Hi this one is called a mocotaugan or crooked knife. They're mostly made by hand and quite rare to find nowadays. The specific one in the video was made by martin lotmigny from Montreal. He had a website called archeofact or something like that and I had ordered it from him.
Hello, thank you for your answer, yes I finally have found one ,
Greetings!
Beautiful, thank you for this video. Still curious to know, how did you make embellishment prints on the basket, I.e. duck, floral, etc..?
The bark is harvested in the early spring, before leaves are out, or just as the leaves are starting to come out. This is called winter bark. You can get the bark wet and scrape off the thin layer of brown off and it gives you the two tones / colours.
@@NomadicWoodsman great, thanks for the tip, I will try that!
How thick does the bark need to be to be useful when making this with it?
For baskets most barks are thick enough if you collect it using a knife and you take the totality of the external bark. Sometimes it is even too thick. Bark would probably be 1/8 inch thickness or a bit less. I've collected bark up to 1/4 inch thick for birch bark canoes, but that's very thick, almost too thick to work with for baskets and shaping the bark.
@@NomadicWoodsman Amazing, thanks so much, that good to know. Have you any videos of craving the art work on the baskets? You don't show you doing it in this video, but would love to see. What do you find is the best tool do the engravings with?
Would you add a pattern and list of materials in the notes section?
I cannot insert any photos or documents in the description of the video. All materials I used are pretty much seen in the video. I will try to make another video showing some of my patterns I've used in the future. Thanks for asking and watching ! I made a whole series this summer on building a 13 foot canoe with spruce bark. I have alot of tutorial style information in those videos as well. The equipment and process for baskets is very similar to canoes. Cheers from Alberta, Canada !
Love it! How many hours did it take you to make it. It is beautiful and functional.
Thanks for checking it out my friend. I would say it took me around 40-50 hours to make the basket with the lid. Takes time to gather all materials and scratch the winter bark designs. :)
I bet! Worth it at the end. Have you ever thought of selling them?
Yes, thought about it.
Awesome work man! Subbed ya'. :)
Thanks ! I subbed you as well looks like a nice channel you have ! :)
Very well crafted. What did you use to do the stitching with.
Spruce tree roots. Thanks !
Thank you
I am into bark containers as well. Wished I'd seen your video last year , lol ! It would have saved me some time I'm sure. I've gathered bark , spruce root and some cedar this summer and can't wait for the snows to come and drive me indoors. The one thing I don't have and need is a crooked knife. Yours looks "store bought". Could ya help me out with a source please. Is that spruce root you're useing? I have white spruce i picked. Is black spruce any better?
Hi thanks for the comment and checking out the video. I have a few crooked knives, the one in this video was made by an artisan I know called Martin, here is his website he reproduces all kinds of north American native style artifacts from different era's. Here is his site : www.abotec.ca/en/index_fichiers/reproductions.htm . I also used for a long time a simple store bought knife that was used to clean horse hooves. The spruce root in the video is white spruce, works very well. If it is too difficult to remove the bark from the roots, make them boil a bit and the bark is way easier to remove. Hope this helps !
The spruce root i pulled stripped pretty easy but it was early spring and may have been sappy. If i have to harvest in summer I'll keep the boiling in mind tho. Thanks for the link to your friend too. I used to have a hoof knife to. I saw in a book years ago someone made one from a file. Probably be a fun project but lots of work. Can't wait to see some more of your videos. Keep it up. I've got a bunch of slippery elm bark i collected last summer. I think I might try your design from this video to make some containers.
Yes crooked knives were made with old files, it is in my to-do list to make one, just haven't had the time yet. There is a few weeks when the buds open and the sap is running that the roots are easy to peel, you collected at the perfect time. You can watch my other video Making a Spruce Bark basket, I used a similar design but made the basket a bit bigger and more rectangular. Cheers ! :)
Love the work you did on this basket! Well done! I have several questions for you. What time of year do you collect your winter bark? I collect the regular type in June but I have never had anyone tell me if there is a magic time to collect winter bark and if there are any special techniques to collect it. I also am terrible at pattern making. My baskets have been small because I blew up some drawings from books that I have. I was wondering if you would be willing to sell a cardboard pattern of the main part of the basket you made in the video. It is the size I have been looking to make. Love your channel . Thanks
Winter bark is collected in spring just before leaves come out.In my area this is around end of April. You can also collect in the fall once the leaves have fallen, if the tree is ''sleeping'' so no growth/no actual sap flowing you will have winter bark. The winter bark is harder to collect as it is ''stuck'' on the wood and you have to scratch it out with another piece of bark or what works great is a flexible plastic sheet that you slide between bark and wood. Watch some videos on birch bark canoe construction/builds you will see the bark collection process. Send me and email at primitivewoodsman@gmail.com I will try to find my pattern and send you a picture of it. Thanks for the comment.
What is your email ? I have found my pattern and taken a picture of it. I will send it to you with your email.
@@NomadicWoodsman I saw a video were the guy was using a spatula. I don't think he was working winter bark though.
Hello I didn’t realize a year ago that my son was logged into my phone under his account and I had messaged you under his. I had asked you about a pattern and I have only now seen your reply. My email is rguano@gmail.com. I would be happy to pay you for a pattern. Sorry for this delay and confusion. Rog Rosloniec
@@flyrog07 I just emailed you. You should recieve some photos ! :)
Chi Miigwech Niij. Ginaajiwé Wiigwas artwork.
Wachiya miigwech for watching !
Awesome! You should do a canoe!!!
It's definetly on the list !
@@NomadicWoodsman Hope you do a vid on that. I've been collecting material for one but good bark is holding me back. might do a Dogrib style. They had small , crappy trees , just like me. I have found some fairly decent cedar and split out a good start.
@@timothylongmore7325 watch my series i did last summer. I built a canoe with spruce bark instead of birch bark. You need a pretty big spruce but easier to find than good birch in my opinion. I am planning on building another canoe with birch bark next summer !
@@NomadicWoodsman Yeah cool. I cruised through your home page and saw that. Can't wait to watch them. We have big spruce but I never saw one that did'nt have branches right to the ground. I got a huge elm behind my barn that would make a great canoe but man it'd be a heavy boat.
@@timothylongmore7325 Elm were uaed by iroquois to make really big canoes. Spruce and elm make more crude canoes than fine birch bark. But it can and was done :)
Are you stitching with spruce root?
Yes
🙂🙂🙂❤👌
thanks !
My goodness. Great work. What is the name of that curved knife you used. Where can I get one.
It is called a crooked knife, or mocautaugan. They are mostly homemade. I do not know a good online place to purchase them unfortunately.
Where did you get the crooked knife at?
Made by Martin Lotmigny in Quebec he used to have a website called archeofact or something like that.
Do you make any Ash baskets?
Not yet unfortunately. Only bark.
do you steam the wood for the rim before bending it? I have been trying to make wooden rims for my ash baskets and havent been able to bend them to shape without breaking them.
also a little verbal instruction could add a lot to the video :)
You need to keep the thin splint of wood in water for 1 or 2 weeks so that it absorbs all the water. Then you want to put the whole piece of wood in boiling water for 10 or 15 minutes depending how thick the wood is. Then you slowly shape it. If it has any knots it will snap. Also, split wood is better than sawed or cut wood as it will follow the grain. Hope this helps ! I will make more videos on this subject :)
What are you sewing/binding it together with? Thank you for sharing this video!
Boiled and peeled spruce roots. I used those an explained the process in another video on my spruce bark canoe build. They are an excellent natural binding material. Thanks for the question !
It's okay to show us how to do baskets but you never said what you used for the rim and your technigue for bending them. A little naritive might have helped us. I apoligize for the spelling, English was not my strongest point. Us natives use saskatoon branches for the rim, When fresh easy to bent. I use heat from stove or camp fire to bend my birch. Will have to give the water thing a try. Never told us what you used to sew basket with and how to prepare. It is beautiful work , love the designs on basket.
hi thank you for the comment. The rim here is a split piece of white spruce. It also works well with eastern cedar. The idea is to shave it down and keep it along the grain of the wood... The lashing used are split spruce roots, I have multiple other videos on collecting, boiling and preparing spruce roots. The process for my roots is the same for a basket or a canoe. I would encourage you to check out those videos. I had also done some videos on the spruce bark canoe rib splitting with spruce and also with eastern cedar splitting some thin planks. I use these planks for basket rims. Saskatoon branches and willow works very well for sure. I use some boiling water to make the wood more flexible. It is the same method as when bending ribs for a birchbark canoe, you soak your wood for a few days, then steam it or pour boiling water on it, and then slowling bend it to required shape. Then fix it in place with a clamp or root lashing. Hope this helps ! thanks again for checking out my video, respectfully, Steve
Awesome video! What are you using for lacing if you don't mind me asking?
Thanks Mike. Lacing is all spruce roots(either white spruce or black spruce, both work well). Thanks for watching !
How did you carve the designs??
You need winter bark for it. The winter bark has a layer on top of it naturally. You simply make it wet and then scratch it off with a knife. In my last video that i posted this week i harvested some winter bark, now is the time to harvest it before the leaves come out on the trees, then it is summer bark.
@@NomadicWoodsman Okay cool. This is the inside bark right?
@@zaboobebop Yes between the tree wood and bark. The outside of the tree is white and goes on the inside of the basket.
👍😍👏👏👏👏🇧🇷Brasil
Thank you, cheers from Canada !
mind if i ask how you create the images on the basket, do you remove an extra layer of bark or color it?
When you gather the bark early in the spring, it has a natural dark colouring on it. It is the inside of the bark along the wood. It has this in the winter. Bark is called winter bark. If you get it wet and scratch of a layer, you get the designs. If the bark is gathered in hot summer weather it is more of a pale yellow colour and you cannot do designs on it.
@@NomadicWoodsman Hey thanks after more research i came upon the answer .thank you for your time nice work!
What kind of tool is that curved one?
It is called a crooked knife or mocotaugan. Traditional tool made and used by first nations in Northeastern America.
@@NomadicWoodsman Thank you! I'm just learning about this.
Are you only supposed to collect bark in the spring?
@@Opaleyesopen Spring and summer, it is easier to peel when the weather is warm (more than 20C and the sap is flowing between bark and wood). If earlier spring while leaves are coming out, we call it winter bark. And you can scrape off those designs on it, geese and stars, etc. if you collect in warmer weather it is easier to peel but you won't be able to scrape off the designs on it. Will still make a beauty basket though !
@@NomadicWoodsman Maybe if you put it in the freezer. 😂
Can you tell us what you used for lashing ? Never mind, spruce roots ?
Yes, split spruce roots. The hard part with those is taking the bark off and then splitting them all equal sizes. I usually boil them for the bark is easier to peel. and then split them lengthwise once or twice depending on how big the are.
Thank you, it looks like a good project to work on over a couple of weeks. A little "zen" work so to speak. Subscribed. Will be watching for more "projects" in your new and older videos. Thanks again.
I found a birch canoe book and they mentioned using basket ash for bindings too. Black/brown ash pounded splints. Probably not any easier to make. I've done both. I sell ash splints for basketry but I don't sell spruce root. Both are fun to make anyhow. Just thought I'd pass along the info
How do you stop the birch from splitting when you puncture a hole? I have been using an awl, some of my holes keep splitting :(
Hi Shauna, some barks split more easily than others. Every tree/bark has different properties / thickness etc. I would try to puncture holes farther from the edge of the bark. Also, triangle shape or square shape awls are better than round as, when you rotate the awl it will remove some fibers/bark instead of just splitting it apart. Another option you could do is use a very small drill bit and drill a small hole, and then expand it by separating the fibers with the awl. If you drill too big of a hole though it will be very apparent and will look odd. Hope this helps ! Thanks for the question. NW
Bark from dead trees splits really easy. It's pretty tho
What wood did you use for the cordage??
Split spruce roots without bark and soaked in water :)
what is material u used for stiching?
Spruce roots split in half and bark removed.
Very nice! What did you use to paint the designs?
Thanks ! The designs are scratched off of the winter bark. If bark is gathered early before summer, it has a layer of reddish colour on it which can be scratched off to create the designs :)
@@NomadicWoodsman oh wow that's really neat, thanks for getting back to me!
@@hannahlong6830 no problem thanks for watching ! :)
Does anyone have the pattern for this?
I do :)
Nomadic Woodsman I would really appreciate if you shared, looking to make one for berries.
@@xXDevinNaveauXx Give me your email or send it to me at primitivewoodsman@gmail.com. i will send you a photo of my template. You can replicate it from the photo. It is a great size gor berries. I collected fiddleheads with it in my last video and it worked awesome.
Sure hope you didnt take that bark off a live tree.
This one was of a dead tree. :)
@@NomadicWoodsman waa about to say the same thing. Lately I've been drawn to birch bark. No real reason why. So I started harvesting bark and chaga from down trees. I will in no way bother a live healthy tree.
Did u use root for tok hold the basket
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