All about birch bark crafts

Birch bark, in other words birch bark, is one of the most popular materials for making souvenirs and useful things. These are the widest possibilities for creating natural decorative elements, as well as dishes, baskets and even shoes.

Birch bark is a special, unique and amazing material with a long history. The ancient Russians found the widest range of applications for it:

• birch bark served as a writing base;

• they made protective amulets and ornaments from it;

• fishing tackle, boats and even temporary shelters;

• birch bark was used to make a wide variety of dishes in which bulk and liquid products were stored;

• containers for carrying were prepared from it - baskets, tues, boxes, baskets.

And, finally, shoes and even clothes were woven from birch bark. For example, the Vytegorsk United Museum keeps a shirt, trousers, a birch bark hat, not to mention boots and bast shoes. How convenient it was is a secondary question, but forced people in Ancient Russia did not always have the means for linen clothes - most of the income went to quitrent, and families were numerous. The native birch came to the rescue, which served, among other things, as a pharmacy (birch tar, bark, leaves, buds, chaga and even roots).

Birch bark products do not cause allergic reactions, which makes them not only beautiful, but also safe.

To make a craft from birch bark, you need to prepare a working material. The workpiece is produced in several ways - in layers, chippings (cylinders), belts. Experts say that it is the tapes that are most suitable for mastering the basics of working with birch bark.

The question arises of how to prepare birch bark. For professional mining in large quantities, you need a set of tools: an ax, a saw, a knife, a wire. It is necessary to collect birch bark from mid-June to mid-July - at this time it peels off easily. The following technology is the simplest one.

• It is necessary to choose a tree with smooth bark, make a longitudinal incision on its southern side (it is easier to peel off the bark there).
• After that, two circular cuts are made at the upper and lower edges of the longitudinal. In this case, it is imperative to monitor the depth of the cut - it must remain within the cork layer, otherwise the tree will not be able to grow bark and die.
• With a knife or spatula, the incised part is gently lifted and separated.
• The result is a layer of birch bark (skloten). If there are several of them, then all of them are stacked, with alternating inner and outer sides of the bark, pressed by the load.
• With birch bark, not intended for long-term storage, they begin to work immediately, until it is dry and remains soft and pliable. This means that it must be split into strips and plates.

Further operations are carried out the next day. The top layer of birch bark needs sanding to remove particles of dust, debris, dirt. The seamy part is softer and more delicate, it is gently wiped with a soft cloth.

• Then it's time for the next stage. Warm water is poured into a deep, spacious bowl, a little table salt is added. In this solution, birch bark is kept for 2-3 days.
• After soaking and drying, birch bark easily exfoliates into thin layers and ribbons. The resulting material is ironed, then sorted by color and pattern.

There is an even easier way to get birch bark for the first crafts. An incision on the trunk is made small, 4-5 cm, the edges of the bark are peeled off, after which it remains to remove a strip from the birch with a tape around the trunk. The tape is immediately rolled into a roll with the white side up.

Children should start with the simplest birch bark crafts. Little craftsmen with their own hands will be able to make simple products from birch bark, such as flat figures of animals, a circle stand for a mug or plate, unpretentious panels, paintings or autumn work.

Crafts made from birch bark for children in kindergarten, as well as for schoolchildren on the theme of autumn, are made from processed birch bark. Primary school students are able to make a house, a three-dimensional figure, for example, a flower or salt shaker, a beautiful stand for hot dishes decorated by burning or applying to school for an exhibition.

Products such as animal figurines can be flat or three-dimensional. For a flat model, you need to make an animal pattern, for example, draw on paper and cut out. Then circle the stencil with a pencil on the birch bark, cut out and at the same time cut the birch bark ribbons. Punch holes along the edge of the parts. The halves are folded right side out and sewn with birch bark braid. In this way, you can make hot coasters, key rings and much more.

Highly professional birch bark products become a full-fledged part of the interior, and sometimes an accent. Children can also be involved in their manufacture.

To work with birch bark you need tools:

• knife, ruler and clamps;
• square, rail and compasses;
• punch, awl, pliers and staples;
• ballpoint pen, pencil and tin templates.

In addition, a dry soft cloth and vegetable oil can be useful in the work. What follows is a simple instruction on how to make several products step by step.

One of the easiest crafts for beginners is made from strips of birch bark cut from processed birch bark. To make a box, you need to prepare tools, 12 birch bark ribbons 45 cm long and 2 cm wide, paper clips.

1. 6 strips are taken as a basis, laid out in parallel on the table.
2. The next tape is passed in the center through the laid strips, alternating the top and bottom positions.
3. With the other strip, the process is repeated, only in the opposite direction and opposite position. In this way, all loose birch bark ribbons are woven.
4. After all the bands are in action, it is time for further action. To begin with, all vertical and horizontal ribbons are tightly shifted to obtain a solid canvas. In this case, the same length of the free edges must be observed, and the braided part must be located strictly in the center.
5. The resulting corners are fastened with paper clips.
6. After that, they begin to weave the sidewalls - the free ends are intertwined in a checkerboard pattern. The action begins with central stripes with loose ribbons gradually interwoven. The process ends at the upper edge of the product.
7. To make the edges look neat and the product finished, the protruding ends are folded over and hidden in the weaving.

The result is a sturdy product in the form of a square basket-box.

If everything is done correctly, then for a strong and reliable structure, you can weave the cover using the same technology.

A panel is a wonderful decorative element that will be useful not only as an exhibit for an exhibition, but also as a gift to family or friends.

To make it you will need:

• cardboard for crafts;
• chopped birch bark and thin birch bark;
• pencil, scissors, PVA glue and glue gun;
• decorative elements in the form of wooden beads, as well as a soft cloth to keep the work clean.

Cardboard can be pasted over with colored paper for creativity, especially since now it is presented in a huge assortment - a background made of velvet paper will look original.

1. If smooth cardboard is used, then PVA glue is applied to its surface, and sprinkled with bark particles on top. After drying, the non-sticking particles are shaken off. Velvet paper does not need this kind of decoration. There is only one condition - the background must be contrasting with birch bark. Light birch bark material will look perfect against deep blue, chocolate or black backgrounds.
2. Next, they draw on paper a sketch of the future composition, for example, a flower. Draw petals, leaves, stems and more.
3. All elements are cut for use as stencils.
4. They are laid out on a birch bark base, outlined, then cut out.
5. After that, the birch bark blanks are glued with hot glue in accordance with the sketch on the panel. First, the lower parts of the picture are fixed, then the next, superficial, smaller details.

During the final stage, all that remains is to add decorative elements such as, for example, beads.

To create a picture, you will need the following materials:

• cardboard and photo frame;
• dense birch bark in the form of a pebble;
• gouache and watercolor, glue and paint brushes, hair spray.

After the choice is made, the material must be soaked in warm water and left in this form for a week.

1. After the expiration of the period, the stage-by-stage creation of the picture is started.
2. The bark is soaked, now you need to carefully remove the top layer from it to the birch bark.
3. The resulting material is applied to a cardboard cut to the size of the photo frame and glued to it. The excess is cut off.
4. Now comes the turn of the art work.
5. In the upper part of the birch bark, you need to apply blue paint, depicting the sky.
6. Clouds should be drawn against the background of the sky.
7. The center section will be filled with green tints for the grass and path. By the way, it remains unpainted.
8. Green-gray shadows are applied to the relief of the canvas. In the lower part, a lake should be depicted with lambs of waves and a bridge near the shore, near which there is an empty boat.
9. On the tops of the mountains, the snow whites of the glaciers stand out with white paint.
10. Starting to depict the crown of a birch, they use the "brush dancing" method - light movements from top to bottom. For greater reliability, you need to add a few strokes of yellow shades there.
11. When drawing the trunk, you should remember about the obligatory black strokes.
12. White daisies are painted along the shores of the lake, light sketches of a village visible in the distance are made.
13. Now houses and other details are being drawn in more detail.
14. At the base of the mountains, a forest is drawn, depicting the crowns of trees, in the same place it is necessary to designate a stream running down from the mountains into the lowland.

After the art part is finished, the paints have dried, the surface is varnished, and then the painting is framed.

We stopped only at some birch bark crafts. There are endless options for such products.

To perform it, you need a soft elastic birch bark. Measurements are taken from the phone for the manufacture of the future cover, while not forgetting about the allowances for free placement of the phone. This is approximately 1.5-2 cm from each edge. After that, a pattern-template is made on paper, and then with its help 2 parts are cut out of birch bark. A hole punch makes punctures for stitching, strictly observing the symmetry on both parts. Long thin strips of cords are cut from soft thin suede, with the help of which the details are sewn. As a decor, you can pre-burn the ornament on the cut-out elements.

Starting with such simple but beautiful products, if you wish, you can gradually learn how to create more complex models - caskets, dishes and others. If such a job is to your liking, then by relentlessly increasing the level of skill, you can create your own business and get a good income. Now fashion has returned to everything natural, natural - products made of wood and birch bark are in great demand.

Birch bark canteen in the video below.