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I recently made these two Birch bark pots,
they are stitched differently to the way I have previously made
containers; this is now my new favourite method. As well as
being very decorative, the 'stepped' stitching ensures that the
bark doesn't split along its grain, which would be likely if so
many stitching holes were made right next to each other along
the same line. Making stitching holes through two layers of bark
also helps the bark not to split.
The container on the right is made from the
bark of a dead tree. When stripping the bark from the logs the
wood inside had actually started to rot away but the skeleton of
bark was still good to use, that's because of all the natural
tar it contains. the smaller container is made from fresh bark I
managed to salvage from some logs left behind by tree surgeons.
This bark is such a nice material, its a shame so much of it
just ends up on peoples fire heap!
Some of the crafts I make are quite
intricate, so for a change I thought I'd show you how to make a
simple little bark box like this...
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| Strip your bark from felled or naturally fallen
trees. The only tools you need to make this little box
are a pen knife, a ruler, and something to score lines
with. The folds are simply held together by two stick
pegs inserted through slots in the bark. |
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