Beadwork

• In Ojibwa beadwork, you must make your own designs, since many have religious or family significance and copying others is quite offensive. A traditional Ojibway Indian method of beadwork is to lane stitch with seed beads, which means to make narrow beaded rows across apparel or accessories. Leather or canvas is usually used, not thinner fabrics that can't stand up to the weight of the many beads. Draw the design you want to bead on your material ahead of time, using light pencil or fabric marker. Each lane should be about a half-inch wide, and you will stitch seven to nine beads vertically on the lane. For a row on a medium-sized item like a vest or bag, you will likely need about 3 feet of thread. Run the needle and thread through a chunk of beeswax to strengthen it and smooth it before starting. Then, measure the number of beads you need in each stitch by starting the thread at the bottom corner of the lane, stringing enough beads on it to reach the top of the lane, then adding two more. When you pull the stitch tight, this creates a traditional hump shape to the beads. Use this number of beads throughout the whole project. To make the next stitch, move over a tiny bit, about a bead's width, and do the same stitch in the other direction, with the same number of beads. The colors of the beads vary based on your design, and may need to change in the middle of a stitch, so pay attention to the details. See the Resources for diagrams.
  
  

Birch Bark Baskets

• Practice this ancient art on paper or cardboard first to avoid wasting birch bark. You will need a fairly square piece of white birch bark taken from an already-dead tree. Don't strip the bark from living trees; take it from a fallen birch or a friend's woodpile. Scrape down the dark inner layers so that several layers of light bark remain. Depending on how high you want your basket, measure in from the outside of the bark with a pencil and ruler a few inches and draw a line on each side, like a picture frame. If you want your sides slanted inward, cut wedges out of the corners outside the pencil marks; if you want a shallow bowl, just cut diagonal slits in the middle of each corner. Fold the bark at the markings. You may need to score the bark with a knife along the lines if it is thick and difficult to fold, but don't cut through to the outside. At each corner, use an upholstery needle and a material like artificial sinew, homemade reed cordage or leather cording to stitch the corners closed. Stitch well away from the edge of the bark so it does not tear. To finish the basket, add a rim to reinforce the top. Form a hoop of reeds, willow shoots, red dogwood or other basket-making wood that approximates the top of your basket, then sew it on, taking large stitches in a whip stitch, "X" shape or straight stitching, as desired for ornamentation. See the Resources for diagrams.
  
  

Dream Catchers

• Widely adopted by other tribes, and now a mainstream craft, dream catchers originated with the Ojibwa people, as a child's ward against bad dreams. To make them in the Ojibwa style, you will need a flexible twig or slim branch, like willow or grapevine, about 2 or 3 feet long. You can make a circle or a teardrop shape; for the teardrop, simply tie the two ends of the wood you are using with a cord or leather strip, and let them cross at the top of the dream catcher, then proceed to the netting step. For the circle shape, bend the wood in a circle the size you want, traditionally no bigger than 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Twist the remaining wood around the first circle to make a stronger shape. To start the netting, take at least 4 feet of strong, thin string, or more if you like, and tie a loop in one end. This is to hang the dream catcher with. Tie this loop at the top of your dream catcher and begin the web. Put the loose string on top of the wood, loop around under the back, and bring it up between the first knot and the loop you just made. Do this every few inches, all the way around the hoop. When you reach the starting point again, begin making the same looped stitch on the first set of loops instead of the wood. The second row should be made in between the loops of the first row. As you go around again, diamond shapes will begin to form in the string. Do this for three or four more rows, as many as you would like to make and will fit in the hoop. It is traditional to add a bead in the middle of one of the rows to represent a spider in its web. Finish at the bottom by stitching a loop twice in the same place. The remaining string will hang down, and you can add some beads to it, then knot the end around two or three feathers. To cover the tie and straighten the feathers, wrap a small square of felt or other fabric around the base of the feathers and tie it with more string, a leather cord or a ribbon at the top and bottom of the fabric. See the Resources for diagrams.