HOW TO MAKE A BIRCH BARK BASKET
How to make a birch bark basket
Staying with an extended period of time in the wilderness is not an walk in the park. It is certainly not like what we see in the movies. Forests and aspects of dense vegetation are not any Shangrila or paradise. Maybe you are the type of survivalist who has a desire for wilderness survival skills or camping, and also you want to have a level of confidence to find out you will be okay it doesn't matter what. If that's the case, a fantastic survival skills to master is making containers. Here I will be explaining steps to make birch back baskets.
how to make birch bark baskets
Making birch bark baskets is a skill used for many thousands of years for different purposes containing proven it relevance for wilderness survival. It can be used to store food and earn waterproof cooking containers.
MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE A BIRCH BARK BASKET: These are materials you will have to gather to learn making birch back basket:
Birch back
Knife
Small nail
THE BIRCH BACK
Learning to harvest a birch back is very important so you don't kill the tree. Birch bark is easier to peel when the sap is running and the moisture content from the trunk is just right. To reap birch bark, make a vertical cut about three feet long inside the tree. A cylinder of bark is carefully peeled from around tree. The brown or yellow inner bark is left on so the peeling will not cause any trouble for the tree. The peeled bark is quite light and flexible. It really is rolled with the inside out, and tied having a string. It must be used immediately or stored in an awesome place to dry out.
The main
Roots from the spruce tree can be used sewing birch back basket. Long, straight root base is easier to split plus more efficient to sew with. Medium -sized trees with long, very straight limbs will often have straight roots. A rainy day is an ideal time to harvest spruce roots. This if the bark is easiest to peel through the spruce roots. Roots with red bark are the most useful. They are young effective. Black roots are old and break easily.
MAKING THE BIRCH BACK BASKET
Before commencing work on the basket, you need to prepare all the materials. You are able to soak the spruce root with water from a nearby river hence the spruce root softens and is also easier to split. Starting towards the end, a knife is utilized to split the root down. The bark is taken off and the bare root is split in half again. Cut knots are cut away simply because they will break later. Sharpen the end of the root to a point for sewing.
The outer layer of the birch back is gently scraped with a knife to remove the knots and peeling layers of bark. The harder the bark is scraped, and sanded, the fewer lines remain. The birch back might be cut into the shape in the basket using a birch bark basket pattern.
Then damp the birch back with wet cloth and expose it to heat then it can soften. When it has softened, make use of an awl to punch the stitching holes. Then fold the birch back in line with the basket pattern and insert small wooden stays with hold the shape because birch back dries. Wrap two moist strips of willow down the inside and the outside the basket top and invite it to dry.
Figuring out how to make a birch back basket is a superb survival skill and makes wilderness survival easier. You have a safe place to hold food and baskets for organizing your survival camp.