Natural birch bark material is common for making souvenirs, gifts, dishes. They are not only nice to receive as a gift, but also interesting to make yourself. This process is not easy: only very patient and careful craftsmen can create products from birch bark.
What is this material?
Birch bark is the top layer that is easily torn off with a sharp knife. The most flexible and convenient for work is birch bark, taken from a tree with a diameter of 30 cm in the first month of summer. Strips of various shapes and lengths are placed in a dry, non-solar place so that natural drying occurs. After 3 weeks, the material is ready for processing. In case of drying and fragility, the strips must be moistened with water.
How to work with birch bark?
To work with birch bark you will need: a sharp knife, scissors, a needle and thread, an awl, wire. The material can be painted in various colors, this is true for souvenirs and children's crafts. Birch bark can be dyed both in advance, in a solution of paint and water, and to decorate an already finished product. While maintaining the natural appearance of birch bark products look more interesting and more expensive, the material is covered with a colorless varnish, sometimes painted.
Working with birch bark is not easy, for a good result you will need a lot of patience and effort. It is better to start creating with simple and necessary things at home: vases, planters, etc. Having quickly created the first product, you will want to proceed to more complex options.
DIY crafts from birch bark
The most popular product made of birch bark is a flower pot, it fits well into any interior and is a necessary item. It is assembled very simply: the pot is wrapped in a layer, the excess parts are cut off, the connection is made with glue. For strong bonding, the birch bark should be tied. Such a planter does not need additional decor, but if you wish, you can paint it or glue butterflies, rhinestones, flowers ...
Thin birch bark rings can be turned into earrings, and a chain of rings into a necklace. Such birch bark crafts will please your mother or girlfriend. Even kids can do the job.
Pictures from birch bark in the form of appliqué have a special look, they can be hung on the wall or presented to loved ones. Such creativity requires the investment of all soul and love. To create paintings from birch bark, it must be put in boiling water, allowed to dry, stratified, and dried under pressure. Birch bark has many shades, so you can make a panel of small pieces from it without paint. For the brightness of the picture, you can use a background of other materials, branches, leaves, birch earrings.
More complex work is within the power of older students. Birch bark is woven from thin ribbons. Such a lacy container will allow the bread not to become damp. To create a bread box or candy box, you first need to cross and glue two strips, then weave the remaining ribbons around the center.
Souvenir products from birch bark
Professional birch bark products are widely distributed at craft fairs. They are bought as souvenirs and gifts. Therefore, the manufacture of such products is not only a pleasant process, but also a profitable activity.
Birch bark boxes of various sizes can be used to store jewelry, documents, sweets, herbs, etc. Folk painting makes the dressing even more interesting and individual. The material allows you to create a product of any desired shape, a huge variety of souvenirs allows you to choose an option for every taste.
Birch bark souvenirs are popular not only among the Russian population, but also abroad. They are brought as a gift and in memory of the country of white birches and brown bears. It is good that memory occupies a worthy place in life, and you can learn how to create souvenirs and not forget about the very recent past.
DIY boxes
To create a birch bark box, steamed, not yet dried ribbons are best suited. They are easy to work with: flexible and obedient. Work goes in the following order:
1) The ribbons are cut in the same size, equal to the perimeter of the box.
2) First, 4 ribbons are intertwined.
3) Then 1 more tape is added on each side, a large square of small, 4 × 4 cells is obtained. Thus, the base is woven to the required size.
4) To get the corner of the box, you need a square block the size of the base. It is placed at an angle of 45 about to all sides, like a rhombus.
5) Then the ribbons are pressed against the block and intertwined around the perimeter in a checkerboard pattern to the required height.
6) To form the upper edge, a wire is needed, from which a hoop of any desired shape is made, the size of the bottom of the box.
7) Ribbons are attached to the hoop: they go around it and go to the side, under the nearest cells. For reliability, the tips can be smeared with glue.
8) The lid is made in the same way. To keep it better, you can make it a little larger. Or weave and glue the inner rim for the box.
By changing the shape of the block, you can weave any basket. The work will require a lot of patience at first, but the process of creation always has a positive effect on both children and adults.
DIY painting
To create a picture of birch bark, you must sequentially perform the following work:
1) First, a sketch is selected, it can be drawn by hand or taken from any source.
2) Then the format of the picture is selected depending on the capabilities of the artist: someone will translate the finished picture, someone will draw it himself.
3) The cardboard base of the desired size is cut out.
4) The horizon line is determined - it is laid out from thin birch bark. Further, after each layer, the product is pressed.
5) The sky is laid out of small pieces of birch bark in light gray, white shades.
6) The earth is depicted from dried moss or dark pieces of birch bark.
7) Then, on the resulting background, they begin to lay out the plot: first, secondary objects, and lastly, the main ones.
8) After a 20-minute press, the picture is inserted into a frame with glass, in this form it will retain its worthy appearance for a long time.
DIY bread box
A birch bark bread box will keep bread fresh longer than a plastic one, they do not have dampness or an unpleasant smell. There are also advantages over wooden ones: it does not absorb odors, does not rot, does not grow moldy.
You can weave it with your own hands, in the same sequence as the box, but this is a more time-consuming process. And the bread box requires greater tightness for the safety of the product. Therefore, it is better to buy it. You can buy a bread box without decor and decorate it yourself, you can choose the option with the design you like, there are a great many of them.
Products from birch bark have been valued since ancient times. Now they are relevant not only as but also as environmentally friendly kitchen utensils.
differs from all other tree plantations in the whiteness of the trunk. Whiteness, which, as it turned out, is a powerful protector of this beloved tree from destruction by various bacteria, fungi, viruses, bugs, ants, and other insects - lovers of this wood, which is probably very sweet for them, and also from the harmful radiation of solar radiation and other negative environmental influences. This whiteness has attracted people from time immemorial, it is inherent only in the upper layer of the bark, which exfoliates quite easily and quickly. This layer is called birch bark, and if we plunge into the history of our ancestors, we will remember not only Novgorod birch bark tablets, but also bast shoes, shoe insoles, birch bark flour, and tar. Bast shoes, home-made shoes woven from birch bark, have been widely used in peasant villages since ancient times. Subsequently, when leather shoes came into use, birch bark again served people well, but in a new quality, like a shoe insole. Note that the soldiers of the tsarist army never suffered from fungal diseases, despite the fact that constant drill and long campaigns did not give respite to the soldiers' legs. By the way, birch bark insoles would not be superfluous in our time.
Birch bark attracted the attention of folk healers, and in their ancient records, among the recommendations on how and with what to treat skin diseases, purulent wounds and cuts, one can find that the most effective way is to powder with crushed birch bark. This remedy was recommended for the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, it was advised to chew it to strengthen teeth and gums, and to improve digestion, birch bark was crushed and added to flour, from which bread was subsequently baked. Preparing a room for a woman in labor, a few drops of birch tar were dripped onto hot coal to disinfect the room. Birch tar is the result of dry distillation of birch bark, a thick oily liquid with a specific odor and unique bactericidal properties, but more on that below.
During the war, birch bark was burned, and bandages were sterilized with smoke after washing, it also has bactericidal properties.
Lichen, inflammatory and infectious skin diseases are treated with birch bark by Tibetan monks and Yakuts. Nanais, in addition to skin diseases, also treat tuberculosis and stomach ulcers with this remedy.
As you can see, her bark has attracted the attention of people for a long time. To date, it is already known that such antiseptic and bactericidal properties are imparted to birch bark by the triterpene alcohol betunol or betulin included in its composition. This substance, which gives whiteness to birch bark, is 30% of the amount of all useful substances, and these are glycosides, betulosides, saponins, gaultherins, bitterness, tannins and essential oil. By the way, the essential oil, which is also found in, spreading around the trees at their locations, especially in birch groves, destroys about 400 types of pathogenic bacteria around it and has a calming effect on nervous system, remember how pleasant it is to wander in birch groves.
Betulin is also called birch camphor, and as a result of a deeper study of the properties of this substance, which continues to this day, betulin began to be called "white gold" in scientific circles.
The first documented description of a white powder isolated from birch bark was made in 1788 by Toviy Lovits, a student and associate of M.V. Lomonosov. It was he who began to use it to treat burns and cuts. And only half a century later, another chemist called this powder betulin.
At the end of the 19th century, betulin began to be used in practice for the disinfection of wounds and cuts; as an antiseptic, it was applied to bactericidal patches. But at the beginning of the twentieth century, its anti-rachitis property was discovered, and in 1994, the antiviral property of this substance and, in particular, that it counteracts the human immunodeficiency virus. These properties are also inherent in extracts prepared from the upper layer of birch bark, that is, from birch bark.
A natural, rather cheap, easily obtained substance from birch bark is a powder of white, sometimes beige color. It consists of 80% betulin, with a high melting point up to 260 degrees Celsius. This powder has become the object of careful research by physicians, biologists, and pharmacists in almost 40 countries around the world. Initial results have shown that this agent does not cause side effects, and in addition to antiseptic and wound healing properties, betulin exhibits antiviral, hepatoprotective, choleretic, antioxidant, immunostimulating, antitumor properties. Interest in this substance has not yet subsided, research continues, and this makes it possible to learn more and more new facets of this unique natural substance.
Let's start with the fact that the discovered hepatoprotective properties help physicians with the help of betulin, in combination with traditional methods, to treat all types of acute and chronic liver diseases. And the antiviral properties of this unique substance make it possible to add viral hepatitis of all three known types A, B and C to the list of diseases that are treated faster and more efficiently with its participation. diseases.
Traditional medicine suggests preparing decoctions of birch bark for treatment, however 
self-treatment of severe forms of liver disease with decoctions prepared at home, of course, will not give a 100% guarantee of a positive result. However, today there are already a number of medicines, biologically active food supplements, and doctors often use birch bark extract, but such treatment should take place under their supervision and in strict accordance with the recommendations. Moreover, these decoctions will help restore strength to people who have undergone radiation and chemotherapy sessions during oncological diseases, they are effective as a prophylactic for alcoholic liver damage, after complex operations performed under general anesthesia, in the presence of severe injuries and burns.
Decoctions of birch bark, thanks to betulin, exhibit a pronounced choleretic property. And this improves the digestion process, and as mentioned above, our ancestors added chopped birch bark to flour, while pursuing precisely such goals. And, by the way, the fact that decoctions from birch bark can treat stomach ulcers, as the Nanais do, has been confirmed, and official medicine uses betulin in the complex treatment of this disease. Studies have shown that betulin has a positive effect on the mucous membrane when it is damaged and at the same time inhibits the activity of gastric juice, reducing the level of hydrochloric acid.
Given the specific effect of this, as it turns out, a unique substance on the liver that can directly eliminate the cause of the disease, birch bark decoctions are recommended for the prevention of the formation of gallstones and the occurrence of cholecystitis, a disease that is quite common now. But for overweight people, betulin is, as the Chinese noted in one of their popular newspapers, "a unique way to lose weight while lying on the bed." This unique substance, being in the body, changes the fat burning pattern that is familiar to our understanding, which has a strong effect on the metabolic process and prevents obesity.
In addition, betulin has a rather strong effect on the level of cholesterol in the body. Firstly, betulin by its presence inhibits its synthesis by the liver, prevents the complete absorption of cholesterol by the intestines. And secondly, by improving the outflow of bile, it promotes the rapid removal of cholesterol along with bile acids, and practically normalizes its level in the body. Therefore, the use of decoctions from birch bark is the prevention of atherosclerosis, hypertension, heart attacks and strokes.
The influence of betulin does not end with the suppression of the harmful effects of cholesterol, it has the ability to reduce vascular permeability and at the same time strengthen capillaries.
The anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of betulin are manifested in the fact that 
it actively stimulates the internal reserves of the body to combat irritants that cause inflammation. Therefore, decoctions of birch bark in tandem with traditional forms of treatment accelerate the healing process during colds, exacerbation of inflammatory processes in rheumatic joint diseases. By the way, various diseases of the throat, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, inflammation of the oral mucosa are quite effectively treated with decoctions of birch bark in the form of a rinse. Rheumatism, gout, pain in the muscles or joints, skin diseases are recommended to be treated by applying decoctions externally, adding to the bathroom or in the form of lotions or compresses. Decoctions are prepared for external use as follows: one tablespoon of chopped birch bark is poured with a glass of boiling water, then the solution is infused to an acceptable temperature, filtered and used to wash wounds and compresses. If there is a need for a larger amount of solution, for example, to add to the bathroom, or to prepare baths for steaming the legs, then the same proportion is maintained, only five tablespoons of raw materials are needed for one liter of boiling water. As for the internal intake, here one teaspoon of chopped birch bark is poured with a glass of boiling water, simmered for 5 minutes on low heat, infused to an acceptable temperature and consumed one glass 3 times a day after meals. By the way, this infusion helps with diarrhea and colitis.
Regarding the strong antiviral effect of this substance on the body, here scientists found that betulin promotes the synthesis of interferon, a substance that body cells secrete in response to the invasion of the virus to fight it. With reduced immunity, and this happens to us quite often for various reasons, the synthesis of interferon is significantly reduced, and the use of antiviral drugs and immunomodulators is limited due to their toxicity and the appearance of side effects after prolonged use. Interferon preparations also showed their inefficiency due to the negative consequences of their influence on the body. Betulin, on the other hand, is able to regulate the level of interferon synthesis, and this makes it possible to use it in the treatment of influenza A viruses, bird flu, herpes simplex virus, viral diarrhea, and mucosal diseases. The external use of decoctions of birch bark as an antiviral agent is relevant in the presence of warts, because the nature of their occurrence is viral.
The antitumor property of betulin was discovered and, what is very important, studies confirmed its positive effect in the complex treatment of fibroids (skin cancer) and brain tumors.
Antioxidant properties, which are one of the factors in the prevention of cancer, at the same time slow down the aging process of the body. And recently it has been often used in cosmetics, because betulin, in comparison with ascorbic acid stimulates the synthesis of collagen in the skin much more powerfully, and this largely eliminates its flabbiness and counteracts the formation of wrinkles.
In addition to all of the above, betulin is an emulsifying agent, and in many countries of the world it is added to food products such as butter, mayonnaise, bakery, meat, sausages, chocolates. And it should be noted that this additive is absolutely harmless, even after heat treatment, and given its antioxidant properties, the shelf life of such products is much longer. Even in the old days they knew about it, because the peasants kept bread in birch bark tueskas.
Alexander Vasilievich Vishnevsky, a military surgeon practicing in Russian and Soviet times, created in 1927 a unique ointment for the treatment of purulent wounds, boils and cuts, later named after him. To this day, it is very popular among doctors, and in its composition the main ingredient is birch tar. In addition, tar is part of other ointments intended for the treatment of skin diseases, as well as for the treatment of rheumatism and gout, as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic. But for the care of problem skin and for the prevention of various skin diseases, there is tar soap. Birch tar is also used to treat serious skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.
A well-known American chemist, University of Minnesota professor Robert Carlson, expressed his opinion, calling betulin "a first-class thing" that works too well because it is "synthesized by nature, not in a laboratory." Here she is, as you can see her white trunk is not only beauty, it is a storehouse of our health. However, do not rush to the birch grove for birch bark, because even the smallest mutilations of the bark of these trees, due to the tendency of wood to quickly rot, threaten the life of the whole tree. Yes, and the value of birch bark increases with the age of the birch, so treat this tree with love.
Health and well-being to you.
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Birch bark is the top layer of birch bark - an excellent material for the manufacture of various products. Products from birch bark occupied an important place in folk crafts, they made toys, dishes, bast shoes from it, used it for birch bark letters, made boats, and used it in construction as waterproofing. At present, birch bark is used to make souvenirs, jewelry, dishes, various baskets, etc.
birch bark
Birch bark is harvested from mid-May to late June. At this time, the bark exfoliates well from the trunk, while in winter it sticks to the cork layer. Dates may vary depending on the geographical area, place of growth, time of onset and nature of spring. The best birch bark for the manufacture of all types of products for birches aged 20-40 years with a smooth, even trunk with a diameter of 150-350 mm. Birch branches should be above the middle of the trunk, and stretch upwards. The most suitable birch bark is for birches growing in moderately humid and moderately shady places.
Before harvesting birch bark, you need to obtain an official permit from the forestry indicating a specific place for harvesting, as a rule, these are areas for deforestation.
The period of harvesting birch bark coincides with the period of activity of ticks, so vaccinations against tick-borne encephalitis and protective clothing are necessary.
The outer layer of birch bark is white, in products it is hidden inside and is called the inner or back layer.
Wrong side of birch bark
The inner layer of birch bark facing the trunk has different shades from yellow to brown, in products this layer is called the front.
The front side of the birch
There are several ways to remove birch bark from the trunk: layer, tape, skunk.
Types of birch bark blanks: a - layered birch bark; b - birch bark ribbon (bast); in - sklon
Seam harvesting
To remove the layer, you need to make two horizontal cuts about 200 mm long at a distance of 500-1000 mm (depending on how you plan to store the birch bark) and connect them with a vertical cut. Having unbent the edge of the birch bark, separate it from the trunk, if the time is chosen correctly, the birch bark will easily separate from the trunk. You can pre-clean the barrel from the top white layer, thereby reducing the amount of work in the workshop.
Removing a giant layer of birch bark from a fallen birch
After removal, the birch bark is dried for 30 minutes in the shade with the front (facing the trunk) side up. The dried layers are laid with their faces to each other and tied with a rope. If this is not possible, then the birch bark is twisted into a roll face up in 8-10 layers and tied up. The layers are stored unfolded in a stack folded in pairs with their front sides, a sheet of plywood is placed on top. It is better to store in a dark, dry, in summer in a cool, ventilated area.
Tape blank
In the forest, a smooth birch without knots and cracks is selected. A vertical incision is made on it with a 4-6 cm knife to remove the tape. Next, the bark must be peeled off in a spiral around the trunk down. The knife is held so that the index finger rests on the butt of the blade, and the thumb rests on the birch trunk, limiting the width of the tape. The resulting tape is rolled into balls or rolls with a white layer on the outside. An experienced master removes a continuous tape 100 meters long. It is important to ensure that the depth of the incision is small, within the cork layer, so that the birch does not dry out and after 10-15 years a protective bark appears on it again. To remove the tape, you can use a special cutter with a limiter.
Birch bark harvesting technology: a - birch bark incisions; b - eat layered birch bark; c - packing of seam birch bark; g - birch bark incision; d - eat birch bark; e - the position of the hand and knife when removing birch bark; g - packaging of birch bark tape; h - eat a birch bark tape with a cutter G.Ya. Fedotov
Skoloten (cylinder)
The trunk of a sawn tree is marked into sections, the length of the skunk should not be less than 1.5-2 trunk diameters plus 100 mm to the height of the planned product.
Having determined the length of the skunk, an annular incision is made, the birch bark is peeled off with the help of a spear (a tool resembling a bayonet). With its flat side, it is hammered between birch bark and bast, and carefully peeled off the trunk along the circumference with translational movements. Then, clasping the skunk with hands or a belt, they remove it, making rotational movements.
After removing the first skunk located closer to the top, saw off the freed end of the trunk and proceed to remove the next skunk. Dried cloths are inserted sequentially into each other.
The technology of harvesting skunks: a - marking areas for harvesting skunks; b - separation of the skunk from the trunk with the help of a pommel; c - a pack of skunks
A necessary tool for harvesting birch bark: a saw, an ax, a knife-cutter, a sword (spoiler).
Tools for harvesting birch bark: a - knife-cutter; b - sochalka
Tools and fixtures
The desktop should be well lit, for convenience of work it is equipped with boxes for storing tools, fixtures and pieces of birch bark.
To protect against damage, a sheet of plywood 6-10 mm thick is placed on the countertop. Not less than 800x500 mm in size.
To work with birch bark, the following tools and devices are used:
Knife-jamb - for cutting birch bark, a knife with a curved blade for stripping birch bark, a knife-cutter, sharpened on one side, for working with slotted birch bark.
Tools for working with birch bark: a - a joint knife; b - a knife for stripping birch bark; c - knife-cutter; g - straight awl; d - an awl with a square section; e - awl - kochedyk; g - clamp; h - round punch; and - triangular punch; k - coinage in the form of a cross
Scissors with thin blades 60-70 mm long - for weaving, tailor's scissors with a thick blade and comfortable handles - for cutting birch bark strips.
A round straight awl, with a blunt polished tip - for marking along birch bark, a shoe awl with a square section - for piercing holes when sewing birch bark products, an awl-kochedyk, a flat spatula awl with a hook-shaped bend - used for weaving.
Wooden and metal rulers of various lengths and squares - for marking and cutting birch bark.
Compasses measuring and drawing for marking.
Tweezers are used when weaving.
Clamps - used for temporary fixation of birch bark strips during weaving and in the manufacture of products from plastic birch bark, they can be made from birch rod, clothespins, paper clips, stationery clips, clamps and a rubber band can be used.
Incisors - used to make a welt ornament, they are sharpened grooves different size, as incisors, you can use semicircular wood chisels of a suitable size.
Punches can be of various diameters and shapes, used for interlocks and standard punched figures. The inside of the punch should be hollow, through which the cut sections of birch bark will be removed with a thin rod.
Punches are made from tubes of various diameters, it is possible to grind punches on a lathe, it is better to make punches from carbon tool steel (for example, U8A).
Chasings - designed for applying an embossed pattern on birch bark, made of dense wood, metal, bone, a pattern is made at the end of the coinage. For small mints, medical drills can be used.
Chasings from wood
Tape cutter F.F. Trapeznikov, designed for cutting a birch bark tape of a certain width. The tape cutter consists of two halves, clamping a slanting knife, one of the halves corresponds to the width of the tape. A layer of birch bark is pressed against the edge of a wooden corner, passing along it with a tape cutter, an even tape is obtained. Tape cutters can be made for tapes of various widths.
Tape cutter F.F. Trapeznikova
Templates are fixtures corresponding to the internal dimensions and shape of future products; they are usually made of wood. You can use bowls, vases, boxes, and other items and containers as templates.
Frame boards are needed for temporary storage of birch bark strips. They are a piece of plywood with a size, for example, 500x300 mm. After a certain distance, elastic bands are stretched, which hold the cut strips in the unfolded state.
Board-frame for storing birch bark ribbons
The scoring board is necessary for working with slotted birch bark, it is made of linden, aspen, beech wood, size is approximately 250x250 mm.
To create various products, you may need materials such as willow rods of various diameters, peeled from bark, steel wire with a diameter of 0.2 to 3 mm, boards from various woods (birch, pine, spruce), linseed or sunflower oil, adhesives such as Moment, PVA, medical glue BF-6 (recommended for the manufacture of birch bark utensils).
birch bark processing
The first stage of birch bark processing is the removal of a thin upper thin white layer from the bark on the rough surface of the tree immediately after harvesting in the forest or in the workshop using an ordinary brush and knife.
The second stage is the stratification of birch bark into layers. Birch bark is multi-layered and not all layers can and should be used in weaving. Therefore, it is necessary to peel off fragile top layers to the required thickness for each specific product, small products are made from thin tapes, and larger ones, such as baskets and boxes, from thicker ones.
The third stage is the cutting of ribbons (bars) of birch bark. There are several ways to cut birch bark: with scissors, with a knife and a ruler, with a tape cutter.
With long-term (more than a month) storage, it does not hurt to oil the prepared strips. You can use sunflower oil. Soak a flannel cloth in oil and wipe both sides at the same time. Roll the strips back into balls and preferably put them in plastic bags for long-term storage.
Without oil, birch bark becomes brittle, brittle and must be soaked in water if it was not kept wet in a plastic bag. After a few hours of being in water, dry birch bark becomes elastic, flexible, ready for weaving. It is necessary to soak the whole ball or package of strips so that the strips (ribbons) do not curl. Good material is not soaked, but moistened with a cloth just before the start and during weaving, using soapy water.
Weaving
There are two types of weaving: oblique and straight. The names are explained by the angle (in degrees) formed by the intersecting ribbons with respect to the horizon. The main type of weaving is oblique weaving, due to its better manufacturability and strength.
Direct weaving is suitable for creating flat products - napkins, book covers, bulk products of salt shakers, boxes can also be made.
Basket made by direct weaving
Oblique weaving is used mainly for the manufacture of bulky products - baskets, vases, caskets, and flat straps.
Birch bark boxes made using the oblique weaving method (work by S.V. Ivanov)
With straight weaving, any number of ribbons is used, with oblique weaving, an even number.
The first stage of weaving the creation of the bottom is obtained by interlacing the strips until a square with a checkerboard pattern is formed, the dimensions of which are determined by the number of ribbons 4x4, 6x6, 7x7, etc. The number of tapes, respectively, is taken 8,12,14, etc.
To fix the strips during weaving, weights (for example, glass) and clamps are used. Having received a clear square, mark the bottom of the future product, it can be square or rectangular. With direct weaving, the corners of the bottom are indicated by the letter - c, with oblique weaving, the projection of the square bottom is indicated by the letters - g, rectangular - e.
Making the bottom of the product: a - the beginning of weaving; b - finished canvas; c - places where the corners of the fabric are connected with clamps and the placement of the bottom of the product with direct weaving; g - projection of the bottom of the product with a square bottom with oblique weaving; e - projection of the bottom of the product with a rectangular bottom with oblique weaving; 1-6 - horizontal stripes; 7-12 - vertically woven strips
Next, the walls begin to form. With straight weaving, it is better to form a volume around a template of the appropriate size. All strips protruding beyond the volume are alternately bent at a right angle upwards and tied with a rope. Then, from any angle, they begin to introduce additional horizontal stripes, gradually intertwining the vertical ones with them. The number of horizontal stripes determines the height of the product.
Manufacture of the product by the method of direct weaving: a - bringing the strips into a vertical position; b - fixing the strips with a rope and weaving horizontal ribbons; in - the formation of the edge of the product; g - finished product
With oblique weaving, the angle is formed at the marking site by crossing and interlacing adjacent strips. After braiding all four corners of the product, they are brought to the desired height. To obtain a product with even walls, you can use a template around which the product is formed. During operation, the strips are constantly pressed against each other to obtain a dense wall without gaps.
After forming the inner part of the product, the ribbons are bent outward downwards and the outer layer is woven. Any product consists of two layers, while the inner - front layer of birch bark will be visible both inside and outside the product.
If the length of the cut strips is not enough, it is increased: they are brought under the previous layer, lifting it with scissors or an awl-kochedyg. Finish weaving on the outside of the bottom.
Manufacture of the product by the method of oblique weaving: a, b, c, - stages of forming the corner of the product; d, e - stages of product edge formation; e - finished product
Tues manufacturing
Tues making is considered one of the most difficult in birch bark craft.
Tuesas are made sheathed and reversible. Sheathing tues usually consists of 4 parts of birch bark: skoloten, shirt and two belts, upper and lower.
Scheme for the manufacture of sheathing tues
The reversible tues consists only of the first two. As a rule, the shirt is connected by a lock, although they made tuesas without a shirt, only with belts. The lock that connects the layer into a cylinder has many forms and principles of fastening.
Locks for sewing a tuesa shirt
1 - stitching the tuesa with birch bark, 2-8 - options for locking joints
Tues can be braided both with the root of trees, and with birch bark, and with a ribbon of wicker, and with rope, and wire. In the villages, tuesas were braided only from above. From below the belt was held by the bottom. For beauty, the lower girdle is also braided.
In the manufacture of an eversion tuesa, the height of the cleavage must be greater than the height of the shirt. Putting the finished shirt on a skewer, steam its protruding edges in boiling water. Then bend two hoops from a willow rod and fasten their ends with threads. The hoops should fit snugly against the stud. Now wrap the steamed edges of the cleaver around the willow hoops, putting them on the shirt. The hoops give the edges of the walls a rounded shape and make the structure rigid, fixing the bottom and holding the lid of the tueska.
Making an eversion tuesa: a - a skunk with a shirt; b - a cover with a handle and a bottom; c - the lower edge of the skunk is wrapped after softening in hot water; g - finished product
Saw the bottom out of spruce or cedar wood. The diameter of the bottom should be several millimeters larger than the diameter of the inner wall of the tues. Before inserting the bottom, steam the edges of the walls again. After that, the bottom will be easily inserted, and when the walls are dry, the bottom will be firmly fixed in the tueska, and the gaps between it and the walls will disappear at the same time.
Saw out the lid from a spruce or cedar board with a small margin. Then, carefully cutting off the edges with a knife, bend it to the tueska. Make sure that the edges of the lid fit snugly against the walls of the cabinet. The lid should fit into the box with some effort.
The handle can be made in the form of a poke. Cut the poke with a knife or turn it on a lathe, insert it into the hole drilled in the lid and hammer in a short wooden wedge from the bottom side for strength.
If the tues is intended for carrying products over long distances, it is imperative to make a handle-bow. A simple bow is done like this. Drill two holes in the lid at an angle to each other. Then, in boiling water, steam a willow twig lightly trimmed on one side. Bending the rod in an arc, insert its ends into the holes. After drying, the rod will become rigid and firmly fixed in the lid. For reliability, the ends of the handle can be wedged.
But the handle with a lock turns out to be the most reliable and beautiful. Regardless of the size of the tuesa, such a handle has fairly constant proportions and dimensions. Most often it is done on the hand of an adult.
From willow wood, carve a handle blank.
Punch two rectangular holes in the lid. When marking the holes, make sure that the wood grain on the lid runs across the line where the holes are placed. In the drawing, this line is given in red.
Steam the handle-bow blank in boiling water, carefully bend it into an arc and insert the ends of the handle into the holes in the lid. Drill two holes in the ends of the handle protruding from below and use a chisel to shape them into a wedge shape. Cut a wedge out of spruce and hammer it into the holes in the shackle. The wedge will firmly bind the lid to the handle. But it also has another purpose - being located across the fibers of the lid, it will not allow it to warp, especially if liquids are poured into the tues.
Making handles for boxes
The peasants are well aware that salt stored in a tuesa will never waver, and pickled mushrooms and cucumbers are not only stored for a long time, but also acquire such an aroma that it is sometimes difficult for the uninitiated to believe that spices are not added to the salting.
But still, another advantage of tueska is most valued - water, milk or kvass remain cold in it for a long time, and hot water, on the contrary, does not cool down for a long time. That is why from time immemorial the tues was a frequent companion of the reaper, plowman, hunter, fisherman. The peasant had to notice more than once that even on the hottest days, when the sun scorches mercilessly, the birch sap coming out of the trunk is always cold. This means that birch bark reliably protects the birch trunk from overheating. This property of birch bark is explained by its structure. It consists of many thin layers that do not allow moisture and air to pass through, and the top layer is covered with a white coating that reflects the sun's rays.
Working with plastic birch
To work with the reservoir, it is necessary to choose birch bark with the least amount of inhomogeneities. Required tools: knife, awl. Plast birch bark is used for the manufacture of a wide range of products. These are sewn tuesas, caskets, souvenirs, dolls, dishes and much more.
Jewelry box decorated with slotted birch bark
birch bark dolls
A unique and interesting new direction of birch bark products developed by Vladimir Makhnyuk is birch bark dishes, these are cups, teapots, samovars, you can even boil water in a samovar with steel titanium for kindling (you can get acquainted with the work and technology of the master in his book).
Tea set by V. Makhnyuk
Products made of plastic birch bark and tesa are often additionally decorated in one way or another.
Ways to decorate products from birch bark
Embossing
A method of decorating products from plastic birch bark with the help of chasings and stamps. Chassins are made from various materials: wood, metal, bone. At the working end, a pattern is formed. Embossed ornaments are applied to the product with a certain rhythm, pressing on the coinage with a hand or hitting it with a hammer.
Tuesas decorated with embossing (work by A.V. Shutikhin)
Still hot embossing is used, when the coinage or stamp is heated before pressing, while the imprint in the places of contact with the birch bark will have a brown tint, butthe saturation of which will depend on the temperature of the stamp, the exposure time and the thickness of the birch bark, the main thing here is not to overdo it, the birch bark can burn out.
In the factory, you can make various stamps with complex patterns.
Tuesas decorated by hot pressing
Burning engraving
Drawing on birch bark can be done by burning. To do this, use an electric burning device, the main thing when burning on birch bark is to use the minimum heating of the burning pen.
Birch bark burning (work by T. Kozlova)
Burning can be divided into contour, silhouette and pictorial (see section burning).
Laser cutting and engraving
Cutting and engraving on birch bark can be done using modern laser equipment. On a laser machine, you can carve birch bark, and any kind of burning. This method allows you to make a large number of identical elements or products, with high performance.
An example of engraving on birch bark made on a laser machine
Scraping or Scratching
Scraping is used on dark-colored birch bark, as a rule, with a metal tool - a knife, an awl, a needle. Autumn birch bark is used, which is removed from the tree with considerable effort. A thin layer of brown cambium remains on such birch bark, which is removed with a scratching tool during work. Brown birch bark can be obtained by removing the bark from dead birch trees, keeping the freshly cut birch bark for 4-5 days in the bright sun, periodically wetting it with water, holding the birch bark in a swamp at a depth of 10-15 cm for 14 days, dyeing the birch bark with a decoction of alder bark, dyeing it with an organic dye .
Drawing on birch bark is applied with an awl by piercing tracing paper with an image or circling a stencil. Then the birch bark is slightly moistened and with the sharp side of the knife-cutter I scrape out the elements of the ornament, removing the dark layer. You can do the opposite by scraping the background leaving a black ornament or image.
The lid of the box with the image of swans, made by scraping. 14th century
Application
An appliqué is an ornament made of patterns cut out of birch bark, which are glued to a product made of birch bark or other material.
Glass vase with pasted slotted birch bark (work by S.V. Ivanov)
The picture is made of birch bark appliqué
Thread
The carving is usually performed on birch bark taken from young birch trees. On a piece of plastic birch bark of the desired size, a drawing is transferred with an awl, through tracing paper or a stencil. With the help of a cutter, sections of the background are removed. The carving is done on a wooden board, usually made of linden. The same type of elements can be cut with a punch of the appropriate shape. Slotted birch bark can be additionally decorated with embossing.
Making a carved ornament
Tues decorated with slotted birch bark
painting
An ancient method of decorating birch bark products, it was very often used to decorate birch bark tues or beetroots. Primary colors are red, green blue and their shades when mixed with white. Sometimes the whole tues was covered with background paint, and then a drawing was applied. Before painting, the surface is primed, it can be a mixture of chalk with wood glue, or you can use PVA glue. For painting, you can use gouache, tempera and oil paints. To fix the painting, I cover it with oil varnishes.
An example of painted birch bark products
Finished birch bark products are lubricated with linseed or sunflower oil, this adds shine to the product.
Literature:
1. Klevtsov V.I. Weaving from birch bark: 50 useful products. St. Petersburg: Lenizdat, 1996.-158 p., ill.
2. Makhnuk V.G. Birch bark: Technique. Prima. Products: Encyclopedia. - M.: AST-PRESS BOOK. - 168 p.: ill. 2008
3. Finyagin VV Products from birch bark. - M.: Astrel Publishing House LLC, AST Publishing House LLC, 2001. - 128 p.: ill. - (Learning from folk masters).
Birch bark is the upper, elastic layer of birch bark.
Due to its amazing qualities (such as strength, flexibility, resistance to decay), birch bark has long been considered an excellent material for the manufacture of various dishes - traditional tues, in which dairy products do not deteriorate even in the heat, salt shakers, baskets, purses, etc.
birch bark
Birch bark is harvested in May - June, during the sap flow, when it is elastic, easily removed from the tree trunk, well accepts embossing and engraving. The birch bark must be smooth, even, free of defects (swollen knots, cuts, cracks), horizontal stripes characteristic of birch should not be round.
To harvest birch bark, you will need a saw, an ax, a pommel or wire, a knife (Fig. 1). It is convenient to peel off a birch bark cylinder from the trunk with a spear. For this purpose, you can also adapt a piece of thick steel wire, bending it from one end in the form of a handle. With a knife, horizontal cuts are made on the trunk when harvesting staples, vertical and horizontal - when removing the layered birch bark, spiral around the trunk - to get a birch bark tape (bast).
Rice. 1. A tool for working with birch bark.
For skolotnya, the birch bark is removed from the trunk as a whole. They do it like this. A straight trunk with a smooth bark is sawn into separate pieces 40-50 cm long. Then a pommel is pushed under a layer of birch bark and carefully advanced around the trunk. Feeling that the birch bark has peeled off from it, with light blows they knock out the trunk from the knocked together.
Yakut knife, blade 145 mm, birch bark handle + horn.
You can not saw the trunk, but make ring (horizontal) cuts on it, 40-50 cm apart from each other. (The length of the cut should be 1.5-2 times its diameter.) pommelka and peel off a birch bark cylinder from the trunk, as described above. First, the smallest skoloten is removed, at the end - the largest, inserting them one into the other, like nesting dolls. So they store skolotni in a cool, dry place.
A tape 3-4 cm wide is torn off from the trunk in a spiral, gradually separating it from it with the blunt side of the knife. Then they are wound into a roll, stored, like skolotni, in a cool, dry place.
For harvesting layered birch bark on the trunk at a distance of 30-35 cm from each other, two horizontal cuts are made and connected with one horizontal one, after which a layer of birch bark is peeled off with a pommel. The prepared layers are stacked between two boards and pressed down with a load. Before weaving, a layer of birch bark is cut into strips of the required width, they are cleaned of dirt and moss, and divided in layers to the desired thickness.
Weaving from birch bark
In weaving from birch bark, one type of weaving is used, similar to plain weaving, when the warp threads alternate through one with the weft threads. With this alternation of birch bark ribbons, a checkered pattern is obtained, similar to a checkerboard pattern. Depending on the location of the cells, the pattern is straight and oblique. In a straight pattern, the rows of squares-cells are strictly horizontal and vertical, in an oblique pattern they are located at an angle of 45°.
It is much easier to weave with a straight cage, so we recommend that you first master this process by trying to weave a salty bird (Fig. 2) or a box with a lid.
Rice. 2. Salty weaving:
1 - release of the tail section; 2 - plexus of the body; 3 - outflow of the front part; 4 - neck extension; 5 - finished salt shaker.
For salting, it is necessary to prepare birch bark ribbons 1.5 cm wide, 0.8 - 1 mm thick, including: two axial ribbons 35 cm long, two long - 41-42 cm, six longitudinal lateral - 26 cm, eight transverse - 20 see In addition: tape 0.7-0.8 cm wide, 12 cm long; wooden chock for the lid 6x6x2 cm; three or four pinches (cut along the length into 1/3 sticks from branches) 1.2-2 cm thick, 6-10 cm long.
Start with the release of the tail section. In the middle of the long axial tape, a short one is applied so that it is 11-12 cm from the intersection to one of the ends. Near the intersection, a second long tape is applied across this segment across it, lowering its ends down. These three parallel strips (the remaining end of the short tape and the two ends of the second, long one) are intertwined with three longitudinal tapes. The resulting corner is temporarily fixed with a pair of pins, clamping the interlaced ribbons with splits. Taking four short transverse ribbons, they braid the body of the salt pans. The ends are not fixed yet and proceed to create the front of the salt pan. Raise the three protruding bands of the bottom up, intertwine them with three longitudinal bands, fasten and cut off their ends.
The neck is woven from the ends of the axial and long tapes protruding upwards, which are brought up from under the hangers. First, the ends of one pair of racks are tucked under the hangers - two loops are obtained. They pass a narrow tape and connect it into a ring around the opening of the neck. At the same time, the loops are tightened for the protruding ends of the first pair of axle struts. The cut ends of the second pair of racks are folded inward from the bottom of the resulting ring. To seal the neck, it must be wrapped again with tape, the end of which is fixed in a loop.
The weaving of the outer layer begins with the axial and long tapes. Then longitudinal (top to bottom) and, finally, transverse (from the neck to the tail) ribbons are woven.
The lid is cut out of wood: the diameter of the lower part is 1.5 cm; top in the form of a hoopoe head.
To weave a box with a lid (Fig. 3), it is necessary to prepare birch bark ribbons 2 cm wide, 0.8-1 mm thick: 8 ribbons 40-45 cm long, 8 - 52-55 cm long. Ribbons are stripped to 0.3-0 .4 mm and sharpen.
Rice. 3. A box made of birch bark.
Start from the bottom. A pair of long axial tapes in the middle is intertwined with another pair. Four short side ribbons are tied to them on the sides. The result is a wicker base with a side of 8 cm. A template is placed on it so that the ribbons are located along the diagonals of its square end. Then two short side ribbons coming out from under each corner of the template are intertwined, fixing the corners. Weaving continues upward, weaving walls up to 9-9.5 cm high (3-3.5 cells). Then the template is taken out and the shoulders are woven. To do this, one end of the short side tape is slipped under the other, which, in turn, is thrown over the first one to the other side, lowered to the adjacent wall and fixed by stretching it through the transverse tape. Do the same with the other hangers.
The neck is woven from the remaining eight ends of the ribbons to a height of 3.5 cm (or 1-1.5 cells) from the level of the shoulders. To fix the cut of the neck, a pair of intersecting ribbons parallel to the wall of the box are bent diagonally resulting from their intersection of the square, which is why the dark side of the birch bark ribbon is brought out. The ends are folded under the nearest transverse tapes. Pulling up the ribbons and tightening the weave, they successively bend all the remaining pairs and form a cut of the neck. To seal the body of the box, it must be braided with a second layer.
The weaving of the outer layer begins with the shoulders, which are reinforced with ribbons 35 cm long. The transverse ribbon is slightly raised with a hook, the pointed end of the ribbon is inserted into the gap formed and it is pulled through. In the same way, a tape is drawn around the entire body of the box, dragging it under all the transverse tapes. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the tapes of the second layer of braid are outward on the inside of the bark. Having duplicated the ribbons braiding the hangers, the four remaining strips that go to the neck of the box are strengthened. The beginning and end of each duplicate tape is tucked under the transverse tape at the base of the neck.
Making a tuesa from birch bark
Tues - a traditional product made of birch bark, is a round birch bark box with a tight lid, durable, sterile, waterproof. Mushrooms are salted in it, cabbage is sour, honey, sour cream, berries are kept, and nothing spoils in the tues. Its device resembles a thermos; a small insulating layer of air remains between the inner and outer walls, due to which the contents of the container are always cold.
Rice. 4. Tues from layered birch bark:
1 - skoloten, 2 - sheathing; 3 - cover.
We offer one of the most common ways to make a tuesa (Fig. 4). In it, the inside is seamless, and the edges of the outer are connected in a lock.
Materials: skoloten, plastic birch bark, strips of birch bark for belts, strips-linings in folds, planks of wood for making the bottom and lid, willow rod for the handle.
The outer surface of the birch bark is cleaned of thickening, exfoliated pieces of bark. On the skolotne from above and below, excess layers are removed by 3-6 cm. Then prepare the skin. A layered birch bark (with the outer side inward) is wrapped around the cleavage so that its edges are 4-7 cm on top of each other. A line is drawn along the edges with an awl and semicircular holes are cut on one edge, and denticles on the other. This method of fastening is called a lock (or lock).
The sheathing is put on the skoloten. In this case, the end protruding from below should be larger than the upper one. Bringing the water to a boil in a saucepan, lower the upper protruding end of the skewers there and steam it. After a few minutes, when it becomes soft and elastic, turn it outward, and it tightly wraps around the skin. For greater strength, a narrow strip of birch bark 4-5 mm wide or a willow twig is inserted into the resulting side. The same is done with the lower part of the tues.
The bottom and lid are best made from coniferous wood - they do not leak and store liquids longer. On boards with a thickness of 15-20 mm, circles are drawn with a compass and circles are cut out on them: the lid is corresponding to the inner diameter of the tues, and the bottom is with an allowance of 2-4 mm. The bottom is inserted into the again steamed lower edge of the tuesa. To increase the strength, a belt is also put on it - a strip of birch bark 2.5-5 cm wide, fastened into a lock. Two through holes with a diameter of 6-8 mm are cut out in the lid with a semicircular chisel. A curved handle is inserted into these holes and fixed by cutting round holes at the ends of the handle on the inside of the lid and inserting a short stick into them.
Modern Yakut craftsmen make products from birch bark also in combination with willow and horsehair. In the manufacture of a tuesa or a box, first freely sliding wide birch bark rings are put on the skoloten and they are fixed on it with the help of hoops from a willow rod, divided in two along the length. These hoops are skillfully braided with black or dark brown horsehair crosswise, and they form an original ornament on the convex surface of the rim. The bottom and lid are also made of birch bark and willow and braided with horse hair.
birch bark
Birch bark is a universal material; plastic, lightweight, durable. Previously, shoes, baskets for berries, boxes for picking mushrooms were woven from it.
Birch bark was usually collected in the spring. At this time of the year, it is more durable and easily separated from the trunk. The time for harvesting birch bark was determined according to the old popular belief: rye blossomed - it's time to go to the forest for birch bark. And folk craftsmen wove products in late autumn or winter, when free time appeared.
Read the text:
birch bark
In Rus', birch bark was very much appreciated. They made shoes, toys, jewelry from it. Butter, sour cream, cottage cheese were stored in birch bark dishes. Birch bark was used for writing.
How can we title the text?
Answer the questions:
What is birch bark?
What did people make of it?
What was stored in birch bark dishes?
What was birch bark used for?
Consider if the words
birch (bark) and birch bark (dishes) single root?
Explain your answer.
Read the text
find the studied spellings.
Birch bark is the upper part of the birch bark.
Read the text again to yourself.
Birch bark is the upper part of the birch bark.
In Rus', birch bark was very much appreciated. They made shoes, toys, jewelry from it. Butter, sour cream, cottage cheese were stored in birch bark dishes. Birch bark was used for writing.
Number.
Presentation.
Beryosta.
Write a summary of the questions.
1. What is birch bark?
upper part of birch bark
2. What did people make of it?
shoes, toys, jewelry
3. What was stored in birch bark dishes?
butter, sour cream, cottage cheese
4. What was birch bark used for?
for writing
5. What are birch bark documents?
letters and documents
The presentation was made by
Andrienko Svetlana Evgenievna
primary school teacher
MBOU "Uyutnenskaya secondary school - gymnasium"