Chippewa Customs

WEAVING OF BLANKETS OF RABBIT SKIN

DEXSMORE] CHIPPEWA CUSTOMS 161 beneath a lower thread, producing a twisting of the two. The interlacing of the threads near the lower end of the loom was corrected when the completed work was released from the pole behind the worker. One end of the belt being completed, the position of the work was reversed and the other end netted, beginning at the other side of the split stick. When both ends had been netted the split stick and the yarn stitches were removed, leaving no trace on the completed work. The netting was secured at the ends by needle and yarn, at least 12 inches of the yarn being left to form a fringe. (PI. 70.) Another pattern of woven belt is shown in Plate 71, b. WEAVING OF BLANKETS OF RABBIT SKIN Two methods of weaving rabbit-skin blankets were used by the Chippewa in northern and northeastern Minnesota and in Canada. In making one sort of blanket the rabbit skin was cut "round and round" in a narrow strip so that one hide made a continuous strip. Green hides were used and the strips twisted in drying so that they resembled soft cords. The weaving was done on a warp of cotton twine, with a space of about half an inch between the rows of rabbit skin. The blanket was firmly woven as the rabbit skin was tied around each thread of the warp. Such a blanket was seen at Grand Marais, Minn. For making the other sort of blanket the rabbit skins were tanned dry (without removing the hair) and were cut in strips" round and round," after which they were woven like the netting on snowshoes. vVhen made by either method the blanket is alike on the two sides and very thick. A blanket of the latter sort, about 6 feet square, was recently made at Grand Portage, Minn. WEAVING OF HEAD ORNAMENT OF MOOSE HAIR A favorite dance ornament consisted of a roach of stiff moose hair which was woven in a long strip and then coiled and sewed into the ornament. In weaving this ornament a woman tied one end of a stout string to a post at a height of about 3 feet from the ground and tied the other end to a stick which she placed under her as she sat on the ground. This held the weaving string taut, and with a second string she fastened the moose hair in place. This weaving was witnessed by the writer. A detail of the process is shown in Plate 16,0; but as moose hair was not available, the specimen was made of fine grass. A similar ornament was made with the hair of the porcupine as the outer row while inside this was white deer hair dyed red and clipped very short after weaving. The porcupine hair used for this purpose was the long hair on the animal's back. ...