Finished the Weaving on My First Cap !

I’ve finished the weaving!!

Next step is to clip and clean the inside of my cap and then shape it with wet sand. I will be blogging that process. For now, I’m feeling very happy to have the weaving completed. This has been a big project for me, with many challenges and many ups and downs. I look at my cap and see the imperfections compared to the old time basket weavers. But, I’ve learned so much over this past year that I’m not sure I have even comprehended it yet. I have to remind myself that this is my “first cap”, it’s okay, and the next one will be better. The highlight of my day was receiving a text message from my daughter, Neva, who lives in Portland, asking me, “Can I wear your cap”? 

 

 

... it still has to be trimmed and shaped.

The Cap has Three Sections

I am told there are three parts to our ceremonial caps.  Each section is bordered by a stick that goes around the cap and is wrapped with a weaving material.  I have chosen to wrap my sticks with bear grass. This “wrap around” stick gives the cap strength and support.  It also, I think, looks nice giving the cap a variance in visual dimension.  Today my husband Marty came along to take some video pictures, which will show the process better than trying to explain it.

The top of the cap, up to the first wrapped stick, represents a woman’s childhood.  The middle and largest portion of the cap between the two wrapped sticks, represents a woman’s adult life. The final and smallest portion of the cap represents a woman’s elder years.

I am now ready to begin the final stage of my cap!

Wrapping the "wrap around" stick with bear grass

 

End of the day progress... made it all the way around.

 

The following are YouTube videos of this day's session:

 Deciding how many more rows are necessary and

deciding what size stick to use as the encircling

wrapped stick (2:00):

http://youtu.be/lENOCGa2EE0

 

Talking about how the cap will be finished (3:27):

 http://youtu.be/3d4I36Ak2K0

 

Learning how the wrapped sticks are joined/replaced (2:33):

 http://youtu.be/h6fCoo9gPUk

 

De-ribbing the bear grass (1:04):

http://youtu.be/5Hvf3te3QnA

 

Wrapping the stick that encircles the basket (8:06):

http://youtu.be/Gu9EFlytwvE

 

Replacing/adding to the wrapped stick (3:54):

http://youtu.be/ODhjY9DYzwU

 

 

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