With your fingers shape the edges of the plates in an upward turn while
the bark is wet, using the smoothest side for the inside of the plate.
A large bark cornucopia with bark strap-handle can be made and carried
on the arm in place of a basket when off berrying.
Variations of circular, oblong, and rectangular bark dishes may be
worked out from strips and rectangular pieces of birch bark, and all
dishes can be turned into baskets by adding handles. When necessary to
sew the edges of bark together, always have the bark wet and soft; then
lap the edges and use a very coarse darning-needle with twine of
inner-bark fibre or rootlets; have ready hot melted grease mixed with
spruce gum to coat over the stitching and edges of the article, or you
can use white-birch resin for the same purpose.
The bark utensils will wear longer if a slender rootlet or branchlet of
pliable wood is sewed, with the "over-and-over" stitch, to the edge of
the article.
For round and oblong dishes or baskets, sew together the two ends of
your strip of wet bark; then sew the round or oblong bottom on the lower
edge of the bark circle.
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