This class is 9AM-5PM Saturday and Sunday. Students are welcome to stay Saturday night and camp on site during the program, but meals will not be provided.

The outer bark of the birch tree has been used to make baskets and containers for thousands of years by people all over the Northern latitudes.  With its inherent flexibility and antiseptic properties, birch bark as a wilderness or stone-age material is unrivaled for its utility for storing and preserving things.  In this class we take you from start to finish on the creation of a plaited birch bark basket.  You will: identify, locate and harvest birch bark from the landscape; prepare and process it for weaving and create a basket of your design using the ancient and effective plaiting technique.  We will explore several variations of plaited weaving in the styles of the ancient Russians, Finns and Scandinavians.  The weaving techniques that you will learn in this class are applicable to a wide variety of natural materials other than birch bark.

 

This course can be taken at a discount as a part of the Basketry Series: Weaving from the Landscape.

To see more pictures of baskets visit the Basketry page of our Skills Gallery.

 

 To attend this course please download and send in a Registration Form, either by email, to info@rootsvt.com or PO Box 932 Montpelier, VT 05601. The form is available below.  Please include the non-refundable deposit either in the form of a check or through Google Check-Out available below.
 
Once we receive your registration we will send a Course Confirmation and Information letter that will confirm your space in the course as well as detail the logistics of when the course begins and ends, gear lists, directions, and school policies.