Parfleche

A parfleche is a type of bag some Native Americans used for carrying items that a basket wasn't necessarily good for...like clothing, foods, and other goods. Among many tribes, it was the women's job to make and decorate the parfleche.

In Room 8, we are studying some of the California tribes. Now I don't know if our tribes made parfleches, but we're making them in Room 8....out of paper sacks, not rawhide, like the tribes used.

We started with a paper sack...(hide)...and we twisted/untwisted/twisted/untwisted the sack (beat it with a stick) to remove all the hair (to break down the fibers).
First we cut down one side fold of a sack and cut off the bottom.


After wading the sack up in a ball, we then CAREFULLY smoothed it out and rubbed it vigorously along the side of our desks.
Look at the speed of Carlo!
Looks like Madison has the rhythm of getting her 'rawhide' ready to go!Devin's got the stance...notice how he's bracing himself with his feet. He probably broke a sweat doing this!Austin is working hard on his, too.

After we finished this part, we folded it - sort of like a large envelope. This was a common way the tribes folded theirs. That's where we stopped on Friday.

Tuesday, we should start drawing our designs. They will be symmetrical with some geometric shapes and Native American symbols. We will then paint them...then sew the sides with yarn.

Be watching...they're always beautiful!