Passion for handicrafts, folklore and amateur performances is a trend of recent years. More and more people find themselves in such hobbies, so it is not surprising that they often have a question about how to weave bast shoes, because this famous footwear has been mentioned more than once in historical chronicles, literature and cinema. Moreover, the art of their creation lives and develops to this day.
Product Features
Since ancient times, lapti have served as footwear for the poorest strata of the population. They were worn by almost everyone, regardless of gender and age, with the exception of residents of Siberia and representatives of the Cossacks. Lapti were woven from bast or bast. Linden, willow, birch, and elm were used as materials for creating the item. It happened that not only wood was used for these purposes, but also straw or horsehair.
Products made from linden bast were considered the most durable and long-lasting. Birch bark bast shoes were soft. Shoes were often named according to the number of bast strips used in making bast shoes: five, six, seven. For warmth and durability, hemp rope was used, and leather soles were sewn on.
For festive events, people wore elm bast shoes, which were decorated with braid and painting.
The first mentions of these shoes are found in the 12th century. Low cost and availability of raw materials for production made bast shoes very common. Up until the Civil War from 1918 to 1920, most of the Red Army soldiers wore them. Today, bast shoes are produced as souvenirs, decorative elements, shoes for dolls, and an item for recreating folk costumes. They are also worn as house slippers.
Instructions for weaving different models
Craftsmen who make these shoes use birch bark, bast or more modern raw materials to create them. For example, very beautiful bast shoes are made from newspaper tubes, knitted yarn, jute twine.
From newspaper tubes
This raw material is very common as a material for weaving bast shoes. The finished product looks beautiful and resembles shoes made of natural material.
For weaving you will need:
- newspapers;
- scissors;
- PVA glue;
- some water;
- knitting needles 2-3 mm in diameter (both metal and plastic ones will do).
Before weaving bast shoes, you need to prepare the material. This process is not particularly difficult, even a beginner can easily cope with this task:
- A regular double newspaper sheet should be folded in half and carefully divided into two parts along the fold. The resulting material should be folded lengthwise and cut. Thus, one piece should produce 4 long narrow pieces.
- After this, you will need to dilute the glue in a 1:3 ratio. Place a knitting needle on the corner of the strip and wind the paper around it in a spiral. When the sheet is completely twisted, you need to secure the piece with a glue solution. After which you can remove the knitting needle.
To prepare the pieces, it is recommended to cut a whole stack of newspaper sheets at once.
Before you start weaving, the tubes need to be slightly moistened, without flattening. How to make bast shoes step by step, you can learn from the following instructions:
- Place one tube horizontally.
- Place the second one on it, having first bent it into the shape of the letter “L”.
- Put on the third tube parallel to the second one.
- They must be intertwined on one base, on a single leg, in a cross shape.
- In the same way, you need to put 5 more newspaper straws on the base.
- Pass the leg of each of them through a regular braid into the bases that were secured earlier.
- Screw the extreme lower parts of the pieces into the resulting fabric up to the middle of the product, having first captured the side.
- Secure the remaining free edges in the same way.
- This way the back part of the bast shoe will be formed.
- After every fourth crossing, additional tubes must be attached to the sole of the future shoe. In a similar way, in the shape of the letter "L".
- The bottom of the product is woven according to this pattern. Since additional tubes are woven in, the required expansion is obtained closer to the toe of the shoe.
- The sole should be tried on the foot, if everything fits, you can start making the upper part.
- For the top of the bast shoe, two bent tubes should be left in the central area. The straws at the edges from the middle ones are secured with calico weaving.
- Do the same with the remaining tube, bringing it to the center.
- The weaving bends the fabric upwards, thereby forming a cape. The same should be done with all the tubes, lifting them upwards.
- It remains to close the edges of the bast shoe, form the sides. For this purpose, the tubes from the middle should be intertwined with each other and brought out to the back side, stretching each one separately to the edge.
- Then they should be threaded through the hole closest to the side of the slipper and attached to the sole with glue.
- All remaining tubes must be intertwined in each direction and glued to the sole part.
This weaving pattern is one of the simplest. Thanks to it, even a beginner can figure out how to weave bast shoes.
From knitted yarn
Such products look beautiful and are very convenient to use, and even a novice craftswoman can make them. For work you will need:
- knitted fabric 1 x 1.5 m;
- hook;
- scissors;
- needle and thread.
Step by step execution:
Before you weave bast shoes from knitwear with your own hands, you need to prepare the yarn. To do this, you should cut strips about a centimeter wide from the fabric. After that, they need to be sewn into one solid thread.
Knitted fabric is soft, stretches well and takes the desired shape. That is why weaving bast shoes with it is easy and pleasant.
Once the yarn is prepared, you can start weaving:
- For a size 27 bast shoe, you will need to crochet about 13-15 chain stitches.
- After this, knit the next stitch with single crochets to the required length.
- Then you need to knit the sides: 3 rows with a double crochet.
- In the center of the resulting bast shoe, you need to knit 5-6 air loops to fasten the sides and better fix the shoe on the foot.
- The top of the slipper is knitted in a circle with single crochet stitches. After that, you need to secure the thread.
Next, all that remains is to knit a chain for the laces that are secured to the heel.
Knitted from jute twine
Before making bast shoes, you need to prepare the materials. To weave bast shoes from twine, you will need:
- crochet hook;
- jute twine.
Beads, bugles, and artificial flowers will come in handy for decoration. The instructions show how to make decorative slippers. A full-size pair of shoes can be knitted using a similar pattern.
Step-by-step master class:
- You need to put a chain of 5 air loops on the hook. After that, it is tied with single crochet stitches in a circle.
- Thus, it is necessary to knit about 2 cm - this is the height of the sock. After that, it is necessary to knit the sole to the heel with turning rows of single crochet stitches, about 4 cm.
- Next, you should decrease the loops under the heel part. For this purpose, in each row, the loop is not knitted, while the outer one is grabbed.
- When one loop remains, it needs to be tightened, the thread cut, allowing for some extra material to be used to process the edge of the product.
- The remaining thread must be wrapped around the top of the slipper.
The second bast shoe should be knitted using a similar pattern. They are fastened together in pairs. Woven items can be given as a souvenir or kept for yourself. If desired, bast shoes can be additionally decorated.
Decor options
The newspaper tubes must be painted. This can be done with acrylic paint or a special colorant. The color should be chosen based on the purpose of the future pair of shoes and the preferences of the craftswoman. It is acceptable to depict patterns, drawings on the bast shoes, decorate the product with painting. Paper shoes can be coated with acrylic varnish. This will make the color brighter, the item will last longer, and it will be easier to clean.
Bast shoes made of knitted yarn can be dyed with special fabric paint. Products made of jute rope are decorated in a variety of ways. They are decorated with ribbons, beads, glass beads, artificial flowers, appliques, and more. A bast shoe made with your own hands can be given as a gift for a holiday or simply when visiting. Foreigners will especially like such gifts.
Weaving bast shoes is not difficult. Moreover, it is a very exciting process. An original piece of footwear made with your own hands can serve as an excellent gift, souvenir or interior item. To decorate finished products, you can use various decorative methods based on the preferences of the craftswoman.
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