Elective 10D

Wolf Elective 10D Make a traditional item or instrument that American Indians used to make their lives easier is one of the more difficult electives.

We chose to make the Plains Parfleche. It started out being a difficult elective, however, after an hour, we finally figured some easier ways to work on it.

We chose to use canvas material, since we already had some. I punched sewing holes for my Wolf cub and he used plastic lacing to "sew" it together. Use a small hole punch. It worked easily through the canvas. If you choose to use the plastic lacing, cut your "sewing" end off at a 45 degree angle to make a point. This will make it considerably easier than if you have a blunt end of lacing. Those two hints should help considerably if you choose to do this elective.
We checked out this website and got ideas for our bag... there are lots of styles to choose from. http://www.morningstargallery.com/parfleche/07.html
One of the great things that this project made us realize (as simple as it was in comparison to making one from leather ... from killing the deer to tanning the hide) how hard people had to work without modern tools like sewing machines and ready made material.
This is a great activity if you want to get into deeper subjects like modern conveniences...