A few people asked what mukluks are. They are traditional – Indian and Eskimo – boots. They are the best thing to wear in the bush in the cold. Your feet stay warm and there’s no plastic to freeze hard like a rock. There are many different styles and ways to make mukluks. Traditionally they would have been made totally with hide from moose, deer, seal and probably any available animal. Nowadays there is canvas, Melton, Stroud and other fabrics used in them, and they are decorated with rick rack, beads and other trim, instead of porcupine quills and fur.
The mukluks I’m making are for a friend of DD # 3. One of the kids who calls me her second mother. I’ve made mukluks before, but I’m not an expert and I always learn something new about the methods for sewing them.
These are my mukluks, a present from a friend who is one of the best traditional First Nation sewers I know. Canvas tops, hide bottoms, rickrack and trim. The liners are wool.
These are DH’s mukluks, made by me. As taught by my friend. I made four pairs of mukluks that winter, one for each of my DDs and one for DH.
The recipient of the pair I am making right now asked if I could make them dark blue or brown. I’m thinking about dyeing the canvas. I know I’ll never find the heavy weight cloth that I could use in place of canvas.
Janet
