MAKING THE MAT

274 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

[BuU. 186 into boilingwater

and withdrawn

almost immediately. Thisrestores the pliability

and

brings out the odor."

However,

the stove-dried product after 2 years

had

retained its color, odor,

and

sufficient pli- abilitytobeused without

dampening.

Grass prepared foruse is

shown

in

Densmore

_(1928, pi.49), Jones (1936,^pi.3,i),

and

thepresent

paper

(pi.55)

.

nSI^tT"^^^*

CHIPPEWA MAT-WEAVING TECHNIQUES —

^{^PETERSEN}

275

Shortly before a strand of grass runsout, another strand is

added

to bring it

up

to the original thickness.

The new

ends are hidden

among

the old so asnot tobevisible

from

the rightside.

As

thecircumferenceincreases

and

the"spokes" of stitches

become

farther apart, it

may

be desirable to interpolate

more

spokes. It is sufficientto

add

a

row

only after alternate rows.

To

dothis, a stitch is not lined

up

directlywiththatof thepreceding coil,but is

made

a

little fartherto the right.

The

next stitch,insteadof lining

up

with thefollowingrow, againutilizesthe

same

row, buttends

somewhat

to theleft.

The

nextstitchfollowsits

normal

row,

and

the successiveone

is doubled,

and

so

on around

the circleonce. Thereafterthestitches line

up

withthoseoftheprecedingcoil.

Another answer

tothewideningspacebetween

rows

istointerpolate a

row

ofzigzaggrass, asinthe all-grass

mat

in plate55.

To do

this, thelast stitchisdoubled

and

thethreadis

wound around

thelong

end

of thecoil for

%

^of

^an

^{inch to 1 inch, withthe}thread spaced at the

same

intervals as willbe usedbetweenthe

rows

thatwillbe

added when

thezigzag pattern isfinished.

The

grassisbent withcare at a right angle

toward

the mat, the

wrapping

is continued

an

equal distance,

and

the strand is joinedwith a double stitch to the

mat

properat a point

where

a

row

ofstitchesended.

The

grassisbentata rightangle

away from

themat,

and

the process isrepeated to the point

where

the zigzag pattern began. Here, after the free

end

is double-stitched, there is a choice ofseveralterminations.

The

free

end may

becarried to the back side of the mat,

and

cut off. It

may

follow closely the

first element of thezigzag

and

be

wrapped

with it.

Or

it

may bend more

sharplythanthefirstelement

and form an

acuteangle.

Thereafter additional

rows

of coiling are

added

at will, starting atthe outside

bend

ofa zigzag with a doublestitchifoneof thefirst

two methods

of termination

was

used.

For

the first coil, the thread

is

wrapped around

thelong

end

atthe interval desired, untiltheout- side angle of a zigzagis reached

and

the grass is secured to it

by

a double stitch.

The

process isrepeatedallthe

way around

thecircum- ference. Successive

rows

arelikethose in the central portion.

When

the desired size is reached,

work

continues until the strand of grass ends.

A row

of overcasting

may

be

added

in

which

the thread passes throughthe grassatthe

same

point asthelastrow,butinthe opposite direction, giving

an

attractive zigzagstitch.

Another row

of zigzag strands

may

be used as afinish instead.

The

smaller

mat

in plate 55

shows

the former edge,

and

the larger utilizes the latter

and

also

interpolatesbirchbark with porcupinequillembroidery.

623-738—63 20

276 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

^[Bull.186 Details of the process given

by Lyford

(1953, p. 64)

and

Jones (1936,pp. 28-29) are similar except for the^latter's

method

of

adding rows

of stitches.

"When

they

become

^as

much

asthree-eighths of

an

inch apart," he says, "a stitch is

made midway

between

two

of the previous round,

and

thus a

new

radiusisbegun."

When

birchbarkisusedinmats,it isusually

ornamented

withquill-

work. This

must

be applied before the sweetgrass is

sewn on

be- cause a lining of

bark

is required beneath the embroidered piece, to cover the cutendsof thequills.

The

grassis

sewn

^ontothebark with stitches

through

both layers

and

about one-fourth of

an

inch

from

the edge.

Warping

of the

bark

is

minimized by running

the grain of the

two

layers inoppositedirections,

and

sometimesa piece of card- boardisinterposedasa further precaution.

Usually a simple isolated design element is

made from

the quills.

Coleman

(1947, p. 40) mentions "leaves, trees, flowers, or geometric figures,"

some

of

which

are discernible in her three pictured

mats

(pi. _6, h

—

^{one of}

^{which may}

^be a basket), as well as in plate 55 of the present paper.

Today,

quills are

dyed

with commercial dyes ex- cept

when an

all-white pattern isdesired or

when

the natural

brown

tip of the quill (pi. 55) is usedincreating a

brown and

whitedesign.

The

finer the quills the

more

artistic the result that can be obtained.

Before beingused, the quills are soakedhalf

an hour

or until

damp.

The

design is

drawn on

the

wrong

side of the

bark and

holes are

punched

with

an awl on

the right side,

from which

side both endsof the quills are inserted, sometimes flattened

and

sometimes not.

The

writer has tweezers

made

of metal

by

the

husband

of a quill-

worker

to facilitate pulling the sharp quills through.

The bark may

be backed

up

with a piece of oilcloth to prevent its splitting. All ^but one-fourth of

an mch

of the quill-ends iscut off. Mrs. Bigbear

was

carefulto

bum up

the cutendsatonce.

In

older specimens black thread predominates, with green second.

Some

present-day workers use various bright colors singly or

com-

binedthateclipsethesubtleshadesof the grassitself.

USE OF

MATS

Ethnologists speculate that the coilingtechnique isa trait of great age

among

the

Chippewa

(Jones, _1936, pp. 29-31^;

Mason,

1904, pp.

376-377).

Mason

quotes Charles C.Willoughby'sbeliefthatitdates back to pre-

White

contact, while Jones brings

up

the possibility of modifications

due

totheinfluenceof the

White man.

Itappearslikely that the sweetgrass

mat was

a product of this influence.

While

a coiledbasket or

bowl would

beusefultoa primitive

Chippewa,

a frag-

ment

ofbark could bereadilyprocuredtoserveforaplate.

Only

the

NS^eTT'"^^^"

CHIPPEWA MAT- WEAVING TECHNIQUES — PETERSEN 277

table of the

European

settler

had

needfor

an

ornamental

mat

to use

under

teapots or hotdishes.