Making a Birch Bark Container
A simple but practical design for anyone to try.

It is preferable to use bark stripped from fresh logs for these kinds of crafts; the bark is much more durable and flexible. I personally harvest my bark in the summer months from naturally fallen trees or timber left by forestry operations. You may need to inspect several logs before finding suitable bark as the quality does vary. Many trees produce bark that is just too thin. The bark I am using in this article is about 1mm thick; which is good enough.Just out of interest, it is a myth that stripping the outer bark from a living Birch tree will kill it. As long as the inner bark is not damaged the tree will continue to live. The Birch will actually re-grow its outer bark over the course of a few years. Although stripping bark in this way is possible and commonly practiced in more Northern countries; it would most certainly be viewed as vandalism here in the UK.	Cut a long strip of bark ensuring the width is even along the length. Have it long enough so that when rolled up it will be double thickness. This will give extra strength to your container and the bark will also be less likely to split when sewing the container together.
Remove any loose material from the outside of the bark. Pulling your thumb across the surface usually flakes off loose material neatly.	Roll the bark up. I have chosen to have the outside of the bark on the inside of the container. You can see that I have rolled it up far enough to have the bark double thickness... Roll it tightly so there are no gaps between the two layers of bark.
Hold the bark firmly in place. Using an Awl (you could use a sharp nail) make a couple of holes either side of the seam at the top. You can then insert a couple of thin wooden pegs to hold the bark temporarily together. The pegs also help to keep the holes open.	Continue to make a series of holes down the front of the container.
If the top and bottom of the container are not level then you can trim them now.	Time to sew the container up...I am using Lime bark fibres but you could use any type of thin cordage material; Spruce roots, Willow bark etc. If the end of the binding material is pointed and not frayed then you may not need a needle to do all the stitching. This is often the case when using Spruce roots
Thread the binding material through the first two holes as shown...	Sew down the container. I used a cross stitch but it's up to you what stitching method you use... as long as it holds together tightly.The holes that you made close up again quickly so you may need to re-open them with the Awl.
I use a home made sewing needle to sew the middle holes. If you are making a tall thin container it will be hard to stitch the middle holes. You could use a curved needle to reach down the container in that situation. Or it is possible to sew the whole container up loosely and then tighten it up from the bottom; just like loosely threading new shoe laces onto a shoe and then systematically pulling on the lace at different points to tighten it up from the bottom upwards, I have used this technique to stitch a tall thin bark arrow quiver.	End up with both ends on the inside and then tie it off.
	Cut two disks from seasoned wood. (If the wood is fresh then it will shrink)I cut the wood slightly thicker for the piece that will become the lid.
Draw around the container onto the wood and carve them to size until they fit snugly.	For the lid I taper the inner edge slightly for an easier fit.
Tap the base into place, it should be a tight fit so that it holds well.	Here is one way you can secure the base some more... Using the Awl make a few holes around the sides of the base.
tap thorns into the holes like nails; Hawthorns or Blackthorns are a good choice.
Trim thorns flush with surface.	Make a hole in the lid.
Make a small piece of cordage or cut a strip of leather for the pull loop.	Push the cordage through the hole and insert a small wooden peg.
Bang the peg in so that it permanently secures the cordage in place. (Be careful not to hammer the peg so much that it splits the wood.)	Trim it off flush.Another way to secure the loop could be to tie the cord into a knot underneath and on top.
The assembled pots...

Carving a Dish

Carving a Dish   To start get yourself a log of fresh wood and chop it down the centre with an axe. Choose which piece of wood you would rather use and carve the split surface smooth and flat. Also carve the bottom slightly flat so your dish doesn't roll onto it's side.     Make 2 cuts where you would like the handles to meet the bowl section as shown in the picture. Mind you don't cut too deep otherwise you wont have handles at all...   Chop off the wood to form the basis of the handles.   Now round off the ends of the bowl section with your knife, you can take some wood off to start with using a small hatchet but you'll need good control.Then draw your handle shapes on and begin to carve them to shape too. Keep on carving until you are happy with the shape of your dish This carving job may take a while so if you decide to stop and carry on the next day put your work in a plastic bag so that it doesn't dry out. If the wood dries it will be harder to carve. Now its time to carve the bowl out using a crook knife. Most of the carving work is done by carving across the grain. This is going to take a while and is quite hard on the hands if you're not used to it. If it feels like you may get blisters, wear a pair of leather gloves.Try to carve the dish so that the walls are an even thickness, gauge where you need to take more wood off  using your fingers like callipers. Also, It can be wise to leave the wood a little thicker near to the handles, if thick wood suddenly meets thin wood it is likely to crack at this point when the wood dries. When you have finished all the carving work, place the dish inside an open bag (paper bag is best) for 1 or 2 weeks, this will to slow down the rate of drying which should prevent the wood from splitting. I like to put the bag on its side so that any evaporation does not quickly just go straight up and away.  You can now sand all the bumps and scratches away (Sanding green wood would have clogged the sand paper). Start with coarse grade paper and finish with fine grade. Alternatively, you could make a really clean and neat job in the last stages of your carving work; even tool marks have quite an attractive quality. Finally, wipe the wood over with some oil to bring out the natural colour and enhance to grain. I used vegetable oil but mineral oil is preferable, veg based oils can apparently go rancid.Happy carving!

Carving a Classic Kuksa Cup

Carving a Classic Kuksa Cup
	Kuksa cups are traditionally carved from Birch wood, this is what I have chosen to use too. Take a log of fresh wood and chop it down the centre with an axe.		Take one half and carve the chopped surface smooth and flat with your knife. Draw around a cup or round object onto the flat surface at one end
	Carve around one side of the circle.		Now carve the underneath to make half the cup shape. As there is quite a lot of wood to remove, a sharp hatchet will make the job a lot easier to rough out the shape to begin with.
	Now draw on the handle shape connecting to the bowl.To easily remove the bulk of wood from either side of the handle make a couple of 'stop cuts' with a saw.		Simply split away the surplus wood.
	Tidy up the split edges with some smooth cuts from your knife. Carve fairly close to the lines but leave some excess wood for now.		start to shape the bowl on the other side of the cup. If the knife slips and goes onto the handle area it will only damage the excess wood which you'll remove later...
			Now you can draw on the profile shape of your handle. There are many possible designs.
	I used a Brace and Bit to drill the hole. You can tidy the job up more with your knife		When you are happy with the form of the cup, move on to carving out the bowl. For this you'll need a Spoon Knife. I recommend the 'Frosts Spoon Knife' (the single edged version), I have found this knife to be just as good as some of the more expensive brands you can buy.The spoon knife will make the tidiest cuts when cutting across the grain, but you'll eventually need to carve from many angles and in many directions. Use your fingers like callipers to gauge how thick the walls of the bowl are as you go.
	Perfect the shape of your cup, smooth off any rough areas. When you're completely done with the carving work place it in an open bag (paper bag is best) for a week or two to let the wood dry. Have the bag on its side, this stops moisture evaporating too fast and should prevent the wood cracking as it dries. Sanding your cup nice and smooth will be easier when the wood is dry. Start off with a fairly coarse grade of sand paper until the cup is smooth all over, then repeat with medium grade paper and finally a fine grade. You can wrap a small piece of sand paper around a dowel and use this for sanding around the hole in the handle.		You can also drill a hole and attach some cord for hanging your cup.
	Once sanded and totally finished; oiling the wood will enhance the colour and grain. You can wipe it over with vegetable oil but mineral oil is preferable as veg oil can sometimes go rancid (although I've never had this happen)Have fun!