My great grandpa Leo was originally from Africa, he had very dark skin, and very curly hair. He came in with the Whalers back in the early 1900's and married my great grandma Louisa and created a family, they are now deceased and left this wrld with 12 children- my Grandma being the oldest, who now have peobably about a hundred grandchildren. The greatgrandparents were well known and very well respected in Rankin and many parts of the Kivalliq.
Cultural Change
I have chosen African Traditional sewing because I found their clothing to be very colourful and very unique. I have met an African before and she has shown me the different patterns and all the different colour combinations she used to make her clothing and I was fascinated of how simple it is to make them.
Many or most Africans create their own clothing with similar materials that we get from local stores. Their clothing has changed very much like the Inuit culture, from using land animals as a big part of their wardrobe to fashionable material using the same patterns. The Africans used several different types of fabric that is used to make traditional African clothing. They include Aso oke fabric and Adire fabric both of which are made by the Yoruba. Aso oke is the fabric and Adire refers to a tie dye process that is used to create patterns in the woven cloth. Other types of African textiles include Kente cloth, which is made by theAkan ethnic group, Barkcloth, Mudcloth, Kanga and Kitenge. In many of my blogs I talked about the different animals we used and it is quit similar to the African culture.
African Traditional Clothing
African Traditional Clothing
Since the climate is very different from the North, the type of clothing they wore were very opposite; Africans wore clothing that were loose fitting and comfortable because their climate in Africa is very warm, where as the Inuit used clothing to cover up every inch of their bodies to stay warm because of their cold climate.
Traditional Inuit Clothing
The Land
Africa
The land of the Africans is very different from our land, but our culture and our traditions are very importnat to our people. Come to think of it, when we watch something about Africans on TV, someone in my family always says; we like the Africans! how? well, they have a dry climate, where they use every bit of the animal they catch to eat. Like us, in the long winter days, it gets dry, and like the africans we use everybit of the animal.
Nunavut
As I search for various things about the african traditional sewing, their was not much to offer in youtube. But I leanrt about their designs and costumes they use for special occations and celebrations.
Since I don't know how to Knit or Crochet, I was trying to find ways to make hats using the sewing machine. Altough their are many ways to sew hats I've only discovered one simple but fashionable way when I was given a pattern for an infant.
Weekend Project
Over the weekend I made a few hats for the upcoming Flee Market in Iqaluit. Here are pictures of the steps i've done to complete this hat. This is the pattern I followed for a hat that would fit 1-3 years old.
Sewing this hat I used Fleece, A soft material that I bought from a local store. There are various sites like Millinery Tachniques, which shows you how to make fashionable hats, or even costume hats that you can use for halloween, even baseball caps, that are very popular in the north. These Links can show you a step by step process of how to make various and fasionable clothing that meet your daily needs. Since I explored various web sites, it made a big impact on my sewing ability. I look at clothing as a sewing project rather then just a piece of clothing that I can buy from the store. I can make it and save money.
Here is the sewing project I have finished over the weekend, With my sewing machine.
For this Project you will need
A Working Sewing machine
Fleece
Thread
Scissors
& most of all Patience
First I cut up the pattern on half a meter of fleece.
Here is what It looked like before
I sewed the pattern together
Top of the Infant hat
Sewing the Top half & bottom half of the hat together.
Here is my Completed Fleece hat
Their are other simple ways to make hats for all ages, I have only tried one that takes about 30 mins to make. If your the type of person who enjoys sewing, or someone who has a tight budget. Sewing your own things can save you a ton of money. Their are many patterns that are available online, they can make great gifts that are very affordable.
Here is an example of a simple but very fashionable hat that shows you at a step by step process.
The Inuit have sewn for thousands of years; they have made their own patterns in various sizes with skins that took patience and time to prepare. First the animal was caught by a hunter, the skin was carefully removed, and women in the village were taught to remove the blubber from the skin; which was used for the qulliq, wounds, and food. When the blubber is removed, they will hang the skin for days to dry.
Once the skin is dry- it is soften by a saliguut which is a tool that was used by Inuit women in the past and still is used today. After these steps are completed, the skin is now ready for sewing. Every animal that was caught was all used up from bones to skin & antlers to fat; nothing was ever wasted nor thrown away. Every part of the animal was used for the matter of survival and for the respect of their land and elders.
Watch & Learn how to Prepare Seal Skin
Traditional Thought of the Inuit
Women were taught very well with sewing, if their husband came home with frostbites on their face they were likely to be seen as a bad seamstress. Stitches on their sewing were to be perfect, close together that way their outer wear can be waterproof. If a family used clothes that were worn out or had holes in them, that met the man wasn’t a good hunter or the women isn’t a great sewer. This never really ment anything to me until my later years when I myself became a mother and a girlfriend to a hunter. Everything I was taught was based on their past and as I grew older, I finally really understood the real meaning of being a sewer. If I havn't learnt all these techniques from my mother or grandmother; I wouldn't have known how to use patterns, the sewing machine, and ofcorse to have patience with all my sewing.
Taught at a Young Age
Young ladies were taught at a very young age to be great wives & mothers, they watch their mothers sew various clothing, preparing and cooking meals, picking up blueberries, blackberries, cloud berries and water. They were taught how to skin birds, fish, seals, caribou's and other animals that were caught from the land. They were also taught carefully how to light up the qulliq and how to use the fat from the qulliq wisely.
Young boys were also taught at a very young age with hunting and how to cut up animals, make tools, and qamutiks. They were taught with great skill. I have been taught many techniques about needlework, but none of which include all of the traditional supplies that were used by our ancestors thousands of years ago. Here are some images of patterns & sewing I have completed with seal skin and modern day material.
Mitts- Pualuk
My grandmother has given me a pattern of a 2-3 year old size mitts. I've sewn a pair of seal skin mitts for my daughter with pure seal skin and rabbit fur trimming which will keep her nice and warm. When I first started sewing mitts; I was always told never to have a loose stitch, keep your stitched tight and close together, I never really listened; I was always in a rush to be finished. In my younger years I remember I was like the worst sewer in my class, But I kept watching my mother sew different mitts with various patterns, she always took her time in her projects. Thats where I got taught to be a great sewer; from watching and learning.
2-3 yrs old Mitt Pattern
From 2-3 yrs old Mitt Pattern
Kamik
Here are kamiks that were given to me for my daughter that I had to complete. These are very comfortable for a child because they are light weight. Altought I still don't know how to sew the real kind of kamiks that use bearded seal (bottom of the kamiks) called atungaksaq- which are very hard to find nowadays, I know how to saw the kamikpaks which are the inside layer for the kamik.
Seal Skin Kamiks with Hollow-full
& Material Kamikpaks
Seal Skin Kamiks with Leather Underneath
Hat- Nasaq
This Pattern was given to me from my mother inlaw, This was the first hat I have ever sewn for my daughter. This Pattern is used in many parts of Nunavut because it's easy to sew, and it doesn't take up too much of your time. My mother inlaw has given me many patterns that are simple and easy to learn. Much of them can be used in cultural/sewing classes across Nunavut.
Pattern for 6 month old Hat
Seal Skin Hat I made for my
daughter when she 6 month old.
Big Hooded Parka
This is a pattern of a parka that was given to me from a friend of mine. This pattern takes time and patience to sew because all the pieces of the hood, I made my daughter a jacket with this pattern with modern day material along with hollow fill, cuffs, zipper and a strap of fur for the finishing touch. This pattern has many pieces compared to jackets/parkas I have sewn in the past, so it takes time to sew all the pieces together.
Pattern for A big hooded Parka
for ages 1-3 yrs old
Outcome; Back of the Big hooded Parka
for ages 1-3 yrs old
Outcome; Front of the Big Hooded
Parka for ages 1-3 yrs old
Their are hundreds of ways to sew clothing, many of which I haven't incorporated just yet. Sewing is a hobby that I got from my mother. My mother is a amazing seamstress and she has taught me very well. If I can get youth more involved in sewing both traditional and modern clothing, it would be great, youth would be that much closer to their elders and most of all the Inuit culture. Sewing is a good way to keep yourself busy, and it's also a great way to get together with other ladies who would like to learn this skill, it just takes time and patience to learn the basics.
It also allows you to create your own unique work of art. Not only does sewing give you the ability to become creative, it can also be a hobbie for you and your family to get together and ofcorse a hobbie for you and your friends.
Their are many patterns that allow you to learn by a step by step process, here are a few images of examples to get an idea of some of the sewing patterns you can do right at home. All it takes is a sewing machine, thread, material, fabric, hope & patience! Then you are on the track of becoming an expert sewer!
Their are thousands of different traditional sewing. The way you learn how to sew always determines what religion, tradition, culture or atmosphere you are in. In my culture, sewing has been apart of the tradition since the beginning of time.
Inuit sewing is taught in many ways with hides and skins of fox, wolves, caribous, seals, rabbits, Polar Bears and other animals in the that come across the north. Since the Inuit live in the coolest environments on this planet, wearing warm clothing was never an option, they had to use these clothing to travel and to survive in harsh weathers to search and hunt for animals for food. Every part of the animal was used as apart of survival, the skins were used for clothing, the bones were used for tools such as a needle, weapon, bow and arrow etc.. every thing the Inuit have used were all made from scratch. The Ulu is famous by its unique shape, It was used as well for cutting up skins/materials and of course to cut up food, the Ulu was one of the most important tools that were used in the past.
Traditional Sewing Supplies
Many inuit have created unique clothing that are fascinated by people around the world, the kamik(iit) are boots that inuit have created and used for years and are still used today as traditional fashion. Sewing Kamiks a different and hard task to learn, their are many steps in sewing a pair.
The amautik is also a very unique pattern that the inuit have created to carry their child on the backs. A storyteller once told me that they have created the amautik so that the baby will be close by the mothers heart, & so the baby shall be warm from the heat of the mother. Today many of us, create our own style of amautik, with different types of material.
Women in Repulse Bay wearing the traditional Amautik, a type of parka worn by mothers to carry their babies and found almost every where in Nunavut. The amautik can be made of a variety of materials including sealskin, caribou hide, wool, or quilted cloth decorated with various patterns; different types are worn in the summer and winter.
There are many different types of sewing. Many sew for fashion like Gerties, clothing or even just as a hobby. Sewing is a great way to advance your creativity. The clothing we wear is apart of a pattern that is sewn together, every culture is different. Many sewers often follow a pattern, or a design of some sort. You can also create your own jewellery, baby outfits, and even learn how to make holiday decorat...
Traditional sewing on the other hand is taught very differently; I’ve been taught to sew traditionally by my grandmother, she has taught me a valuable lesson while I was learning how to sew. She never helped me with my sewing, which is an Inuit tradition that is passed on from generation to generation. She has taught me patience which is the key to sewing; in order to create something by sewing you needed a great deal of patience, she has taught me that very well.
I was impressed with Julia's sewing blog, she has shown great examples of what one can make. Many of the sewing she has created cost a lot of money in designer stores. But when you learn how to sew you create something very unique and different to what other people use. So Julia is trying to embrace that expression by creating her own website about sewing & you can realize how much you can save with money on creating your own outfits.
Many beginner sewers can get a lot of tips on how to learn to sew. Their are step by step procedures that allows you to follow as you learn basic sewing with a sewing machine. This is a great website that allows you to try new patterns & teaches you how to sew, if you are interested in learning how to sew different things, this is the website to go to. It allows you to learn through small sewing projects first since you are just learning how to use the sewing machine.
Sewing is also a great & fun hobby, many sewers can make a lot of money by advertising their own line of creations. Many sewers can enter competitions or get free fabrics or materials that are offered in some websites that allow them to show their expertise, & it can probably led them to become famous fashion designers.
As I search for various things about the african traditional sewing, their was not much to offer in youtube. But I leanrt about their designs and costumes they use for special occations and celebrations.
