Double rawhide strip wrapping, as opposed to single strip quill wrapping, was employed by various tribes of North America. This quill wrapping technique is found on Lakota artifacts such as armbands, hair ornaments, tipi rossette tabs and quilled pipebag slats (Bebbington, p. 33-34). The Tlingit, and a few other tribes of the N.W. coast, used this technique minimally while several tribes of the Southwest, i.e. Pueblos and Hopi, have also employed this technique (Orchard, p. 45). Among the various tribes that have used this quillwork style a variation in construction can be found whereby two sinew threads will be passed between the rawhide slats to hold the quills in place (Bebbington, p. 34; Orchard, p.45).
The following picture sequences give instructions for quill-wrapping
double rawhide strip.
|
|
On the left we see the rawhide with the desing penciled in place and one strip already done. Once the design is I cut three strips ~13 mm wide, then cut each strip in half along its length. Designs are generally simple geometric figures (Orchard, p. 45). The nature of the technique doesn't allow for intricacies in design. |
 |
Here we see the product of quills that are wrapped around each of the rawhide slats while being held in place by the sinew thread the runs between the slats. Step-by-step instructions are below. |
 |
 |
|
Ready for new quill.
|
Lay moistened, flattened quill under the tip of quill just wrapped. |
 |
 |
| Holding new quill in place, pass moistened sinew through middle and cinch down. This locks new quill in place and finishes old quill. | Wrap quill around front of slats. Note sinew is on bottom of quill ready to back through middle of slats. |
 |
 |
| Pass sinew back through middle of slats to cinch wrapped quill in place. Moisten sinew often to keep flexible. | Continue wrapping quill around to back side. One quill is added at a time because they aren't long enough to wrap several times. |
Click on the links below for a QuickTime video of quill wrapping:
Continue adding quills, wrapping around slats and passing sinew back and forth between the slats to hold the quills in place. I find that very thin strands of sinew work best so they don't take up as much space when passed between the rawhide slats. It makes for finer work so your eye sees just the quills instead of the sinew being used to hold the quills in place. Also, I generally select a large batch of quills that are the right length and diameter for my project then spend 5 min. clipping the barbed end. This way I have quills ready to keep safely in my mouth while working to moisten them and I don't have to stop my work very often to gather more quills from the container.
The leftover quill tips can be trimmed with fine-nosed scissors. Here are three finished strips. The quills shown are ones of the size and length I used for this project. Thin sinew threads were used along the length in 5 areas to hold the three quill slats together for sewing onto braintan deerskin.These can be seen in the pictures below. Sinew was used in all stitching as I folded the leather over each end to cover and protect the rawhide, as well as making a sturdy section to withstand the tension of tying it on.
These armbands are ones I made for my dance outfit. When I first started as a traditional dancer I wanted to create a completely quilled outfit and be really "tradish". (yeah, I know, the hubris of youth is not easily explained) I finally did it though, and it only took about 15 years.
Armbands with added quilled wheels and ermine hide drops
Resources:
Bebbington, Julia; Quillwork of the Plains; © 1983: this book was published to accompany the traveling exhibition of plains quillwork of the Glenbow Museum.
Orchard, William C.; The Techniques of Porcupine Quill Decoration Among the Indians of North America, Eagle's View Publishing, © 1984, 3rd ed., first pub. 1916.
