BASIC MATERIALS FOR A MI’KMAQ PEAKED CAP/HOOD

by Rhonda Besaw

Some items available at beading stores, Joann Fabrics or can be ordered from TheWanderingBull.com, FireMoutainGems.com or Amazon.com

100% woolmedium weight 1 ½ yards (your hood measures 19 X 17 inches and you will cut out 2) 1 ½ yards should be plenty.

100% silk ribbon measuring 15mm or 5/8 inch wide. 3 ½ yards should do the whole hood.

Cotton fabric to line your hood ½ yard (this protects your beadwork stitches and keeps your head cool)

Pins

Glass seed beads….as small as you feel comfortable using.

  1. Beading mat ……you can buy antistatic beading mats-they look and feel somewhat like a heavy piece of velvet. They are inexpensive and well worth it to keep your beads under control! You can also use a piece of suede (at least six by six inches), a waffle weave dish cloth or a towel.
  2. Beading Needles 2 inch, size number 10 (John James is a good name brand). Usually come in packages of 25 needles
  3. Beading Thread Nymo brand beading thread size “D”
  4. Beeswax or thread conditioner to coat your thread with
  5. Scissors small to medium size

You may draw your beading design on the wool with a chalk pencil (for dark colored wool) or a water erasable fabric marking pen (for light colored wool) or you can draw your design on paper, cut it out and glue it to the wool and bead over the paper pattern. I also use SARAL transfer paper and a stylus to transfer designs onto the wool.

  1. Glue Aileen’s Tacky Glue (used to glue your paper template (design) to the fabric) and/or water erasable fabric marking pen (felt tip, size ultra-fine or fine, or chalk pencils to draw your design on the fabric. All available at sewing stores/Joann Fabrics, Wal-Mart.
  1. Glass Seed Beads size TEN is a good size for beginners. The larger the size number, the smaller the bead. For example, a size 15 bead is much smaller than a size 10 bead. Don’t buy your beads at Wal-Mart or such stores, as the quality can be questionable. Buy beads manufactured in Czechoslovakia or Japan. They are available at Wandering Bull or Fire Mountain Gems or a good bead store. Usually sold by the hank or in small tubes Do not use “Delica” beads for this project (they are cylinder shaped and do not work as well for applique. They are good for brick stitch and loom beadwork).
  1. Fray Check and Spray Starch

AN EXAMPLE OF A MI’KMAQ PAPER PATTERN TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF SIZE AND SHAPE

MY “SPIDERWEB” DESIGN

PLEASE DO NOT COPY THIS DESIGN

BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR A MI’KMAQ STYLE PEAKED CAP/HOOD

BY RHONDA BESAW

Pin your paper pattern to wool and cut out 2. By doubling your wool, it allows the peak to stand up nicely.

An option for a Mi’kmaq style hood is to make a contrasting panel on the bottom (as was done on the old style hoods). Cut out ONE piece of wool full size, and on the second piece, make it 3 inches shorter (you can actually fold up the pattern 3 inches shorter and pin it to your wool and cut out). Then cut out your 3 inch panel and whip stitch it to your main piece.

Take both pieces of wool and either baste them together, or lightly glue them together. Once you get beading, you will bead through both pieces so this will eventually hold both pieces together nicely. By using 2 pieces of wool in this manner, it will support your beadwork so you will not need any other backing.

Lay out your design on the hood. When you have placed or drawn your design on the hood, bring the two sides together to check to see if your design will be lining up the way you want it when viewed from the front. Bead your design. Be careful not to bead where the ribbon will be placed (refer to pattern).

Once your beadwork on the main portion of the hood is done, it is time to apply ribbon and line the hood with cotton fabric. If you follow these steps, you will have little of your stitching showing on the inside of the hood. Note all this sewing is by hand!

(See #1 on pattern) Cut 30 inches of ribbon. Apply spray starch to the ribbon and iron it flat. To stop the cut edge from fraying, you can either treat it with FrayCheck or trim and fold it under about one eighth of an inch. Pin your ribbon, starting at the top of the slit and continue pinning until you reach the peak of the hood. Be gentle and use small, sharp pins as silk ribbon has a tendency to pull. Make sure your hands are free of any roughness, hangnails, jagged fingernails or you may put a run in the silk. Stop when you get to the peak. You should have about 15 or so inches left hanging. Roll it up carefully and put a small plastic baggie over it to protect it for what comes next. In small, neat and evenly spaced stitches, whip stitch both edges of the ribbon to the wool, stopping about one inch before the peak.

(See #2 on pattern) Cut 25 inches of ribbon. Apply spray starch and iron it flat. If you have added a whipped stitch panel in a contrasting color, this ribbon will be covering up that seam. If you don’t have a contrasting panel, this ribbon will be placed across the hood, at the top of the 3 inch slit. This ribbon will cover up the folded under edge of the first ribbon. Center the ribbon length wise. You will have excess ribbon on each edge, just let it hang there. You will be folding it under later. Pin and sew.

IMPORTANT: IF YOU WANT TO DO BEADWORK ALONG OR ON THESE RIBBONS,

DO IT NOW BEFORE THE LINING IS SEWN IN.

After finishing this stage of beadwork, now you will line the hood with cotton fabric. Iron the cotton fabric and lay the hood on it. Using the hood as your template, cut out the cotton. You could use the paper pattern, but sometimes the act of doing beadwork and ribbonwork will slightly change the finished shape of the hood. Whip stitch the cotton to the hood, stitching around all the edges. This will make for a neat finish when you fold the ribbon over the raw edges later on. Now you can trim and fold over the excess ribbon. Fold the ribbon around the raw edge, trim it to about ¼ inch in length, fold it under to stop it from fraying and sew it down.

(See #3 on pattern) You will now be sewing ribbon along the 3 inch slit, along the bottom and 3 inches up the side (where it will run into the ribbon you just finished sewing down). Cut 2 twenty inch pieces of ribbon, spray starch, fold in half lengthwise, and iron. Starting at the top of the slit, fold the ribbon under about 1/8th of an inch to stop it from fraying. Since your ribbon has been ironed halfway down the middle, you can see where to center the ribbon around the raw edges. Center and pin the ribbon, starting at the top of the slit, running down the bottom and up the side. The corners will be tricky. You will need to tuck in the ribbon around the corners and fold it sharply. Once you bump into the previous ribbon, trim the ribbon to ¼ inch in length, fold the raw edge of the ribbon under and pin. Sew both side edges of the ribbon down, and repeat the same process for the other half of the hood.

(See #4 on pattern) You will now be sewing ribbon along the 2 sides. Cut two 15 inch pieces of ribbon. Spray starch, fold in half and iron. Starting at the top of the hood, fold the raw edge of the ribbon under about 1/8th of an inch. Center the ribbon along the raw edge and sew from the top down. When you get to the top of the 3 inch bottom panel, stop and trim the ribbon to about a one or two inch over hang. Then take your scissors, and trim the ribbon. Apply FrayCheck. Repeat for the other side.

IMPORTANT: IF YOU WANT TO DO BEADWORK ALONG THIS RIBBON, DO IT NOW.

Pull the top two halves together, lining them up edge to edge. Pin and sew.

Take the hanging piece of ribbon out of it’s protective baggie. Bring it down over the seam, pinning as you go. Trim, and fold under about one half inch, and pin. Sew both edges of the ribbon. You recall that you didn’t sew the back ribbon right to the very peak? You now can do so, tucking and placing the ribbon carefully to go up and around the peak. After this ribbon is sewn, you can go back and do beadwork along the ribbon by either just catching your beadwork stitches in the layers of wool, or going right up and down through all of the layers. You can then also do three bead edging along the bottom.

Note these instructions are a work in progress and subject to change.

March 6, 2014

Rhonda Besaw

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