Lyko - what is it? Products made from bast

Lapti

Perhaps the meaning of the word “bast” is easiest to explain using the example of bast shoes.
Everyone knows what bast shoes are. These simple shoes served people not only in Rus', but also in Finland. If in Europe they preferred wooden shoes - clogs, then our ancestors liked light bast shoes. A pair of such shoes for an adult requires three linden trees. A man engaged in peasant labor wears them out in a week. Therefore, everyone knew how to weave bast shoes. It was a common, uncomplicated matter. A block was used for weaving.

Almost all people in Rus' wore bast shoes, so the country was called “bast shoe Russia.” Bone kochedyki (devices for weaving bast shoes) are found by archaeologists during excavations of the Stone Age era. In the Tale of Bygone Years we find the word “lapotnik”. There were artels that went into the forest to tear the bast with a pyrk - a wooden tool that left a bare trunk. The cart yielded three hundred pairs of bast shoes. Peter the Great himself learned to weave bast shoes.

Properties of bast sponge

Any natural washcloths are hard! They do an excellent job of deep cleaning pores. The phytoncides for which linden bast is famous kill all microbes that it encounters on the skin!

The bast sponge has an excellent scrub effect that lasts until the last days of its service, but there are also some inconveniences when using it...

The fact is that thin strips are not physically prone to excessive foaming.

Often, manufacturers do not give the bast a specific shape, and when you buy it in a bag, you will be greeted with the usual bunch of thin strips connected by the bast strip itself.

To make washing in the bathhouse a pleasure and for you to feel a shapeless tow in your hands, I suggest making your own washcloth from purchased bast material.

The strips can be tied into a braided shape, or they can be sewn onto a piece of fabric, or they can simply be secured on both sides with a rope.

The bast sponge has one more not very pleasant property - it comes out. When rubbing and lathering, tiny pieces and hairs fall off in large quantities.

Cleaning the bathhouse after using a washcloth will be a must!

And of course, any natural washcloth must be dried thoroughly! Bacteria and microbes love to live in a moist, natural environment - this is paradise for them!

Due to such proximity, natural washcloths often rot, acquire an unpleasant odor and do not last long. The washcloths need to be dried, and before use, be sure to steep them in boiling water so that they fluff up and become soft.

What is the meaning of the word “bast” in sayings?

Many proverbs and sayings with the word “bast” have reached us. Only some of them relate directly to bast products and the process of their manufacture. The rest are used by folk wisdom as illustrative examples for analogy, comparison or hyperbole. Let's look at some:

• The bast does not knit - this is what they say now about a person who is incapable of basic independent actions, or about a lazy person who avoids work. Why bast? What it is? Allegory? No. Knitting bast (tying into bundles) is a simple operation that even a child can do. They tied bast for weaving ropes, making brushes, washcloths, and preparing bundles for future work.
• Don't be fooled - now the proverb means a person who cannot be deceived. He is not simple, he has knowledge and experience. Previously, a completely bankrupt peasant could wear clothes sewn with coarse bast fibers, which were only suitable for mending fishing nets. The belt could also be twisted from bast. But if he had friends or relatives, this could not last long. In the end, the man with his hands and head on his shoulders acquired new property. Those who did not want to work, drank away the clothes given out of mercy, and did not enjoy respect in society. They said about such people: they are sewn with bast, they are girded with bast.
• Not every bast in line is a saying of the Lapotniks. When weaving bast shoes, lines were distinguished, that is, rows. They were selected based on color and quality. Some were no good. This is what they said about those who are not suitable for some task, who stand out from the general mass due to some kind of shortcoming.

Let's remember the old days

Chapter 8
In a conversation about some simple work, you can hear the expression: “It’s easier than a steamed turnip,” Or: “Yes, it’s like weaving bast shoes.” We don’t argue about steamed turnips; from a chef’s point of view, it’s really not difficult to cook steamed turnips. I washed the turnips, put them in cast iron, poured a ladle of water and put them in a hot oven. If it’s not quite ripe, leave it to simmer for another hour; if it’s ripe, it becomes tastier. This is true. But I would refrain from calling weaving bast shoes a breeze.

Once upon a time in Rus', most of the population wore bast shoes. By the way, bast shoes are comfortable and light shoes. Such shoes, as our grandfathers used to say, make your feet happy. Almost every home knew how to weave bast shoes. But this does not mean that such a business does not have its secrets and does not require skill and ingenuity.

The shape and techniques of weaving bast shoes have been developed over centuries. In addition to bast shoes, they also weave shoe covers (feet). Shoe covers are more elegant in shape. In the old days they were worn not every day, but on holidays. Bast shoes are good for long hikes. With canvas onuchas (long foot wraps) wrapped in frills (strings), with fresh rye straw instead of insoles, the foot in the bast feels at ease, does not swell, and asks to go. The pilgrims, making pilgrimages to holy places, walked thousands of miles in bast shoes.

Rice. 157. Tool for weaving bast shoes and shoe covers. At the top left is a metal kochedyk, in the middle is a knot of a strong bush with a suitable shoot from which you can make a wooden kochedyk, as shown below, on the right is a bast crusher

We anticipate the question. The authors describe the advantages of bast shoes in this way; do they really want to return these shoes to our lives? No, we don’t want to, despite the fact that there are few shoes in stores. Wear sneakers and patent leather shoes to be healthy. But we want you and your children to know the basic shoes of our ancestors. It is impossible to completely banish from people’s memory something that has been a subject of everyday life for centuries. I want our children to see bast shoes not only in pictures and in museums, but in their home interiors, so that bast shoes do not turn into the most scarce item of theatrical props, without which it is impossible to play plays from Russian history.

To manufacture any product, material and tools are required. We'll talk about the material below. Now briefly about the instrument. Requires a knife, a picker and a bast masher. There will always be a knife, but you will have to make a kochedyk yourself, because you won’t buy a kochedyk in any hardware store in all of Rus', not to mention the neighboring countries. The sellers won't even understand what you're asking. They probably remember the word “kochedyk” from the tongue twister: “Pick out the strip from under the kochedyk.”

The kochedyk can be forged or turned from a ten-millimeter iron rod. Its bend is shown in Figure 157. It is even easier to make a kochedyk from a knot of a strong bush with a suitable shoot.

Rice. 158, Pads for bast shoes (upper) and for shoe covers

More pads will be needed. The pads for bast shoes and shoe covers do not differ between left and right - one for both feet, as for felt boots. They are very simple, especially for bast shoes. You can make them from a block of any tree. And even simpler from foam plastic. This material is easily processed with a knife and chisel. The pads are made solid and split (Fig. 158). The removable one is easier to remove from the finished shoe cover. Determine the size of the pads yourself. I advise you not to make them too big. After all, you won’t wear either bast shoes or shoe covers anyway. Make it 10-12 centimeters long. With these pads you will get beautiful little shoes and shoe covers. The length of the detachable block can be increased by sewing a board or cardboard of appropriate thickness to the toe or back part, which will lengthen the block. You should not lengthen it too much, since with the same width the block will turn out to be disproportionately elongated

The material for bast shoes is bast. In some places, in the absence of bast, they weave from birch bark. But this is quite difficult, since birch bark has a length no greater than the circumference of the tree from which it was taken. And the linden bast is galvanized (cut) into narrow strips along the bast. Its length is equal to the length of the bast from which the bast was removed.

You can get bast in the forest thicket. But under no circumstances should you touch the lonely growing stickies. Linden is a good and useful tree, loved by bees. Linden blossom is an excellent medicine from the forest pharmacy. There is no need to destroy a linden tree because you thought it was suitable for bast. It's a different matter if you find yourself in a thicket of linden grass. There young linden trees oppress each other. They reach for the light. Their trunks are thin and tall. These are exactly what you need for bast. By cutting one tree out of two or three densely standing ones, you will not cause damage to the linden grove. Yes, with such crowding, there will be no grove. Some rarefaction will help the leader trees break out into the open.

We would like to share one observation. Previously, almost every house had bast shoes. Matting was woven from the bast of old linden trees. Half of the cargo was transported in matting bags. But the linden groves did not become scarce. Half a century has passed since they stopped weaving coolies and bast shoes, but there have been no more lime trees; on the contrary, they have disappeared. For example, in the vicinity of the city of Vladimir you will not find yakhs. But sayings and sayings about the linden bast have survived and will live on for centuries. Let's remember some.

“We are also not born with a bastard.” - We know the matter and have dignity.

“Not every bast fits the line.” - Don’t reproach him for a trifling mistake.

“Ripped off like a stick.” — He took an exorbitantly high price.

“I changed the strap to a buckle.” - I took the bad instead of the good.

“I kicked my butt.” - Strictly dealt with it.

“The bast doesn’t knit.” - Drunk. He speaks in slurred language.

We have cited only a small fraction that have not yet gone out of use. And how many have already been forgotten. The abundance of sayings mentioning bast suggests that it has served the Russian people well.

Old bast is used for matting and sieves, but only young sticky bast is used for bast. Its barrel should be thinner than a tea glass - the size of a glass, as the old masters used to say.

They walk on the bast in the spring, when the sap begins to flow, until mid-summer. It is necessary to peel off the sticky so that it is suitable for bast for bast shoes. The trunk is cut low. Linden wood is soft. If the knife is sharp and you managed to slightly tilt the sticky, then it will be cut off in one or two strokes. Then, using a butcher or the sharpened end of a triangular file, the bast is ripped open from the butt to the top. At the top, they husk the bast from the bast and, with a juicy crunch, take it out, the husk, all the way to the butt. The bast is not torn off in parts, but rather the bast is taken out of it, trying to preserve the bast entirely. When the butt hatches, you will have, as it were, two trunks: one thinner white one (lutoshka), the other retains the appearance of a sticky one, just cut from the root. The bast must be rolled into a bagel with the tip facing inward and tied. A pair of bast shoes requires no more than three trunks.

Don't throw away white loots. The tops with leafy branches are an excellent food for goats, sheep and rabbits. And you can make something out of loot shells. They cut easily.

You can mat the bast immediately after coming from the forest, as well as after a long time. But then the “steering wheels” will have to be soaked in a bucket. One bast shoe (shoe cover) requires six basts approximately 12 mm wide and about one and a half meters long. Matting is a responsible operation. First, cut the bast, starting from the butt, trying to maintain the specified width. Of course, you don’t need to measure the width with a ruler every second, but keep the width by eye. It is not so easy. The knife, getting into the cracks formed when peeling the bast and twisting the bast into a bagel, either falls through or stumbles. The crack does not always lead him to where he needs to go. Therefore, hold the knife firmly in your hands so that it does not break. The movement of the knife along the bast is complicated by the fact that the overall strip of the bast at the butt is much wider than at the tip. The shape is a very elongated trapezoid. In order not to cross the longitudinal fibers, you cut off the wedges somewhere in the middle. A short bast will then come out of it, which will also come in handy. One “steering wheel” usually produces four long basts and two short ones. When matting, you will encounter holes from knots or depressions from hidden buds in the most inappropriate places. If it is in the middle of the length, then it is not a big flaw. Let the bast be half narrower in this place. Then it will be covered with a second layer. If a hole from a knot tears the bast in half, then nothing can be done; you will have to make two short basts. They weave from short birch bark basts. But take this opportunity to cut a wedge here that eliminates the crook.

Then everything matted must be crushed on a masher (Fig. 157 on the right). The grinder is made from five thin planks. Two of them (the second and fourth - no matter which side you count from) are half as long as the side and middle ones. The boards are screwed together with two screws, after pre-processing the edges. In the lower part, where the screws are, the edges are cut off to form a handle. And inside the formed trident they are rounded.

The bast pulled through the pulp becomes softer. It will peel off slightly, invisible to the eye. It will be easier to remove the pazdira - the top brown layer. When removing, do not thin the white bast too much. Closer to the top, you can not touch the brown layer at all, removing only the buds and other roughness from it, as if slightly planing it. This is how the bast is evened out in thickness in the butt and apical parts.

For a large bast shoe and shoe covers you need six bast. For little ones, four is enough.

What are we going to weave, bast shoes or shoe covers? Bast shoes are simpler. But we'll start with the shoe cover. Whoever weaves a shoe cover can easily weave a bast shoe.

We talked about bast all the time. But what about a resident of the steppe region? Where can he get bast if he wants to weave bast shoes or booties? So we will tell you our secret. You can learn how to weave bast shoes without bast, that is, using not natural bast, but a substitute. They can use kraft paper. It's not at all difficult to get it. Kraft paper is used to make bags for transporting mail, dried fruits, and cement. In terms of strength, kraft paper is, of course, inferior to bast. But you are not going to wear bast shoes. It is important for you to master an ancient craft. And you will weave real bast bast shoes and more elegant shoe covers when you find yourself in the region where the linden tree grows. You will already weave with knowledge of the matter.

Learning with a bast substitute is even more pleasant than with a natural one. Firstly, the “raw materials” can be obtained at any time of the year, and secondly, cutting strips from paper is easier than from bast. You will get them even, since you cut them along a ruler, thirdly, it is easier to weave from paper bast: you do not need to make sure that the strong white layer is turned to the front side.

The paper bast is prepared in three to four layers. Cut a strip, say, three centimeters wide and bend first one centimeter of width, then the other. No need to glue. Only glue the pointed ends so that they do not delaminate when you slip them after the kochedyk. If the bast in three layers seems a little thin, bend it in four layers. A centimeter on one side and the other and then fold them together in the middle. This will help hide all the thin single-layer edges inside. Then be sure to stretch it along the edge of the table or board to dampen the elasticity of the paper on the fold. A grinder is not suitable for this.

When choosing raw materials, give preference to lighter rather than darker tones. Light kraft paper is very close in color to natural bast. At some distance, even a specialist will not immediately be able to tell the difference. Verified.

The important thing here is that without cutting off a single sticky stick, you can successfully learn the ancient craft. We will no longer put the word “bast” in quotation marks, although we know that we are talking about a substitute. For the concept of the essence of weaving, the raw materials do not matter. The sequence of operations and all techniques are no different.

So, let's start weaving. Take six basts if you are going to weave a large bast shoe. A bast shoe requires a wide weave (insole), and for a small shoe cover four basts are enough. All our drawings are built on four basts. This will make it easier for you to trace the movement of the bast while peering at the drawings.

We take two basts in the left hand and two in the right. Intertwine them with each other in the middle of the length (Fig. 159). We will weave a braid (insole). Fold all the upper ends of the bast down (Fig. 160, 161). You will no longer have four ends, but eight: four in your left hand, four in your right. Braid them like you would a regular braid. Only the braid is braided in three strands, but here you need to braid it in eight strands (bast shoe - in twelve). Take the bast on the right, the bast on the left one by one and intertwine them with all those lying on the way.

You will soon notice a pattern: one bast, say the left one, always lies on top at the beginning of a new line, and the other comes from below. This means that you are weaving correctly and have not lost your way anywhere. Place bast to bast tightly, especially when taking the first steps on both sides. No: you have to tighten it too much, but I don’t give in any slack. And you will also notice that the braid can be stretched out quite a bit, or it can be extended wider. Then it will immediately become shorter.

This braid is quite long. It's time to put a block on it so as not to weave too much. The cape of the braid should be a little - half a lash - longer than the block. If there is not enough, add, if there is too much, unravel.

Yes, there is a weave. On the right and left you have four basts. We put the block. We find the bast at the very edge in the middle of the heel, thread a narrow bast under it and tie the span to the nail sticking out above the back of the block. Now both hands are on the toes. The sock is formed very simply. You will even be surprised how easy it is to tighten the toe of the shoe cover. And besides, it turns out quite beautiful. For the master, this is the most pleasant moment of weaving. And this is how it is done.

Until now you have been weaving, taking the extreme basts. Now take the middle ones, two on the right and two on the left. Intertwine them together. They themselves will tell you which bast to go on top and which to go down. And you will see how the very first four cells that appear in the middle of the weave will indicate the toe of the shoe cover. And when you put the remaining pairs of bast in the lines on the right and left, then you will begin to believe in your abilities. All this is shown in Figures 162, 163, 164.

When all eight basts are placed over the toe of the last, pull them evenly so that all the squares fit snugly against the last. Then gather the tusks behind the heel and take them in a handful. You see, you already have a shoe cover. Separate ver

your basts, one at a time on the left and right, and weave them using a kochedyk with a second layer towards the heel. But before you use the bast, find the beginning of the path that will lead this bast exactly to the middle of the heel edge, where it will meet another bast that will come from the opposite side. Once again, follow the path with your eye and only then pry it with the kochedyk. If you make a mistake here, the heel will turn out to be oblique. And then everything will go wrong. Next, weave the remaining basts on the left and right.

Now both hands are on the back of the block. All eight bast came to him. Here, as when braiding a sock, take the middle four basts and intertwine each other (Fig. 166). After them, intertwine all the rest (Fig. 167).

The backdrop is gossip. Using the same basts we weave the sides of the shoe cover.

We take the outermost bast, turn it at an angle of 90 degrees, weave it between the other three and, using a kochedyk, weave it along the insole. Be careful when using a kochedyk for the first time. See if you have brought this bast to its place. It should lie next to the bast that went to the other side of the backdrop and is also ready to intertwine with the other three and go onto the insole.

The second bast is intertwined in the same way, but between the two remaining ones and goes onto the insole next to the first. And again, be careful. At this point, the basts tend to take someone else’s line, jumping one ahead. The third bast intertwines with the fourth and with more basts stretched from the toe on the sides and goes onto the insole. The last bast is no longer intertwined with loose ones, but with ones stretched from toe to heel. But you'll figure it out. Kochedyk will help you. Having gone through all the basts on one side, go to the other. Also sort everything out and weave along the insole to opposite sides.

A second layer gradually grows on the sole of your shoe cover. They say: it comes at two prices.

The toe and heel are woven. But even on the sides, the tusks stretched diagonally remain unintertwined. To cover this “underpayment”, it would be necessary to weave three or four more basts. Look, the basts you need have come here themselves and are asking to be added to the line. And if they ended prematurely and did not come, then you instruct them. The bast is adjusted (extended) not with glue and, of course, not tied in a knot, but braided with a new end. Taking two or three steps back from the place where the short thread ends, a new one is threaded. When pulling the new end, try not to pull it out completely. Stop so that the tip of the new bast is hidden under the cage. Cut off the tip of the short bast. The new bast will cover it. The increase in length will be completely unnoticeable.

When you weave all the ends from edge to edge, you will decide which bast goes where. First of all, put into action those ends that “ask” for unbraided sides. And of these, give way first to those that are aimed at the toe. Let them in one or two at a time, no more. Weave them together over the foot, bending them at a right angle, and drive them down. This is usually enough to completely braid the sides. If it seems too small, skip along the third bast. All that remains is to add strength and beauty to the toe and, for added strength, to add value to the heel. The remaining ends will come out on their own. You only need four of them, two on one side and two on the other. If there are not enough ends, add more. The ends brought out on the toe are bent and turned to the right and left so that one line is obtained. The scar formed in this process gives the shoe cover its beauty.

The heel is strengthened with a second braid to a certain place with a turn to the right or to the left. Usually the main bast is no longer enough for this. New ones are being introduced.

The shoe cover is ready! It looks like a galosh.

It's time to talk about bast shoes. Now that you have woven a shoe cover, it’s easier to talk about bast shoes. You will understand everything perfectly. Preparing the bast and weaving the braid proceeds in exactly the same way. The block is a little different. The toe of the shoe last is wide, flattened, and the heel is also wide. Therefore, the weaving is also wide.

There is one peculiarity in weaving braids from natural bast. It is necessary to ensure that the strong (white) side of the bast is always turned outward, and the groove layer is always turned inside the bast. This causes some difficulty at the very beginning of weaving the weave when bending the outer basts. You simply turn the paper bast over to the other side, but here you need to ensure that when you turn the bast, it should be turned to the same side. In this case, the edges of the insole, especially on the heel side, turn upward. This feature is used for further weaving of bast shoes. The turned up edge of the heel edge allows you to rest the back of the last against it and tighten the toe, which is a continuation of the braid. And the toe of the bast shoe is tightened in the same way as shoe covers. All eight (or twelve) basts are folded onto the top of the block and the middle four basts are woven first, then the rest. The sock will immediately take the shape of a last.

Then things will go differently than with the shoe cover. The sides and back of the bast shoe are not intertwined. But the final wide bast sock is woven. After which all the basts will be driven to the proplet. ku and there they trudge along at “second price”.

The toe of the bast shoe should be spacious. Your toes will be well protected. Bast, woven in two sizes, will protect against knots, stones and dry thorns.

If you leave it at that, you will end up with a flip-flop, a real house flip-flop. But people wear slippers around the house, and we said that people walked thousands of miles in bast shoes. This means that something needs to be done so that the bast shoe does not fall off the foot, and the heel on the weave does not wiggle back and forth. The sides and back of the shoe cover are woven for this purpose. And the bast shoe, as we said, has neither sides nor a back. Instead, along the edges of the weave, a finger-thick roller is wound from bast. To do this, take the ends of the bast, put them four or five pieces together, not twisting them, but straight-line and wrap them, while sewing them to the edge of the weave with a separate well-crumpled bast.

Take a closer look at the edge. It is slightly bent upward. Choose a place to start wrapping and go step by step. The steps are all oblique, but they go in order. The roller will be smooth. Drive around. Your fingers should feel and your eyes should see when the curled bun “loses weight.” Add ends. Do not allow the “thinness” of the bun to occur immediately. Add new ends to replace those that are eliminated.

Some craftsmen do not limit themselves to a roller, but for greater reliability they weave a small backdrop, only four short basts. They are braided from the place where the heel of a leather shoe begins. Select paths that intersect at the edge of the weave in the very center of the heel. When all four basts reach the edge of the weave, weave them together, as you began to weave the back of the shoe cover. Only there you weaved in eight bast, and here in four. No longer required. The high back sometimes rubs my ankle when walking. Fold the basts to the weave. They will go into bundles of side bolsters.

All that remains is to make an eyelet for threading the frill. Take a narrow thin strip, thread it at the top of the backdrop, stretch it to half the length and make a rope about three centimeters long. Then hide both ends by weaving three or four steps in different directions. An ear will be indicated. Frills are threaded into it, with which onuchi (foot wraps) are tied crosswise.

So you wove a bast shoe, and even earlier a shoe cover. They were not successful in everything. But this is your first job. We hope you are convinced that weaving bast shoes is not as simple as it seems to others. The master is afraid of every work.

Nowadays, in stores that sell handicrafts, it is rare to find both bast shoes and small bast shoes. Even less common are shoe covers. Foreigners willingly buy them. From somewhere came the fashion of covering bast shoes with varnish. This is from the evil one and is as absurd as attaching rope frills to patent leather shoes. Even the words themselves, placed next to each other: “lacquered bast shoes” make you smile with their downright feuilleton combination. Let's not put a gloss on the bast shoes. He is good without him, as a witness to our not so distant history.

Receipt and use

Extraction and pre-processing of bast

Bast prepared for further use

Tambov peasants harvested bast in the spring: at this time, “young trees called lutoshki were cut down in the forest. Having cut off the branches of the felled tree, they began to tear off the bast, which looked like stripes...” In the North of Russia, it was customary to harvest raw materials for weaving “from the Annunciation to Trinity, since at this time the bark is still soft.” The inner part of the bark removed from the linden tree was subjected to special processing. For example, among the Mordovians, bast was soaked in water to give the material the necessary flexibility.

In Northern and Central Russia, bast craftsmen had certain “standards” related to learning the craft, the beginning and completion of work, and the timing of bast harvesting. One of the Vladimir peasants described the process of transferring skills from generation to generation: “My father taught my brother from the age of six... First to go for the bast, then to soak it, and then weave.”

Manufacturing of shoes and other household items

Main article: Lapti

Body made of birch bark and bast, early 20th century

One of the researchers describes the properties of bast and the technique of weaving bast shoes among the Mordovians:

To make “two-heeled” bast shoes, or “seven-heeled” bast shoes, carefully cleaned bast was used. Such bast shoes were kept in the sun for a certain time, after which “the front side of the stripes became dark brown.”

It is noteworthy that bast shoes received their name depending on the type of tree from which the bast was removed. Thus, “vertizni” were made from the bark of the willow tree, and “shelyuzhniki” were made from tal. “Fools” were woven from the bast of a young oak tree, and “birch trees” and “elm trees” were woven from birch and elm bast. However, the most durable bast shoes were made from the bast of a young linden tree. In this case, the thickness of the tree should not exceed one and a half inches.

Not only shoes, but also other household items were made from bast. Thus, in the life of the Mordovians, one of the main elements of utensils was a “purse woven from bast.” The latter looked like a quadrangular box made up of two halves. Such a wallet was created through “oblique weaving”, using corners and edges. On opposite sides of both parts of the “box” “four bast loops” were attached, into which a strap or twine was threaded.

Home → History of folk crafts → Bask weaving

Bast weaving is one of the oldest crafts in Rus'. In the Vyatka region, as in other regions of the country, peasants have long used bast for weaving, primarily bast shoes. It was bast shoes, which became a kind of symbol that was included in many Russian proverbs and sayings, that were traditionally considered the shoes of the poorest part of the population. And it’s no coincidence. The entire Russian village, with the exception of Siberia and the Cossack regions, wore bast shoes all year round.

Therefore, the widespread use of wicker shoes has given rise to an incredible variety of varieties and styles, depending primarily on the raw materials used in the work. And they wove bast shoes from the bark and subbark of many deciduous trees: linden, birch, elm, oak, willow and others. Depending on the material, wicker shoes were called differently: birch bark, elm, oak, broom... The strongest and softest in this series were considered bast bast shoes, made from linden bast, and the worst were willow carpets and bast shoes, which were made from bast.

Often bast shoes were named according to the number of bast strips used in weaving: five, six, seven. Winter bast shoes were usually woven into seven basts, although there were instances where the number of basts reached up to twelve. For strength, warmth and beauty, bast shoes were woven a second time, for which hemp ropes were used. For the same purpose, a leather outsole (undersole) was sometimes sewn on. For a festive appearance, written elm bast shoes made of thin bast with black woolen (not hemp) frills (that is, braid securing the bast shoes on the legs) or reddish elm sevens were intended. For autumn and spring work in the yard, the peasants considered high wicker feet, which did not have frills at all, more convenient.

The technique of weaving bast shoes was also very diverse. For example, Great Russian bast shoes, unlike Belarusian and Ukrainian ones, had oblique weaving - “oblique lattice”, while in the western regions there was a more conservative type - straight weaving, or “straight lattice”.

If in Ukraine and Belarus bast shoes began to be woven from the toe, then Russian peasants made a braid from the back, so the place where a particular wicker shoe appeared can be judged by the shape and material from which it was made. For example, Moscow models woven from bast are characterized by high sides and rounded heads (socks). The northern, or Novgorod, type was more often made of birch bark with triangular toes and relatively low sides. Mordovian bast shoes, common in the Nizhny Novgorod province, were woven from elm bast. The heads of these models were usually trapezoidal in shape.

It was rare for anyone among the peasants to not know how to weave bast shoes. A description of this trade has been preserved in the Simbirsk province, where whole artels of lykoders went into the forest. For a tithe of linden forest rented from a landowner, they paid up to one hundred rubles. They removed the bast with a special wooden prick, leaving a completely bare trunk. The best was considered to be the bast obtained in the spring, when the first leaves began to bloom on the linden tree, so most often such an operation ruined the tree (hence, apparently, the well-known expression “to peel it off like a stick”).

Carefully removed basts were then tied in hundreds into bundles and stored in the hallway or attic. Before weaving bast shoes, the bast was necessarily soaked in warm water for 24 hours. The bark was then scraped off, leaving the phloem. From the bast shoes - from 40 to 60 bundles of 50 tubes each - approximately 300 pairs of bast shoes were obtained. The speed of weaving bast shoes also varied and depended on skill, so a peasant could weave from two to ten pairs a day.

To weave bast shoes, you needed a wooden block and a bone or iron hook - a kochedyk. Weaving the point where all the basts were brought together required special skill. The craftsmen tried to tie the loops in such a way that after holding the loops, they would not bend the bast shoes and would not force their legs to one side.

The fragility of wicker shoes is evidenced by the Russian proverb: “To go on the road, weave five bast shoes.” In winter, one bast shoe was worn for no more than ten days, and in the summer, during working hours, a peasant wore one bast shoe in four days.

Skilled Vyatka craftsmen sold their goods in carloads at fairs.

With the development of industrial production of shoes and their reduction in price, the need for bast shoes disappeared. In the second half of the twentieth century, it was already difficult to find a master who could weave them. In the 1970s, an attempt was made to solve this problem at the Kirov production association for organizing home-based work “Umelets”. The company employed several craftsmen who produced souvenir bast shoes of various sizes in small batches, including miniature ones measuring 1–2 cm.

Currently, at the People's House Charitable Foundation, operating in the urban village of Kilmez, there is an active center for the production of bast shoes.

Nowadays, bast shoes are an excellent souvenir that reminds us of the life and craft of our ancestors. Particular – practical – interest in ancient Russian shoes is shown by members of various folklore groups and individual individuals involved in the reconstruction of ancient life.

The bast shoe also acquires a symbolic meaning - representing everything positive that was in the old Russian village way of life. It is no coincidence that the festival of folk arts and crafts, organized and held annually since 2009 in Kilmezi, was named “Vyatka Lapot”.

Who weaves modern bast shoes? First of all, Kilmez masters collaborating with the People's House charitable foundation - Ekaterina Ivanovna Rukhlyadeva, Mikhail Vasilyevich Medvedev, German Mikhailovich Anisimov. The young generation they have prepared begins to get involved in the fascinating process of bast weaving.

Bast washcloth and delicate skin

If you are a fan of rich foam, soft, gentle washing, you are unlikely to like this natural washcloth. It will also not cause great delight among small children.

A bast for those who like to rub their skin until it’s red and squeaky clean.

If you have been actively sunbathing and have acquired an incomparable bronze skin color, do not use a bast washcloth - use fluffy soft sponges. And when the turn of autumn and winter cold comes, then you can use a bast washcloth to disperse the blood!

To combat the eternal female problem (cellulite), there is no better option than a bast washcloth. Natural rigidity is an ally in breaking up unnecessary deposits on the hips.

This is the bast washcloth that Mother Nature and the beautiful linden gave us. If you don't believe me, try it yourself! Good luck to you!

A bast hangs on a stake

The saying about the mop has real roots. Having removed the young bast (which means bast) from the tree, it was placed in ditches filled with water for soaking - mochila. They were placed near forest streams and rivers. By autumn, it was hung out to dry, and then carried through the snow on a sleigh to the village. When thoroughly soaked bast was tied into bundles, it disintegrated into many fibers.

Sometimes this happened while it was drying out. Such fibers can be seen at the market or agricultural fair. In Rus' they are called “mochalo”. This is where the word “wetten” comes from, that is, cut into small fibers so that the previous shape is lost.

There is no Russian bath without a sponge and a broom. This eco-friendly material was used for massage, and our ancestors did not know the disease. The tradition of washing with a washcloth is very ancient. Brushes and brushes were made from bast bundles, they were used to whitewash stoves and fences, clean kitchen utensils, twist ropes, and make coarse threads that were used to sew together nets for fishing.

Dolls were knitted from bast, and not only for children's games. In the peasant hut there were many amulets: a large doll, lovebird dolls, a swaddling doll, a kuvadka, a small egg. There was a doll for every event in family life.

Not only fishing nets were woven from bast, but also horse harness, matting, and in Germany even raincoats. In the old days, upholstered furniture was stuffed with bast. Instead of refrigerators, they used linden containers. Tueski wove according to the example of bast shoes. They are good for storing butter and caviar.

Bast bast

A washbrush, resistant to water. Many folk dolls are made using washcloth. They say that large paint brushes made from bast are sometimes sold in construction stores, but I have never seen them. Make the sponge yourself - it’s a pity for the linden tree only if you’re lucky enough to find the fallen one, but so far you haven’t come across it.

Bast can be bought in brushes - it can be used not only as a brush, but also for crafts; bast in brushes is of excellent quality.

Bast is not only good for dolls, it is also a real washcloth, for baths and more, it is also perfect for an ordinary city bath.

This is a bast washcloth. Size: 40x16x15 cm.

When unfolded, it is a long bast, suitable for creating dolls.

And this is a bast washcloth with handles, natural material - the processed inner layer of linden bark.

When steamed, linden bast becomes soft and silky, just like the skin after peeling with a bast washcloth. When using a washcloth, bast fibers release phytoncides

- the best remedy for the prevention of colds.

Bast washcloths are made from the inner layer of linden bark, split and specially processed. After steaming, linden bast becomes soft and helps to perfectly cleanse the skin, this is explained by the fact that the entire surface of the bast is covered with tiny fibers. Among body washcloths, there is another wonderful natural material - sisal, as well as ramie, they are also suitable for creating crafts, like loofahs.

The thickness of the villi is comparable to the size of human pores, therefore, when we wash ourselves with bast washcloth, it not only scrubs and massages, but also cleanses the pores. In addition, during washing, fibers release phytoncides, which, as you know, are the best weapon against microbes. Such a washcloth will ensure cleanliness, will not harm the skin, and will also help protect against colds.

A bast is a mandatory attribute of a Russian bath. Removes static electricity, improves skin regeneration. When using the washcloth, you first need to steam it with boiling water for 10 minutes, then pour it over with cold water and soap it.

The tradition of making bast bast came to us from time immemorial. Bast sponge was used not only for washing, it has always served as an excellent addition to a bath broom as a tool for massage.

Once upon a time the linden tree covered almost all of Rus'. Bast fibers from linden bark were used to make bast shoes, feet, shoe covers, boots and sandals. One shoe was worn during long journeys, another during commercial hunting and fishing, and the third was simply used as house shoes, similar to modern slippers. For Russian people, wicker bast shoes were as traditional as wooden shoes for the peasants of Western Europe.

Bast for weaving shoes was removed from trees no older than ten years old. After making longitudinal cuts on the trunk with a knife, the harvesters removed four narrow strips from each tree. After removing the top crust, the bast ribbons were soaked and weaving began.

Linden wood has a unique smell, this smell is persistent and lasts for many years.

It smells nice of loofah and maybe a little linden blossom.

Everyone knows the little rhyme about the “white hare” who picked a bast in the forest and put it under a log. In fact, the hare does not prepare bast, but simply feasts on the sweet and juicy bark.

But squirrels, crows and rooks actually harvest bast. They pluck it from dried branches without causing any harm to the tree. The dry crust covering the bast fibers crumbles, but the flexible soft fibers remain. This is what squirrels and birds line their nests with.

Durable bast fibers of old and young linden trees have found a wide variety of uses in human economic activities. For basting, the bark was removed from large trees. Longitudinal cuts were made on the trunk on both sides. Then, using a wooden wedge, two half-cylinder grooves were separated from the trunk. The bark removed in this way was called bast. Dried bast was used as roofing material for outbuildings, and simple utensils for dry food were made from it. But the main part of the bast was used for the production of bast, the use of which was very diverse. To obtain bast, bast was soaked in mochila - ditches dug in the forest near a stream or lake. Bast harvested in spring or early summer was loaded into soaking ditches. Well-soaked bast was hung out to dry, and in winter it was brought to the village and put into use.

Soaked bast fibers tied into a bundle instantly turned into a bath sponge, which is well known to modern people.

They knitted brushes from bast for whitewashing stoves, made brushes and brushes for washing dishes, wove quite strong ropes and even threads for fishing nets. Archaeological excavations confirm that fishing nets were woven from bast back in the Neolithic era. The strength of ropes made from moss can be judged by the fact that they were used to make harnesses and fetters for horses. On simple wooden looms, village craftsmen wove matting, from which they made coolies, capes for horses, and much more. The ancient Germans wove clothes from bast - mainly cloaks and belts. In Russia in the last century, Ryazan lamplighters made raincoats from bast bags. One corner of the sack-bag was inserted into the other - and the cloak was ready. In the old days, sponge was widely used by carpenters as padding material for upholstered furniture.

The mop was also used for polishing wooden furniture. Moreover, it was used so widely that the polishing process itself began to be called basting.

Oil, caviar and grape juice are well preserved in linden containers. In the Caucasus, huge vats for squeezing grape juice and churns were made from linden trees. In modern cooperage, linden staves are used to make dishes intended for storing and transporting granular caviar.

Bask clothing

The Romans, traveling through the territory of modern Germany, were surprised to find people dressed in bast cloaks. “What is this?” they wondered. The people who inhabited the German lands seemed wild in their eyes. But in vain. Well-woven bast clothing protects against insect bites. You can collect honey from wild bees in it. It is neither cold nor hot. She doesn't get wet from the rain.

Even to this day, some Indian tribes use the ancient skill of making clothing from bast. The photo shows a specially made suit and a neat suitcase. Everything is made from bast using the weaving method of bast shoes.

Story

Lubok depicting a bast worker at work

The first mentions of bast in Russian sources date back to the 12th-13th centuries. In particular, the chronicle from 1205 names bast as one of the tribute items:

Woven bast shoes have long been known among the Eastern and Western Slavs, among the Baltic peoples, among the Finno-Ugric peoples and in the coastal regions of Sweden. Until the 15th century, the equipment of Russian troops included chain mail made of oak bast and bast shields. From the same material in Russia “they wove baskets, boxes, coolies, tues and even chairs and tables.” However, bast was most often used in the production of bast shoes. Back in the 18th century, this type of footwear was popular not only among peasants, but also among townspeople. Until the second half of the next century, bast bast shoes remained the main footwear in villages and hamlets of the black earth provinces.

Entire settlements and even regions were engaged in the production of shoes from bast. Among them is the village of Smirnovo in the Nizhny Novgorod province, where the famous “Smirnovsky bast shoes” were made; the village of Semyonovskoye (near Kineshma); village of Myt, Shuisky district (Vladimir province). Tambov craftsmen supplied bast shoes “to all of Russia, including the Red Army...”.

Researchers have traditionally viewed bast bast shoes as an attribute of peasant life, a kind of evidence of the “poverty of the ancient Russian peasantry.” According to an alternative point of view, until about the 16th century, bast shoes were not as widespread as leather shoes, and were used mainly during agricultural work (in the field, in the forest, etc.). Later, with the rise in leather prices, bast shoes began to displace boots from the everyday life of peasants.

Where are bast shoes made?

The production is located in Odessa, where they do the final sewing and design of shoes. The founder of LAPTI pays special attention to the latter.

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What do dictionaries say?

In reference books, this word is interpreted as the young bast of some trees, which is divided into strips and thin fibers. Dahl's dictionary adds a definition: bast is a fragile subcortex. The tree tissue located directly under the bark is called bast. Behind it is young wood. The Brockhaus and Efron dictionary explains how bast was extracted: they cut down a young tree, cut off its branches and cut off the bark along the trunk. This activity is called “pulling the bast.” The best bast comes from linden. The proverb “ripped off like a stick” just speaks about this type of fishing.

Dictionaries unanimously state that “lyko” is a word used only in the singular. That is, you cannot say: “I kicked a lot.” It would be correct: “I kicked a lot.”

Bast is pulled from willow, elm, and oak. The Scientific and Technical Encyclopedic Dictionary says that this is done in the spring. Trees are selected no older than ten years. Remove the bark of approximately three arshins in length. This is about two and a bit meters. Afterwards, the top crust is removed, the bast is soaked, dried and put into use.

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Quote from message Makosh311

Read in full In your quotation book or community!

Many folk dolls are made from moss.

They say that large paint brushes made from bast are sometimes sold in construction stores, but I have never seen them. Make the sponge yourself - it’s a pity for the linden tree only if you’re lucky enough to find the fallen one, but so far you haven’t come across it. Bast is not only for dolls

good, it’s also
a real washcloth
, for baths and more.
Bast washcloths are made from the inner layer of linden bark, split and specially processed. After steaming, linden bast becomes soft and helps to perfectly cleanse the skin, this is explained by the fact that the entire surface of the bast is covered with tiny fibers. The thickness of the villi is comparable to the size of human pores, therefore, when we wash ourselves with bast washcloth, it not only scrubs and massages, but also cleanses the pores. In addition, during washing, fibers release phytoncides, which, as you know, are the best weapon against microbes. Such a washcloth will ensure cleanliness, will not harm the skin, and will also help protect against colds. A bast
is a mandatory attribute of a Russian bath.
Removes static electricity, improves skin regeneration. When using the washcloth, you first need to steam it with boiling water for 10 minutes, then pour it over with cold water and soap it. The tradition of making bast bast came to us from time immemorial. Bast sponge was used not only for washing, it has always served as an excellent addition to a bath broom as a tool for massage. Once upon a time the linden tree covered almost all of Rus'. Bast fibers from linden bark were used to make bast shoes, feet, shoe covers, boots and sandals . One shoe was worn during long journeys, another during commercial hunting and fishing, and the third was simply used as house shoes, similar to modern slippers. For Russian people, wicker bast shoes were as traditional as wooden shoes for the peasants of Western Europe. Bast for weaving shoes
was removed from trees no older than ten years old. After making longitudinal cuts on the trunk with a knife, the harvesters removed four narrow strips from each tree. After removing the top crust, the bast ribbons were soaked and weaving began. Linden wood has a unique smell, this smell is persistent and lasts for many years. It smells nice of loofah and maybe a little linden blossom. Everyone knows the little rhyme about the “white hare” who picked a bast in the forest and put it under a log. In fact, the hare does not prepare bast, but simply feasts on the sweet and juicy bark. But squirrels, crows and rooks actually harvest bast. They pluck it from dried branches without causing any harm to the tree. The dry crust covering the bast fibers crumbles, but the flexible soft fibers remain. This is what squirrels and birds line their nests with. Durable bast fibers of old and young linden trees have found a wide variety of uses in human economic activities. For basting, the bark was removed from large trees. Longitudinal cuts were made on the trunk on both sides. Then, using a wooden wedge, two half-cylinder grooves were separated from the trunk. The bark removed in this way was called bast. Dried bast was used as roofing material for outbuildings, and simple utensils for dry food were made from it. But the main part of the bast was used for the production of bast, the use of which was very diverse.

To obtain bast, bast was soaked in mochila - ditches dug in the forest near a stream or lake. Bast harvested in spring or early summer was loaded into soaking ditches. Well-soaked bast was hung out to dry, and in winter it was brought to the village and put into use. Soaked bast fibers tied into a bundle instantly turned into a bath sponge, which is familiar to modern people

.
brushes
from bast for whitewashing stoves, made
brushes and brushes
for washing dishes, wove quite
strong ropes and even threads
for fishing nets.
Archaeological excavations confirm that fishing nets were woven from bast
back in the Neolithic era.
The strength of ropes made from moss can be judged by the fact that they were used to make harnesses and fetters for horses. On simple wooden looms, village craftsmen wove matting
, from which they sewed coolies, capes for horses and much more.
The ancient Germans wove clothes from bast
- mainly cloaks and belts.
In Russia in the last century, Ryazan lamplighters made raincoats from bast bags
.
One corner of the sack-bag was inserted into the other - and the cloak was ready. In the old days, sponge was widely used by carpenters as padding material for upholstered furniture
.
The mop was also used for polishing wooden furniture
.
Moreover, it was used so widely that the polishing process itself began to be called basting. Oil, caviar and grape juice are well preserved in linden containers
. In the Caucasus, huge vats for squeezing grape juice and churns were made from linden trees. In modern cooperage, linden staves are used to make dishes intended for storing and transporting granular caviar.

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A series of messages “in our kitchen”:
Part 1 - 15 tips from Italian nutritionists Part 2 - Coffee - black wine ... Part 98 - The aroma of success. Part 99 - The magic of red panties, toilet bowl and cabbage...))) Part 100 - Tink... amulet