Last week Division 5 learned a bit about the history of the Métis sash, or ceinture fléchée. We tried our hand (or rather our fingers) at a textile technique called “finger weaving,” used by Indigenous peoples all over North America. Here is a video about some of the history of the Métis sash.

There are different styles of finger weaving, and some can be very complex, so we started simply with using five loops (check out the instruction video here).

Students worked in pairs to help each other learn the process. One student held the yarn while the other did the weaving.  Weaving was like learning some new dance steps, but once we understood the pattern we were flying!

We have started with two colours, but this week some people might try three or four colours for their second try. I wonder how it might look with five different colours? More experimentation to come! We will also try some other methods of finger weaving once we get a handle on this first method.