What is Mochalo? This... Meaning on

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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Bast bast

Water-resistant washbrush.

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 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.

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!

Important! If you decide to use a bast sponge at home in the bathroom, the bast can clog the entire drain. Be careful!

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.

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.

Crocheted washcloth with elongated loops, the work of our readers

Our master classes and video lessons will tell you how to crochet a washcloth.

Crocheting washcloths, master class!

The author of the description is Noskova Nadezhda. Nadezhda writes that knitting is her hobby! Today she will tell you how to crochet a washcloth.

Crochet washcloth, step by step description

First we knit 40-45 chain stitches and connect them into a circle.

We tie 5 rows with single crochets, then begin to pull out the loops (see photo).

After pulling, the loops must be secured with an air loop (see photo), otherwise they will crawl out to the wrong side and the washcloth will turn out flabby.

We knit the length of the washcloth individually (expecting that it will stretch during use). We finish by tying with single crochet chain loops and tying the handles. A skein of thread costs 25 rubles, enough for 2 washcloths. And cheap and beautiful!

You will need yarn for knitting washcloths and a size 4 hook.

Crochet washcloth video tutorials

Crocheted washcloth toy “Clean Bear”

The toy has eyes, a nose and ears. On one side it is shaggy, and on the other side it is smooth and has a comfortable handle.

To knit a washcloth you will need:

• polypropylene threads of three colors: any main color, black and white for the eyes
• scissors
• needle
• hook No. 2.5, hard so as not to bend

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Crochet round washcloth for beginners

We will need: yarn; hook number 3.

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Crocheted washcloth toy “Funny hedgehog”

• polypropylene thread 70-80 g primary color
• polypropylene thread black, white, green and red
• hooks No. 2.7 and 4.5
• darning needle with wide eye
• scissors
• template to make a flower

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Crochet washcloth with spiral pattern

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How to crochet a washcloth hard and soft

How to knit a washcloth 2 in 1, hard and soft, crocheting for beginners, video tutorial. To knit a washcloth, we need Needlewomen yarn in three colors, hook No. 4. Washcloths for men (hard side) and women (soft side). We knit the hard side lengthwise and the soft side across.

About disposable washcloths

Initially, the role of a washcloth in a bathhouse was performed by a bunch of straw or ordinary grass. Grass or hay was collected in a bunch, doused with warm water to wash away possible contamination, and the simplest bath attribute is ready for cleansing procedures!

Everything would be fine: the herbs are good for the skin, and the hay smells like summer. Disposable washcloths are individual, they are not capable of transmitting infections and diseases to other visitors to the bathing kingdom.

But such washcloths do not have reliability, rigidity, or long service life. So the bast soap came to the rescue, it rubbed conscientiously and lasted much longer than disposable washcloths.

Where is bast used?

Bast is not just washcloths. From time immemorial, bast was used to weave bast shoes, household utensils, baskets, boxes, and so on...

Lyko became so firmly established in the lives of Russian peasants that it would be difficult to imagine their life without him.

There are quite a lot of proverbs and sayings associated with bast. For example, our everyday saying: “The bast does not knit.” This means that a person is drunk to such an extent that he cannot cope with an ordinary, simple task.

Shoes and household items made from bast were considered a sign of the poor and of simple origin. When they said about a person: “Girded with bast” or “Woe is bast” - this meant that the person lived in poverty.

The bast washcloth is one of the oldest. These are the types of washcloths that have replaced “disposable cleaning agents.”