Crafter Makes Moccasins And Mukluks

Crafter Makes Moccasins And Mukluks Anna Clark and her husband, Kelly, of McCall, Idaho, raise yak on their ranch, the Rockn’ K Bar C. Wanting to make good use of the hides, Anna—an experienced crafter—decided to try her hand at mukluks, the soft boots worn by Arctic Indigenous peoples, as well as Native American moccasins. She looked up a professional tanner and shipped the raw yak hides to him. It didn’t work well. “The leather he returned was too soft and not skived properly, meaning it wasn’t uniform in thickness,” Anna says. She cut it into round coasters, stitched fabric onto one side, and gave most of them away as gifts. A second tanner, who specialized in exotic leather, returned a much better product. Anna started with moccasins, which have lower tops than mukluks. The pattern was passed down from her father, who had received it as a gift from an old cobbler in New York. After cutting the pieces, Anna assembled them using her heavy-duty Chandler “patch” sewing machine. “It can sew into small places, and the top foot rotates 360 degrees. It’s an extremely handy machine,” she says. Linen thread was used for hand-sewing around the toes and heels. Some of her moccasins were lined with sheepskin, and others were not. She added a crepe sole for good traction in the snow. “Crepe is a natural rubber that’s very flexible and comes in different thicknesses and colors. This makes them more wearable outside.” For a more traditional moccasin feel, Anna applies a type of liquid rubber, similar to Shoe Goo, over the bottom of the moccasins for waterproofing. For traction, she mixes it with a little bit of clean sand. As the soles wear out, she applies more to add longevity. The mukluks were more challenging. Anna didn’t have a pattern, so she had to create one. She used heavy paper and traced around her own feet with a black magic marker, adding seam allowances for felt inserts. Mukluks are traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, hand-sewn with sinew, and lined with fur for warmth. Anna’s versions are created entirely on her patch machine. “I use cork for the insoles. It’s lightweight, conforms to the foot, and is a great insulator from the cold. Usually, when your feet get cold, it’s coming up through the ground.” For the sole, she adds a 1/4-in. thickness of crepe to the mukluks. She comes up an inch on the sides with a 1/8-inch. thickness of crepe to waterproof. Polar fleece is sewn to the insides of the mukluks. Additionally, they have a heavy, removable wool-felt lining. “That way, when it’s not super cold outside, you can pull it out, so your feet won’t overheat,” Anna explains. “In McCall, known for its winter temperatures of 30 below zero and an average snowfall of 138 in., warm and dry footgear is a must. My mukluks work great. They’re so much lighter and more comfortable than my packer boots. I wear them to the grocery store, to walk to the mailbox, to feed the yaks, and when snowmobiling. They’re the best when you’re standing at the winter carnival watching the parade because, with the cork and the felt liner, you don’t feel anything come through.” Prices start at $200, and shipping is to U.S. addresses only. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Anna Clark (yakranch@frontier.com).

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