Moccasin Art
Welcome to Moccasin Mountain Art, Framing & Gift Gallery As Montana residents, we understand the inspiration and creativity that comes from the Montana lands in which we live. Shop for water moccasin art from the world's greatest living artists. All water moccasin artwork ships within 48 hours and includes a 30-day money-back guarantee. Choose your favorite water moccasin designs and purchase them as wall art, home decor, phone cases, tote bags, and more! Art Prints by Wayne McKenzie $ 25.00 Select options; Ballet Style Slippers $ 72.00 Select options; Fur Keychains $ 15.00 Add to cart; Frank Polson Prints On Canvas $ 220.00 Select options; Hand Drum Bag $ 22.00 Select options; Sale! The Bears T-shirt $ 25.00 $ 12.50 Select options; Unique Dream Catchers $ 55.00 – $ 65.00 Select options; Sale. Dec 1, 2014 - Explore Anna Baginski's board 'free moccasin patterns' on Pinterest. See more ideas about moccasin pattern, diy shoes, native american moccasins. Art Prints by Wayne McKenzie $ 25.00 Select options; Ballet Style Slippers $ 72.00 Select options; Fur Keychains $ 15.00 Add to cart; Frank Polson Prints On Canvas $ 220.00 Select options; Hand Drum Bag $ 22.00 Select options; Sale! The Bears T-shirt $ 25.00 $ 12.50 Select options; Unique Dream Catchers $ 55.00 – $ 65.00 Select options; Sale.
Moccasin Bend Artifacts
(use the same pattern left and right moccasins)
1. Place feet (or tracings) on either side of center line of paper with 1' between heels and edge of paper.
Each heel should be 1/2' away from the center line, and the balls of the feet below the big toes should be 1/4' away from the center-line of the paper.
2. Even with the heels, mark points E and E' (1/2' from the center-line and 1' from the edge of the paper) Also mark points D and D' (1/2' from the center-line at the edge of the paper).
3. Mark point A by following a line from the base of the big toe to the center-line.
4. Draw curve around top of foot 1/2 ' from toes from point A to just above little toe. 5. To find points B and B', measure the circumference around the (widest part) ball of the foot and place half the distance on either side of the center-line where the ball of the foot is, mark this point. Now measure 1/2 ' straight down and 1/2' straight out. 6. Finish drawing the curve around the top of the foot to point B and to point B'. 7. Drop an imaginary line straight down from each of the marked points for the circumference of the foot, this marks the bottom of the moccasin cuff at the heel. Another imaginary line connecting this point with point B shows where the cuff will be folded down at the ankle. |
8. To draw the front corners of the cuff, draw a 2' line from point B, perpendicular to the imaginary fold-over line for the cuff.
9. Maintain a 2' cuff width to find point C at the rear corner of the cuff. Connect point C with point D at the heel by drawing a slight curve that intrudes no more than 1/4' from the edge of the paper.Make sure paper pattern fits foot around instep and at heel before cutting out of leather. |
After cutting out the paper pattern, fabric or felt can be used to practice stitching. |
Sew inside out: Seam A to B/B' and seam D/D' to C/C'. Use a combination of whip stitch and running stitch (it's easier to pucker the toe using the running stitch). Cut slits (for heel tab) from D to E and D' to E' only after the toe is stitched, and proper fit is checked. |
Right side out, use the whip stitch in sewing the seam for the heel tab. If you don't want to create a loose heel tab, fold the tab up as high as you can, flush against the back of the heel, and whip-stitch around the three edges of the tab, attaching it to the back of the heel. If you pull the stitching tight it will be nearly invisible and this style will result in a more water-proof heel. |
Some variations in Trimming the Heel Tab. |
ATTATCH THONG AT SEAM AT BACK OF ANKLE. Cut thong from a scrap of leather by cutting from the perimeter of the scrap, in a spiral, towards the center. Use the thong to keep the moccasin snug. stitch the thong to two places at the back of the moccasin, or punch holes below the cuff, and wrap the thong around to the front and tie it in the back. |
Leather Moccasin Artifact
Russell Moccasin Art Carter
| Text and Graphics © 1994 - Tara Prindle unless otherwise cited. |
Moccasin Art
300 million years ago, an ancient sea covered much of what is now Montana. The seabed, under geologic pressure, formed the Madison limestone layer. Then, 250 million years later, uplift created the Little Belt Mountains, which lie about 35 miles west and south of Lewistown. Magma from the earth’s mantle rose into a fracture in the limestone and formed a five-mile long, ten-foot wide dike of lamproite—the Yogo Sapphire’s host rock. Geologic surveys show this dike is 7,000 feet deep, making it the world’s largest known sapphire deposit. Mining efforts to date have never extended deeper than 400 feet, yet Yogo Sapphires are the most precious gemstones ever to be mined in the U.S.
Yogos sapphires range in color from violet to cornflower blue, though it is the distinct beautiful blue stones and their exceptional clarity that give Yogos their worldwide prestige. This coloring comes from traces of iron and titanium. Queen Victoria, the Duchess of York, Lady Diana of England, and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany have all owned them. They are in collections at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C, at the Museum of Natural History in New York, and are part of the British Royal Crown jewel collection in London. In Montana, Yogo sapphires have special allure, as Yogo Gulch, just up the road from Utica, an hour’s drive west of Lewistown, is the only place in the world where Yogo Sapphires are to be found.
Yogo sapphires are naturally almost flawless. Gemstones deemed “Montana Sapphires” cannot hold a candle to a true Yogo. “Montana Sapphires” must undergo heat treatment to be rid of impurities and even then cannot match the color and beauty of the Yogo Sapphire. Although “Montana Sapphire” stones may be larger, they never obtain the pure true blue of the Yogos. As to the controversial matter of heat treatment, no sapphires in the world can challenge the quality of the sapphires that come from the Yogo dike. The standard of excellence among sapphires is right where it belongs—in Montana at the Yogo dike.
Although well-cut Yogos larger than one carat are rare, exceptional gems have been known to sell for up to $100,000. The Yogo dike has produced more than $25,000,000 of the world’s most beautiful sapphires; but Yogos are embedded in hard rock, which makes mining them difficult and expensive. At present, the mine sits abandoned and deserted. Nearby, the Sapphire Village subdivision allows property owners lifetime digging rights on the old mine. For them, rock hounding is a hobby, and residents spend summers collecting buckets of old mine dirt, leaked from flumes that sat atop the hill above Yogo Gulch nearly 100 years ago.