Kymber wroteon January 26, 2010 at 4:42pm

Recently, I took the opportunity to attend a workshop in Saskatoon that taught how to make a traditional Metis capote coat made out of a Hudson Bay Point Blanket.

The workshop was facilitated by Suzan Lagrove, “who has helped over five hundred capotes come to life throughout Western Canada”, and also guided by Saskatchewan’s own capote maker, Elder Joanna Potyondi.

Suzan started off the day with a Power Point presentation illustrating the history of the capote. Every so often, I would glance in Elder Joanna’s direction, to find her nodding in approval of the information presented. We gained insight to our Metis history that I, personally, knew little about prior to the workshop. It’s always humbling to see where we’ve come from, and how we’ve developed as people, communities, and cultures.

Filled with a sense of pride after the history lesson, I was then overwhelmed with excitement when it came time to take our point blankets out of their packaging. My heart started to beat faster, and my hands could hardly wait to touch the wool fabric. I’ve seen point blankets before, on display or in photos, but I’ve never felt one, or had one ‘belong to me’.

With little experience in sewing or fabricwork, I went into the workshop a bit nervous that I would wind up at the back of the pack, with my capote unfinished by the end of the day. How could I possibly bring to life, in one short day, such a symbol of our ancestors’ history, and manage do it justice?

Tracing out patterns with my scissors, and making each blanket stitch, I constantly peeked over at the other working tables, to make sure I was on the right track, and keeping up with everyone else (who seemed so much more experienced than I). But, as we worked, I was surprised at how easy the capotes are to bring together!

The blanket stitch is incredibly quick to learn, and patterns are a breeze to line up and trace out. The hardest part truly was bringing scissors to the blanket. The patterns are designed to use one blanket per coat, no more. So, I often found myself wary of making the wrong cut, and wasting any fabric at all. Quadruple-checking my lines and measurements was not an uncommon practice!

By the end of the workshop, I was grinning ear to ear with pride at my nearly-finished capote. I had all the pieces fitted together, and all that was remaining was the decorative blanket stitch along the edges.

I am grateful that Gabriel Dumont Institute organized this workshop, and that I signed up quick enough to be one of the maximum fifteen participants. All things considered, I would say the most rewarding part of my day was quietly stitching, listening to the songs of Andrea Menard, CDs of fiddling music, and the chatter of women joking back and forth with each other. In the most refreshing of ways, in that room full of new faces and unfamiliar craftwork, I so much felt like part of a community.

Kymber Palidwar

________________________________________________
Hudson Bay Point Blanket
(Summarized from Suzan Lagrove’s presentation)

-The points (lines) indicate the overall size of the finished blanket – NOT the price, as commonly believed
-The blankets always were and still are made in England
-They were a means of trade in the 1700’s
-The capote was designed by the Metis people in the late 1870s
-Tied with a self-belt or sash
-Large hood
-Might be adorned with fringing at the shoulder, neck, hood
-Some people believe that the color combination (Green, Yellow, Red, Blue/Black) is ‘owned’ by HBC, which it is not. They just happened to be fashionable colors at the time, during Queen Anne’s reign in the 1700s.
-1910 - $12.00 for an unseparated pair of 4 point blankets
-1929 - Pastel colors introduced to the blanket’s design – fashionable at the time
-1937 – Deep blue with red stripe – Kind Edward the 8th
-1940-1950s – Fashionable for women to have the coat double-breasted
-1950s – Coronation blanket (purple stripe) in honor of Queen Elizabeth
-1960-1980s – Queen and King sized beds become popular, and so the 6 and 8 point blankets are introduced
-Today – 4 point blankets are worth $350.00 each
-Blanket that is Queen Size (6 point) = 1960s onward
-Blanket with French on the label = From 1970s onward
-Blanket that is King Size (8 point) = 1980s onward
-Blanket reading “ALL WOOL” in the label (as opposed to “100% WOOL”) = Quite rare, more valuable
-Read “The Blanket” (2002) by Harold Tichenor. Illustrated book, commissioned by HBC