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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Seven Deh Cho youths have a new appreciation for what goes into the creation of a handmade leather vest.

Sage Fabre-Dimsdale models his partially completed vest on Aug. 16 that he was making at the leather workshop for youth held in Fort Simpson. The class was led by D'Arcy J. Moses of Wrigley. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

"It takes time and hard work to do it," said Rebekah Isaiah.

"You are not going to finish it in one day.'

Isaiah, 13, was one of the participants in a leather workshop for youth that D'Arcy J. Moses of Wrigley led in Fort Simpson from Aug. 13 to 17. During the workshop, Moses taught the stages of making a vest from design to finishing touches.

"I'm trying to teach them it takes time and patience, especially patience," he said.

"Because, in the end, they get a really beautiful product when they are done."

Moses said some of the youths arrived on the first day expecting to have their vests finished by the end of the day. By Thursday, Moses said the participants had a new understanding of the time it takes to make a nice product.

While drawing a floral design on the front of the vest that she was making for her mother, Isaiah explained the vest-making process.

The participants spent the first day using the Internet to research and print examples of photos of aboriginal and native American vests for inspiration. The youths then learned how to draw small-scale basic vest designs and used those drawings to sketch out their planned embellishments.

Moses brought his own vest patterns for the participants to use as templates and then helped each of them to alter the pattern to fit their design. The youths learned how to lay their patterns properly on the traditional hides – such as bison, elk, deer and moose – and then trace and cut them out. Then the assembly began.

"It's really fun, actually," said Isaiah about the process.

She said this was the first time she's made something like this and worked with leather.

Isaiah used paint to put her handprints on the pockets of the vest for her mother and then painted a floral pattern on the front panels. She also punched holes in the vest to make cross designs out of lacing.

"It's really hard to lace them," said Isaiah, because the holes are so small.

Sylvia Pascua-Matte, 12, who was making a vest for her father, took a different design route. Knowing her father's tastes, Pascua-Matte decided to stick with a simpler design that included fringe and lacing.

"It's not as easy as it looks," she said.

You can't rush into making a vest, said Pascua-Matte, you have to draw a design first. She added that making fringe is time consuming because you have to measure each strip to ensure they are the same width before you cut them.

Vest making is a good project for youths because leather is easy to work with and there are no sewing machines involved, said Moses, who's been a fashion designer for 20 years. He said he enjoys passing on his skills. The youths also seem to get into the project and many don't want to leave at the end of the day, he said.

Devonian Metals Inc. sponsored the workshop.

"They are putting their focus behind youth in the Northern communities and doing it through arts and culture," said Moses.

The workshop is the second of five Moses is expected to lead, including one in Wrigley and one at Thomas Simpson School in Fort Simpson this fall.

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