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Tonkawa Tribal
Regalia
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| Women's Breastplate Instructions | |||||||
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| Adult Supplies: 2,000 plastic 8mm beads 100 4" plastic bones 8 2" plastic bones 1/4 pound of sinew Either wood or leather strips 50 Cowrie Shells | Teen Supplies: 1,000 plastic 8mm beads 40 4" plastic bones 50 2" plastic bones 1/4 pound of sinew Either wood or leather strips 40 Cowrie Shells | Child Supplies: 500 plastic 8mm beads 20 4" plastic bones 10 2" plastic bones 1/4 pound of sinew Either wood or leather strips 20 Cowrie Shells | |||||
| *These are just approximate instructions to guide you in making your own individual breastplate* *Amounts and lengths are also just approximate be sure to see your Tribe's Cultural Director for exact help* | |||||||
| Adult Instructions | |||||||
| 1. First you need to pick out your bead pattern it can be anywhere from 5-10 beads. (Remember children grow fast and you may want to include multiple colours in theirs for many years of use or just for versatility.) | 2. To start out unravel about 2 yards of sinew, and cut about 20-24 of these, depending on how wide you want it to be. | ||||||
| 3. To use wood dividers: a. Cut 4 1/4" wide and tall, 10" long strips of wood and 4 1/4" wide and tall, 2" long strips and stain accordingly. b. After they have completely dried use a dremmel to put holes in it. c. The holes should be as far apart as the 4" bone at it's widest point. d. Drill 20-24 holes. | 3. To use leather: *leather will eventually sag over time* a. Cut 4 1/4" wide and tall, 10" long strips of leather and 4 1/4" wide and tall, 2" long strips of leather. b. Use an awl and a hammer to put holes in it. c. The holes should be as far apart as the 4" bone at it's widest point. d. Make 20-24 holes. | ||||||
| 4. Run the sinew through the first piece of wood/leather and string your bead pattern on either side. Like the picture below. | 5. When you put the 2" piece of wood/leather on then you will need to use just your 8mm beads to finish the shoulder straps. | ||||||
| 6. The first 4 strings on either side will go from the front to the back, for the shoulder straps. | 7. After the 4th string you put a single bead or multiple beads on the sinew and then string it back through in the next row. (Picture). | ||||||
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8. Repeat steps 4-7 for the back.
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| Attaching the Cowrie Shells: | |||||||
| 1. Make sure that you leave approximately 4-5 inches of sinew at the end of each row to attach your shell. |
2. Each cowrie shell should only 
have one hole, in the
top. Pull
your
piece of sinew through the
back of the shell to the front.
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3.
Separate the sinew into two pieces, and tie around the
top of
the shell, placing the knot
in the
back.
 *If
you have already put the shell on the other side of the sinew then you will
also need to pull the sinew as tight as you can. This prevents the beads to
getting lose after time.*
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4. You will need to knot this about 3-4 times.
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5. For this step you will need to take
CAUTION!
To finish attaching the shell- use a lighter and tweezers. All
the excess sinew will be burned down and pushed into the
the back of the cowrie shell.
Ignite the end of the sinew and drop the lighter and grab your tweezers to
push the remainder of the sinew into the back of the shell. Take
caution this has to be done fast and is an acquired skill.
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6. Do this to every end and make sure to tighten each strand of sinew. | ||||||
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| To see a closer look at the breastplate click on an image below. | |||||||
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Examples of materials: |
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| Silver hollow beads | Sinew | Bones | 8mm Beads | Wood | |||
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