American Indian Flat Dance Fan Construction  (Page 6)

to cut these as evenly as possible in order to make the finished fringe an even diameter. If the thickness of the buckskin you are using varies along its length, the thinner end may need to be cut slightly wider than the thicker end, so you will need to experiment a little with this in order to get it right. Next, split each strip up the center to within 1/2” of its end, thus leaving a small tab as shown in Figure 13. This can be done with scissors or using a straight edge and an X-acto knife or razor blade.

The next step can be done with the fringe either wet (damp) or dry, so try it both ways and use the method that works best for you. First, completely saturate the buckskin strip with water. Then squeeze out the excess water by running your fingers down the length, stretching it gently at the same time so as not to break it. Each piece should be treated uniformly so the fringe is evenly sized and not too thin or too thick when it is finished.

Grasp the tab of the fringe with the fingers of your left hand and lay the 2 “legs” of the fringe on your right thigh (Figures 14-19). With your right palm, begin rolling both pieces down your leg at the same time. As you do this, the end in your left hand will begin to twist by itself. Help it along and continue to roll with your right hand until the entire length is

twisted and looks like a small rope. Move your left fingers down to just above the untwisted area with each roll and this will help you guide the twist and keep it from unrolling. When finished, roll the fringe back &forth under a smooth, flat object such as a cassette tape box and on a hard surface, such as a desktop, so as to give it a smooth, even shape. This will also help make it soft and pliable and thick areas can actually be thinned down a little bit using this trick.

I recommend wearing a clean pair of old blue jeans and keeping your hands very clean while doing this so that the