How to Make a Native American Medicine Pouch

Do you have a small but favorite charm, crystal or stone? Have you always wanted a way to carry this item with you without having the fear of it falling out of your pocket? A Native American medicine pouch is the perfect item to hold small things that are precious to you and that you want to keep close to your person at all times. Traditionally, medicine pouches were used to hold herbs, crystals or stones as well as other items that might be a part of a native person’s spiritual beliefs and that a native person knows has power. Medicine pouches can actually come in all shapes and sizes but for the purposes of this tutorial I’m going to cover the kind you can wear around your neck.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A small piece of supple leather and or buckskin
• Seed beads
• Bugle beads
• A size 11 beading needle
• Size D beading thread
• Beeswax
• Sharp scissors
• A small button

1. Cut your piece of leather into a rectangle shape.

2. Cut a long piece of your beading thread and then run it over the beeswax to strengthen it.

3. Thread your beading needle, and then put a knot in the end of the thread.

4. Fold your leather up about three quarters of the way from the bottom. Go to the top and carefully put your needle through the two pieces of leather just at the edges to hold it there.

5. With careful small stitches sew down to the bottom. Cut the thread and knot it close to the leather.

6. Repeat step 5 on the other side until both sides are sewn up.

7. Turn the pouch right side out so your stitches don’t show. You should now have a small pouch with an open flap.

8. Sew a small button towards the top of the opening of your pouch.

9. Cut a hole for the button in the flap.

10. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with a long enough piece of thread to make a necklace.

11. Put your needle through the side of your pouch on the inside at the top and pull tight until the knot catches.

12. String a necklace of seed beads and bugle beads, long beads that can be anywhere from a quarter of an inch to a couple inches long.

13. Once your necklace is long enough to fit over your head then take it and put your needle through the opposite side at the top on the inside.

14. With your needle go back through your necklace at least once to the first side and then anchor it by putting your needle back through at the same place you did the first time and then put it back through to the inside. Trim your thread and knot it on the inside.

15. Put your treasured item in your pouch, button it and wear it around your neck.

Tips & Warnings

• Native people wear their pouches beneath their clothes to prevent others from touching them. Since we don’t always know what another’s energy or intentions are towards us, it is thought that it is not a good idea to allow our treasured medicine objects or the pouch holding them to be handled by others.
• Add some gemstones to your necklace and or use a gemstone instead of a button to make your pouch even prettier.
• For guys who would rather not have a beaded necklace around their necks, instead of folding the leather at three quarters, fold it in half. Sew up the sides as instructed and then cut small holes all around the top without cutting your stitching. Thread a long thin strip of leather through the holes and then put a knot at the top. You can pull on the leather thong you threaded through the holes to tighten and close the pouch.
• Instead of knotting the thread when done, consider burning it down to the leather with a lighter. The wax will melt and adhere to the leather preventing your stitches from unraveling.
• If you bead, add some beadwork to your pouch for added decoration.
• Blow out any thread you are burning down as soon as it melts to the leather, so you don’t weaken the stitching you’ve already done. In fact, try to do this only when you can ensure it will not be too close to the stitching you’ve completed. Not to mention you don’t want to catch your pouch on fire!

[Lakota99]

on 3/3/2009 Perfect! I love the quillwork on the pouch and the bug seems like it does too. Very nice work 5 stars

[presnick]

on 2/8/2009 Excellent article. Lots of basics, with plenty of "jump off and do your own thing" points. 5*