Rims may be solid wood like white cedar, split spruce root, or basketry splints. A few strikes of your striker or the back of your knife should help you get a small, stable matchlike flame. This bark is the thickest, retaining the dark brown inner bark which formed from flowing sap in winter. Trim to shape. An awl or sharpened nail works well to make needle holes if sewing. After you get the super-fine shavings, cut up some medium and larger pieces of the bark to make sure your fire has the fuel it needs to get going. You can learn more about using birch for topical healing in this video or see this recipe for birch leaf infused oil. There are several types of birch trees and the best type of bark for items from canoes to containers is the paper birch, sometimes called white birch. Although few Native Americans in southern New England still make these items from birch bark, more recent decorative arts, such as splint basket decoration, draw upon many patterns developed in birch bark. To ensure straight, even folds, it may be necessary to score along the fold with a dulled point that creases but does not cut the bark on the inside of the container. Spring is the best time to harvest birch bark because the sap is running. Birch bark designs were also used in beadwork. Modern lacing may be heavy waxed nylon thread strung through a needle. Fortunately because of the remarkable preservative properties of birch bark, it is possible to use the bark from dead or fallen trees to make containers and other items. Paper patterns can be made larger or smaller, scaled to fit the available piece of bark. Fresh bark can be worked without special preparation. Using natural material available to Native Americans, lacing would be made of basswood or dogbane cord, of thin strips of inner cedar bark, or from stripped pieces of black spruce roots. Paper patterns are ideal to practice with. Prepare your kindling with the superfine shavings, medium, and larger pieces. Do not confuse this bark with that of the gray or wire birch which is often referred to as white birch but is not as suitable for craft work. To store bark for later use, lay out the sheets and gently press them flat. For as long as there have been birch trees in New England, Native Americans have recognized the special uses to which the bark of this tree could be put. Cut birch logs to length, and bind them together tightly with heavy-duty cord to create a balanced, rustic end table. To assure a symmetrical pattern and to practice the folding methods, cut a pattern from heavy paper and "stitch" the item with a modern stapler. The oil from the inner bark is an astringent and can be used to treat wounds. Just take what you need. Heat warm the sap retained in birch bark even after several months in storage and will render even old bark pliable and flexible to be cut and bent. This is where firesteel comes in. Once this flame is going, carefully add the medium-sized pieces. The bark from the sweet or black birch is rough and completely unsuitable for craft work but is the source of wintergreen, and from which Native Americans brewed a tea high in vitamin C. If stored bark or bark from fallen trees is used, the bark should be heated by soaking in warm water, or by steaming over a fire. The inner bark can be cooked and eaten or dried and ground into a powder to make breads or to use as a thickening agent in other foods. The inner bark of white birch is also edible and many consider it to have medicinal properties. If the bark is very thick, several layers of white paper may be peeled away to make the remaining sheet easier to cut or fold. If you harvest more than a one-time use of the bark, you will want to store it. Seam stitching and rim wrapping are accomplished using lacing. Birch bark is one of the best types of bark you can use to start a fire. White birch and paper birch grow naturally throughout Canada and the northern U.S., as far south as Tennessee and in the west, most of Oregon. Stitching together seams: Removing the bark from a live birch threatens the health of that tree. To ensure straight, even folds, it may be necessary to score along the fold with a dulled point that creases but does not cut the bark on the inside of the container. Holes can be patched with a warmed mixture of white pine pitch and charcoal.