The early fur trade was carried out between natives and the trade companies by French voyageurs on the rivers. From an article in M/J 1996 PieceWork magazine by Jessie Clemans: "These 'magnificent river rats' of the north, as the historian Peter C. Newman has called them, formed a class as distinctive in dress, customs, and traditions as the lumberjack and cowboy did later. Before putting into an inhabited port, the voyageurs usually stopped to shave, slip into their cleanest shirt, and stick a plume in their hat. Around their waist they tied the colorful voyageur sash and, below their knees, matching garters. (Some voyageurs clearly wore their sashes all the time; others may have kept their sashes in their pack.) Now they were ready to come singing around the river bend with paddles flashing, settling their loaded canoe precisely at the landing spot and swaggering ashore." No one has been able to discover the exact origin of this type of fingerweaving, but both French and Native Americans did do some sort of fingerweaving. The majority of French settlers' fingerwoven voyageur sashes were made in and around Montreal until around 1860.
Then... the Hudson's Bay Company introduced loom-woven voyageur sashes from England at a much lower price. Finger-woven sashes can take from 200 to 300 hours of work, so the cheaper loom-woven ones took over the market. A few people still fingerweave today.
Our sturdy loom-woven voyageur sashes are made from very durable cotton, with sturdy twisted fringes on both ends. Several lengths are available. Some customers buy long-length voyageur sashes and wrap them around the waist twice. As a result of making two sashes per one warp on the loom (of different lengths), there are only two sashes of the same pattern. Each warp is unique.
Great for dressing to attend events representing voyageurs, Native Americans, or others.
Voyageur garters in complementary colors are shown, where available.