Kuspuks!

In October, Sharon, invited us over to a friend’s house to learn to cut out a pattern to make a Kuspuk. Beautiful calicos spread smooth, the slice, slice sound of the shears… the seamstress Rachel was cutting the shapes of the pieces from memory, sizing things relative to basic lengths like the length of the arm, and from shoulder to hip. I reminded me of watching and helping my mother sew… so imagine my joy when Rachel offered to teach us how to sew our own if we brought our own fabric.
What’s a Kuspuk? It’s a traditional Inupiat summer top, approximately like a sweatshirt with front pockets and hood, but with a little frill skirt around the bottom. and made out of calico or cotton and . I first saw one at Jesuit Volunteer Corps Orientation, worn by our Alaska area director, Sarah Kinsel. Here in Sitka, the dominant native tradition is Tlingit, different from the native groups of central and western Alaska. The only Kuspuks seen in Sitka are worn by the Mt Edgecumbe Native Alaskan boarding school students. Many Mt. Edgecumbe students are from Yupik, Inupiat, and Aleutian backgrounds and wear them proudly. I'm hoping I'm using quasi-correct terms here, I'm probably not, please forgive me.

The time spent creating the kuspuks was very pleasant. Rachel is very hospitable, and a good teacher. I don't think I'll quit my day job, though. Meg was a pro, and I'm absolutely certain my sister would have taken to sewing the kuspuks like a wiz, but I'll admit I got a little flustered when time and time again I kept forgetting to put the sewing pedal down to secure the material and the needle. Fortunately, Rachel was very patient with me.

The most priceless gift of our time sewing was a little nugget of wisdom Rachel shared with us. When I sewed the trim on my hood I realized that my stitch meandered wave-like across the trim, and I got a little sad that I hadn't been more careful. Rachel heard my squawking and assured me that every native artist leaves a mistake on purpose, to show it was made by a human, not a machine. I made sure to leave lots of mistakes all over the kuspuk, just in case anyone was wondering if I am human or not.


I'm very pleased with how it turned out, and got many compliments when I wore it to work on Monday. I also got many comments on the color. The fabric I chose is a pink Indonesian batik fabric with ribbon trim, not native alaskan at all. I don't think anyone has ever seen a pink kuspuk before, and I know I have never seen a blonde person wearing one (though I'm sure I'm not the first). So in my our own way, we've given birth to a modern Alaskan creation, and have made some good friendships in the process.