Lapti
The Russian bast shoes, plaited from lime bast or birch bark.
Lapti were the peasant’s everyday shoe in Russia and eastern Europe for centuries, because they were cheap and easy to make. People wore several pairs a year.
They were plaited from lime bast or birch bark. In Finland there are similar shoes of birch bark, called virsut.
Materials: Lime bast, birch bark or osier, cloth bindings
Manufacture: Plaited by hand from bast or bark and fastened with cords round the calf.
The plaited pattern of the shoe.
The cords wound round the calf.
The low, soft shape.