Hatters, gingerbread men and others

Manufacture of clothes and shoes. Food production

People have always loved to dress beautifully, so in Siberia, one of the types of crafts in demand was the production of clothes and shoes. Different types of craftsmen were engaged in the manufacture of shoes: shoemakers, brodens (brodni sewed). Hosiers and mitten makers made garments. The mitten masters received 1 kopeck each for sewing a pair of mittens, handing them over to dealers. There were craftsmen who made hats: hatmakers and hatters.

Hats were originally imported to Siberia from Vologda and Yaroslavl, but soon local craftsmen began to make them themselves. Hats were rolled from coarse cow’s wool and sold mainly for troops on the border lines. In 1753, merchant Vasily Medovshchikov opened a hat factory in Tara, for which he bought 50 souls of serfs with land. Hat workshops also appeared in other Siberian cities, and a hatter’s workshop was even formed in Tyumen. However, hats have always been more in demand among Siberian residents.

In the second half of the XIX — early XX century in Siberia there were a large number of craftsmen making clothes and shoes: tailors, shoemakers, hatmakers, mitten makers, etc. They lived and worked in cities and counties. The products were either sold on site or taken to bazaars and fairs.

Siberians have always loved to eat and knew the price of food. Food in harsh conditions occupied a special place. Kvass makers, brewers, bakers, pies, gingerbread men — you can’t count all the masters. The French traveler Jules Legra described the festive table for Easter, after a long Lent: "In the center of the table is a suckling pig entwined with a garland of melted butter, in the corners are cakes and women, towers of cookies with cinnamon, which are eaten with tea …". The tradition of making festive dishes in Siberia still exists.

The mitt (mitten). Mittens

A special role in the winter clothing of peasants has always been given to protecting their hands from frost, snow and wind. Favorite clothes for the hands are mittens. In addition, they were called — mittens, waregs. Mittens were made of wool (knitting) or fur. Mittens with fur inside were called "golits", and with fur outside — "furry". Mittens differ from gloves in that they have two compartments: one for the thumb, the other for all the others. There are special gloves for hunters with a special compartment for the index finger to pull the trigger without removing the mittens.

The mitten maker was called the mitten maker or the mitten maker. Making mittens was one of the most common and sought-after peasant occupations. Woolen mittens were knitted by women, fur mittens were made by mitten makers.

A large number of references to the mitten are found in proverbs and sayings:
"The mitten is on the tongue" (about a silent person).
"To clap a mitten" (to miss something important).
"In full mitten" (speak loudly).
"To whistle in a thin mitt" (to get nothing, not to achieve).
"Take it in a tight grip" (keep it strict).
"He's looking for mittens, but they’re in his belt!"
"You can’t catch the wind in a mitt"
"Not a mitt, you can’t throw it off your hand" (about his wife).
"Now milk is flaunting in mittens" (about the more expensive product).
"Our Fali’s mittens were asleep"
"The Savior came — keep the mittens in reserve!" or "The Third Saved the mittens."
"He has a conscience in mittens" (about an unscrupulous man).
"You can’t hang a habit, not a glove, on a match."

The hatter. Hat

Hats have long been called all hats in our country, winter and summer. The names of the hat in Russia were very different.

The masters of making hats were called the hatters. Fur hats were made by furriers.

In Russian folk tales, there is a magical object — an invisible hat. A huge number of proverbs, sayings, riddles, signs, superstitions, ditties are dedicated to the hat.
Proverbs and sayings:

"And the head lives under a leaky hat"
"The father did not buy hats, so let the ears freeze!"
"You'll recognize a fool in a red hat"
"Standing without a hat, you won’t say much"
"The thief’s hat is on fire"
"Senka's hat, Yerema’s hat"
"The thief took off the scammer’s hat"
"The head was taken off, and the hat was taken out"
"We'll throw hats"

A tongue twister about a hat: "There is a cap on the window, it is not raised, it is not revealed; the grip came to raise, and raised, and revealed"