now you got me chomping at the bit to get my own hickory harvested!
Wyandot used it for baskets, though it might need to be thinned or gouged at creases enough to bend.
Here's an old bark Wyandot sap "basket" collected here in Okl in 1911 - 12
obviously this bark is alot thinner than the ones i'm getting off here from pignut or bitternut hickory.
one thing you can do,after drawknifing the rough bark layer off is simply let the bark dry until you need it.
it can be re-hydrated by soaking, drying it will curl up into itself (which means controlled it could make an awesome quiver
(my own intention for sure)
I think your wife will like this page on bark work:
http://www.wildroots.org/links.php