Often people ask me how to improve upon their wardrobe or over all look. There are a million individual responses, but I think one of the most universal things one can do is to eye each component critically and ascertain exactly how "common" it might have been in period. In my article about Viking age plaids, I talk about how small the checks were and how narrow the stripes. What is also key about it is that in all of the materials I have, I could only find those few references. Certainly they used this cloth, but it does not appear to have been common practice when compared to the overall number of finds.
Another example of this is in the use of tablet weaving. In the article "Tablet Weaving on Reconstructed Viking Age Garments – and a Method to Optimise the Realism of Reconstructed Garments," by Lise Raeder Knudsen (from the book Refashioning Viking Age Garments. SAXO-Institute, University of Copenhagen), the author has a chart that shows the prevalence of tablet weaving in graves from different time periods. During the Migration era, it ranged from 20-30% of graves in various parts of Scandinavia, but during the Viking age less than 5% of graves have evidence of this practice.
What I take away from that is that this form of trim should be used sparingly, if at all. Not every edge of a kit should have it, and perhaps it should be used only for high status personas. If I use a tablet woven band, which would have been rare, then I would perhaps not also use plaid in the same kit (another less common item).
Another, earlier example of trends, is in this fantastic article on early cloth by Karina Grömer. Textile Materials and Techniques in Central Europe in the 2nd and 1st Millennia BC.
In this she has a fantastic chart showing how common things such as weave structure, use a dye, plaids and embroidery are. They are displayed as being important techniques of the period down to single evidences. It generates fantastic food for thought for the reenactor.
Another example of this is in the use of tablet weaving. In the article "Tablet Weaving on Reconstructed Viking Age Garments – and a Method to Optimise the Realism of Reconstructed Garments," by Lise Raeder Knudsen (from the book Refashioning Viking Age Garments. SAXO-Institute, University of Copenhagen), the author has a chart that shows the prevalence of tablet weaving in graves from different time periods. During the Migration era, it ranged from 20-30% of graves in various parts of Scandinavia, but during the Viking age less than 5% of graves have evidence of this practice.
What I take away from that is that this form of trim should be used sparingly, if at all. Not every edge of a kit should have it, and perhaps it should be used only for high status personas. If I use a tablet woven band, which would have been rare, then I would perhaps not also use plaid in the same kit (another less common item).
Another, earlier example of trends, is in this fantastic article on early cloth by Karina Grömer. Textile Materials and Techniques in Central Europe in the 2nd and 1st Millennia BC.
In this she has a fantastic chart showing how common things such as weave structure, use a dye, plaids and embroidery are. They are displayed as being important techniques of the period down to single evidences. It generates fantastic food for thought for the reenactor.
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