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Article Update:  Plaids

3/21/2016

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I have made some updates to my Viking Textiles - A Deeper Look at Plaids, Stripes and Checks article.  Added in a bit more information I got about several pieces, as well as some possible weaving drafts of those for which I did not have images. 

Additionally, there is now a downloadable PDF at the end of the document that can be printed out to give a a rough sense of the scale for these plaids (since all monitors will show items differently, and many of the photos from the academic works are enlarged already).

http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/viking-textiles-a-deeper-look-at-plaids-stripes-and-checks
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Viking Clothing: A Deeper Look at Edges (Part 2)

10/9/2015

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Part 1 of this article, covering Cords & Braids, can be found HERE.

Silk Binding

Silks were expensive imports and reflected the wealth and status of the wearer.  Many of these silks were cut into very narrow strips and applied as bindings or trim to garments.  The silks used in this manner were typically cut .5-1.9 cm wide (some were cut in the warp direction, some weft).  They were applied to both wool and linen garments. 

Some silk strips, as shown at Birka and with the Pskov cuffs, were used as a narrow binding on the edge of the fabric, while others were used flat against a garment (many of the stripes from Oseberg show this type of use).  In addition to these these sites, graves at Mammen, Haugen Rolvsoy, Tuna and Turinge also have silk strips.  (Vedeler, p7)

Both plain weave and samite silks were found in graves, with the latter being elaborately patterned.

Silk Binding - Extant Examples

Birka
Graves 464, 834 and 835 all have fragments of silk that were possibly attached to the tops of wool smokkrs.  464 is described as a narrow binding of silk with straps also made of silk twill attached to a dark blue-green wool smokkr.  834 had a scrap of silk binding that might have been attached to the dress or that might have been used as a strap to hold tools.  835 had a wool smokkr with linen loop.  A silk band was found there that might have been on the smokkr or might have been used to hang tools.

Birka III, p29, p78-79, p158-159;  Kvinnodräkten i Birka, p69.  Image from Kvinnodräkten i Birka and photo from Birka III (shows fragment from 834)

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Oseberg
This rich grave yielded numerous narrow bands of silk samite that were cut into long strips.  These strips have the long edges folded in and there are needle holes show that they were once applied to fabric (traces of both wool and linen have been found on the bands).

Vedeler, p7.  Photos from Unimus.no.


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​Hedeby
Grave 159/1960 has a dense, shiny tabby silk that possibly was a decorative band at the top of an aprondress.
Pskov
This Viking age grave contained both a dress and an underdress.  The over dress (referred to sometimes as a sarafan, and sometimes as a smokkr) had strips of silk applied in bands to the top.  That decorative portion of the dress was then trimmed with a very narrow, blue silk binding.  The binding was .7cm wide.

The underdress had wide silk cuffs and narrow bands of silk at the bottom edge of those (and potentially a band of silk at the hem as well).  The band used to form the hem was 3cm wide and folded around the edge as in the diagram below.  The sewn edge was only .5cm wide.

Reference and photos: Zubkova, et. Al.

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Cuff from Pskov underdress.
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Stitching

York - High Ousegate
A sleeve cuff of chevron twill wool has Osenstitch applied to the very edge.  The yarn used is glossy, smoothly spun wool, plied Z2S.

Resource and image: Archaeology of York, Web Series, No. 3, The Textiles by Penelope Walton Rogers

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Part three of this article will be online soon.  It will cover tips and tricks for making use of these edging techniques and will show samples of edges I have finished in this manner myself.

Resources

Christensen, Arne Emil and Nockert, Margareta. Osebergfunnet: bind iv, Tekstilene (Universitetet i Oslo), 2006.

Geijer, Agnes.  Birka III, Die Textilefunde aus Den Grabern.  Uppsala,1938.

Hägg, Inga.  Die Textilefunde aus dem Hafen von Haithabu (Karl Wachlotz Verlag). 1984.

Hägg, Inga.  Die Textilefunde aus der Siedlung und us den Gräbern von Haithabu (Karl Wachlotz Verlag). 1991.

Historiska museet 2011.

Holm-Olsen, Inger Marie.  “Noen Gravfunn Fra Vestlandet Some Kaster Lys Over Vikingtidens Kvinnedrakt,” Viking Bind XXXIX, 1976.

Ingstad, Anne Stein.  "The Textiles in the Oseberg Ship". http://forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/Oseberg/textiles/TEXTILE.HTM

Ingstad, Anne Stein. “Two Women’s Graves with Textiles from Kaupang”

Jones, Heather Rose. "Archeological Sewing". 2004.  http://heatherrosejones.com/archaeologicalsewing/wool.html

Skre, Dagfinn.  Things from the Town: Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking-Age Kaupang (Aarhus University Press), 2011.

Thunem, Hilde.  "Viking Women: Aprondress."  January 2011. http://urd.priv.no/viking/smokkr.html

“Universitetsmuseenes Fotoportal,” 2013.  http://www.unimus.no/foto/

Walton, P. "Textile Production at 16-22 Coppergate." The Archaeology of York Volume 17: The Small Finds.  1977.

Zubkova, E.S, Orinskaya, O.V, and Mikhailov, K.A. “Studies of the Textiles from the Excavation of Pskov in 2006,” NESAT X, 2009.

Zubkova, E.S, Orinskaya, O.V., and Likhachev, D.  “New Discovery of Viking Age Clothing from Pskon, Russia.”  (Notes and summary by Perer Beatson) http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/sarafan/sarafan.htm

Walton Rogers, Penelope. “The Textiles,” Archaeology of York (28-29 High Ousegate), Web Series, No. 3.

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Viking Clothing: A Deeper Look at Edges

10/5/2015

5 Comments

 
As I stated some time ago, I recently started looking deeper at certain items that I see in proliferation in the reenacting community.  While many of these treatments are lovely they seem to have little evidence among archaeological finds.  An example of this is the herringbone stitch that we commonly see decorating every seam of a garment (you can see the results of that research HERE).  While on my mission to find use of that stitch, I came across several fantastic ways to embellish or strengthen garments that are, in fact, well documented to the Viking age.  This article is to share my discoveries in this area.

For this research project, the use of cord, braid or binding on garment edges, I chose to look at how often certain things we do know of occur in extant objects.  The criteria I used to weed through my data is as follows:
  • Dated between 800-1050AD
  • Location had to be Scandinavia or areas that had Viking settlements such as Dublin and York
  • Use of textile material only (metal thread work and possaments are not included in this survey)
  • The fragments have to be from a garment or that are assumed to be part of a garment by the professionals that surveyed them
  • This survey does not include tablet weaving applied as trim at the edge of a garment

Types of edges included:
  • Cord/braid applied to the edge, or near the edge, of a garment
  • Binding
  • Stitching

This survey is, of course, a work-in-progress.  I will be adding items to it as learn about them and as I have a chance to experiment with these finishing treatments myself.   If you have additions, comments or questions, please drop me a note so that I can look into the sources!

Cord & Braid

Cord or braid was applied at the edge of several extant items including caps from Dublin and smokkrs (aprondresses) from several sites.  In the article ““Two Women’s Graves with Textiles from Kaupang”, author Anne Stein Ingstad stated that she believed that a fragment of cloth from Kaupang that had brocaded tablet weaving at one edge and a cord sewn to the outside of that edge was likely the hem of the garment because of the applied cord would take the wear from use and thereby protect the more painstakingly wrought woven trim.

While I find it more likely that such an item was at the top of the garment (as is also evidenced at Birka), I still see value in cord used at any garment opening to protect the edges of the woven textile from wear.

One common factor in these finds is that the cords or braids are quite narrow in diameter or width.  Many of the cords or braids from Birka are noted for being constructed of very delicate or fine cords.  I believe that those used at the edges of garments would have been of a sturdy wool, and well spun, even if the yarn diameter is thin.  The exception to this is one of the Dublin caps that had string applied to the edge that was described as being wooly and produced from yarn that was not combed.  This edge would have been purely decorative, and it makes sense given that there would be no wear on the edge of a cap.

Only a few finds have comments on how the braid or cord was attached to the garment.  The pants from the Hedeby settlement, the caps from Dublin and the smokkr from Kaupang all employ an overcast stitch as a means of attachment.  One of the two Dublin caps was noted as using longer stitches (6mm) set a steep angle to create a more decorative effect.

Unfortunately many of the reports just list that woolen string or cord was applied to a garment, and they give little details on the actual type of cord it actually was.  A few, however, offer clues and those are listed below.  One thing to note is that all corded edgings made use of very narrow cord only (only a few millimeters) and not coarse, chunky yarns.

Braids
  • Birka Grave 465 there was a braid with a triangular cross section that was 2-3mm wide.  Three additional graves list similar cord that is 3-4mm wide.
  • At Hedeby there was a six strand braid of of 2-ply wool dyed red and yellow (three strands of each).  This was applied over a dart on a smokkr/aprondress, but because of its use on a garment I am including it here.  1-2mm wide.
  • Birka Grave 466 lists a cord or braid with a triangular cross section.  It is listed as similar to other examples or possibly made with a fork (I assume this is a reference to lucet, but the author said it is impossible to tell how it was made).
Cords
  • Birka Grave 973 had a string consisting of fine 2-ply (Z) yarns that were then cabled to the left (S).
  • Birka Grave 954 had a cord 2 mm in average, consisting of several threads around which another yarn is wound.
  • Kaupang Grave B lists wool string made from twining several woollen threads together.
  • The settlement at Hedeby has fragments (19E) from pants that has a doubled folded hem with a thin decorative thread whipstitched to the very edge.  Twining is mentioned in the description so it might just be a plied yarn.
  • While not evidenced in seams, there are cabled cords found in York and the ends of some of the scarves from Dublin are cabled (twining plied yarns together).
  • At Sadanger there was a cord with several threads as a core wrapped around with another yarn.
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Diagram showing the difference in spinning, plying and cabling from Penelope Walton Roger's work with textiles at York.

Extant Cords and Braids

Birka 465
This item is a 2cm strip of braid 2-3mm wide, having a triangular cross section.  This braid is referred to as type D3 in the Birka materials and was additionally found alongside tablet woven bands in several graves. 

Birka III, p128, p159, plate 33;  Kvinnodräkten i Birka, p60.  Photo from Birka III.

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Birka 466
Fine woolen cord found on a wool tabby smokkr that was triangular in cross-section.  Geijer suggests that is was manufactured as the other braids, or perhaps was made with a fork (which I presume references a lucet).  The technique, however, cannot be determined with certainty.

Birka III, p128; Thunem, Smokkr; Photo from Historiska museet 2011.


Birka 511
Diamond twill smokkr and with cord considered more coarse than similar pieces from other graves.

Birka III, p160;  Kvinnodräkten i Birka, p123.  Images from Kvinnodräkten i Birka. 

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Birka 563
Linen smokkr fragment with cord applied over the seam from the hem.  Hagg suggests that the cord was used to cover the hemming stitches (stitching on wool was often invisible, but the seams show more clearly on linen). 

Thunem, Smokkr; Kvinnodräkten i Birka, p125.  Images from Kvinnodräkten i Birka.

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Birka 838
This smokkr fragment There is a tabby binding 1cm wide, turned to the outside and stitched down with stem stitch.  Fine wool cord is applied to the outer edge.  The stem stitches are in a straight line and are of twisted woolen yarn (Z). - The seam goes through both layers of fabric throughout and consists of unusually long (6-7 mm) stitches on the top and almost invisible stitches on the other side.

Birka III, p25, p109, p168; Kvinnodräkten i Birka.  Image from Kvinnodräkten i Birka; Photo from Birka III.


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Image of fragment from 838. Left is the reverse and right is the front side.
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Fragment 838 with my attempt to highlight the finishing used. Green marks the braid, the red is the band, and yellow denotes the line of stem stitching.
PictureBirka 1004 fragment
Birka 839, 860, 1004
1004 has a wool cord is sewn to the edge of a fine, dark wool tabby garment. The cord has triangular cross-section but is more coarse than other samples(3-4 mm) and is sewn to a edge that was folded and hemmed.  The same type of cord is found in graves 839 and 860.

Birka III, p128, p173, p168; Photo from Historiska museet 2011.



Birka 954
Very dark wool tabby smokkr (likely originally lined) with woolen cord.   The cord, approximately 2 mm, consists of several threads together with another yarn wound around them.

Birka III, p128; p171; Kvinnodräkten i Birka.  Image from Kvinnodräkten i Birka, photos from Birka III and Historiska museet 2011.

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Birka 973
Diamond twill wool smokkr lined with tabby.  Cord edge is described as several quite delicate, 2-ply threads (Z), which were then twisted together (S).  This would be cabled cord.

Birka III, p128; p173; Images from Kvinnodräkten i Birka, photos form Birka III and Historiska museet 2011.

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Birka 1084
Wool garment with string.

Thunem, Smokkr; Image from Kvinnodräkten i Birka.


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Birka 1090
Blue and maroon striped wool tabby (5mm stripes) has two cords (both the same color) that might have been applied to the garment or that might have been part of a now missing tablet woven band.

Birka III, p36; Thunem, Smokkr; Image from Kvinnodräkten i Birka.

Dublin
Two of the wool caps found at Dublin exhibit cord sewn to the edge.  DHC30 is crafted from dark reddish brown tabby with an edging cord that is made of 6 Z spun strands that are S plied and then plaited.  The cord is 3mm diameter and is sewn on with Z spun, 2 ply (S) Black wool thread, approx 1mm wide using 4 stiches per centimeter.  Yarn is wooly and not combed.

DHC33 is a dark brown wool cap with edging dark brown edging cord, 5mm wide (same color as cap).  6 strands, 1mm each with each strand being Z spun, S plied (2ply) and then Z cabled.  It is whipstitched onto hem edge with long slanting stitches (to make it more decorative).  Stitches are 6mm in length, and there are 3 stitches every centimeter.

An additional fragment (DHC51) from Dublin has a cord inserted into a hem. The cord is 2mm wide, Z spun, 2 ply (Z), S cabled and then Z corded.

Heckett, p57.
Hedeby Settlement 
Fragment 19E is a fine wool tabby, likely originally blue or green.  This is believed to be from pants.  It has a double fold hem and with a cord attached with a whipstitch.

Photos and reference from Seidlung, p35, p108.

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Hedeby Harbor
From the harbor there is a fragment of a brown wool tabby smokkr.  The applied treatment on this garment is not on the edge, but rather is sitting atop the darts that sit at the waist.  I include it here because there are decent descriptions of the braid available and it might be also suitable as an edge treatment.

The braid is made of made of six 2ply (Z spun, S ply) threads, three red and three yellow. interpret the text as describing a 6-way plait in which each thread consists of two z-spun plies which have been twisted together in s-form. The braid is only 1-2mm wide.

Instructions on how to craft a similar braid can be found here:  http://blog.eibeck.de/2014/plait-from-the-hedeby-apron-dress-fragment.html

Photos and reference from Hafen, p33-39.


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Kaupang
Grave C 27997 B has a smokkr with a tablet woven band is sewn to edge of fabric with.  At the top of the edge of the band there is a firm, evenly twisted wool cord made from twining several S twisted threads together.  It is sewn on with an overcast stitch.

Thunem, Smokkr; Two Women’s Graves with Textiles from Kaupang.  Image from Two Women’s Graves with Textiles from Kaupang.



Køstrup
This find has a pleated smokkr that is accompanied by a tablet woven band with two woollen strings along each side of the band.  Unfortunately, they are uncertain as to how the cords, dress and band were attached (aside from a few whip stitches that attached the cords to the loop of the dress).

Hilde, Smokkr

Sadanger (Western Norway) Grave B 10720
This grave held remnants of a possible wool smokkr in a broken diamond twill.  There was a braided cord that is the to that found in Grave 838 in Birka. 

Birka III, p128; photo from ”Noen Gravfunn Fra Vestlandet Some Kaster Lys Over Vikingtidens Kvinnedrak”


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Sadanger (Western Norway) Grave B 10722
This is a fragment of diamond twill that was edged with a cord made by twining a string around a core made from several strings. 

Thunem, Smokkr.  Photo from ”Noen Gravfunn Fra Vestlandet Some Kaster Lys Over Vikingtidens Kvinnedrak”

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Part II (Silk Binding and Stitches) of this article can be found HERE, and tips for recreating these looks will be posted soon.

Resources


Christensen, Arne Emil and Nockert, Margareta. Osebergfunnet: bind iv, Tekstilene (Universitetet i Oslo), 2006.

Geijer, Agnes.  Birka III, Die Textilefunde aus Den Grabern.  Uppsala,1938.

Hägg, Inga.  Die Textilefunde aus dem Hafen von Haithabu (Karl Wachlotz Verlag). 1984.

Hägg, Inga.  Die Textilefunde aus der Siedlung und us den Gräbern von Haithabu (Karl Wachlotz Verlag). 1991.

Heckett, Elizabeth Wincott.  Viking Age Headcoverings from Dublin (Royal Irish Academy), 2003.

Historiska museet 2011.

Holm-Olsen, Inger Marie.  “Noen Gravfunn Fra Vestlandet Some Kaster Lys Over Vikingtidens Kvinnedrakt,” Viking Bind XXXIX, 1976.

Ingstad, Anne Stein.  "The Textiles in the Oseberg Ship". http://forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/Oseberg/textiles/TEXTILE.HTM

Ingstad, Anne Stein. “Two Women’s Graves with Textiles from Kaupang”

Jones, Heather Rose. "Archeological Sewing". 2004.  http://heatherrosejones.com/archaeologicalsewing/wool.html

Skre, Dagfinn.  Things from the Town: Artefacts and Inhabitants in Viking-Age Kaupang (Aarhus University Press), 2011.

Thunem, Hilde.  "Viking Women: Aprondress."  January 2011. http://urd.priv.no/viking/smokkr.html

“Universitetsmuseenes Fotoportal,” 2013.  http://www.unimus.no/foto/

Walton, P. "Textile Production at 16-22 Coppergate." The Archaeology of York Volume 17: The Small Finds.  1977.

Zubkova, E.S, Orinskaya, O.V, and Mikhailov, K.A. “Studies of the Textiles from the Excavation of Pskov in 2006,” NESAT X, 2009.

Zubkova, E.S, Orinskaya, O.V., and Likhachev, D.  “New Discovery of Viking Age Clothing from Pskon, Russia.”  (Notes and summary by Perer Beatson) http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/sarafan/sarafan.htm

Walton Rogers, Penelope. “The Textiles,” Archaeology of York (28-29 High Ousegate), Web Series, No. 3.

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Viking Embellishment and Embroidery - Part 3

12/5/2014

7 Comments

 
(The earlier segments of this article can be found here:  http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/viking-embellishment-and-embroidery-part-2  and here http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/viking-embellishment-and-embroidery-part-1 )

Embroidery, while evidenced, was not common, and often what we have is considered to be imported goods.

First, let me make a comment about how I differentiate types of embroidery that are often discussed among reenactors.  Often I see someone come onto a forum and ask about Viking embroidery.  Others quite often launch into long dissertations about how Vikings did not do embroidery.  What the poster sometimes means, however, is often not figurative, large-scale embroidery, but rather the seam embellishments that are frequently employed by reenactors.  For the purpose of this post I am going to categorize those three types differently as “seam embellishments”, "functional stitches" and “embroidery”.

Seam embellishment, while (in my opinion) over done by reenactors (myself included), is at least plausible and in evidence in several places.  The Hedeby Harbor aprondress fragment had a braid applied over a dart.  There is also mention of embroidery covering a seam in one of the Oseberg scraps and some of the apron dresses from Birka had narrow cording sewn to the top edge of the garment.

Functional stitches, on the other hand, are exactly what they sound like.  They are stitches that serve a purpose (to create a seam or to hold open the seam allowance) but because part of the stitch rests on the surface of the cloth, it can be quite attractive when stitched in a different color of thread. (Even something as simple as unbleached linen thread against a dark blue dyed linen garment can be striking in its simplicity.)

(Note 9/22/15: I was rereading Hilde Thunem's excellent paper on aprondresses and am really thinking hard about a remark the author made "Inga Hägg comments that the hemming stitches would usually be invisible on wool, but would show up clearly on linen. She believes that the reason that the band has been placed lower on the linen smokkr could be to cover the stitches."  I need to go back and look at Hägg's comments and some other things as well.  I want to chart out the extant seams from various finds and see what I can figure out about the visibility of the stitching and the threads used.  It could well be that they Viking era Norse preferred a very clean look, with little in the way at all of stitches showing.)

Ideas for using seam embellishment and functional stitches to create a more accurate impression:
  • Dot not cover every inch of a garment with decorated seams.
  • Fine cord or braided string as an edging has ample evidence (on apron dresses a string, especially if it were linen or silk, at the top might serve a functional purpose in helping the top of the garment to not stretch as much with wear).
  • If the stitch serves a functional purpose, it actually makes more sense in use (example a running or overcast stitch on the surface that actually is part of a hem).  There is one example from the Hedeby Settlement (S 27) that uses buttonhole stitch to join two textiles.  Note though, that that was only one of several types of stitches used on that garment. (S 27 information added 9/30/15)
  • Keep stitches narrow and compact, there is no evidence of an inch wide herringbone stitch anywhere.
  • If you must add stitching, employ stitches that were used in period – examples of some stitches are running stitch, stem stitch, split stitch, herringbone, osenstitch (though most of the the extant examples of this are metalwork).  Note here that while we as reenactors love herringbone, evidence for its use in period is actually quite limited.  It was used on a pouch from York and on the INSIDE of a hem at Hedeby.  A stitch similar to herringbone was used on the Mammen cushion cover (decorative item rather than a garment) and on the collar of the Skjoldehamn tunic (which may or may not even be Viking), but it was not the sprawling herringbone seen in the reenactment community.  For a deeper look at Herringbone see my post HERE.


And now on to the controversial topic of larger, decorative embroidery. 

The examples that we have are often are thought to have been Saxon, Rus or Byzantine imports (the first is thought to be the case with the larger Oseberg pieces in particular).  It is very important to understand that some of these were also considered to likely be from decorative goods, rather than garments.  This proves that the technique of heavily filling an area with stitching existed at the time, it does not at all indicate that this was applied to garments in period.  Also worthy of note is that all of these items were very, very high status.

Mistress Þóra Sharptooth has a good article about extant embroidery here:  http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikembroid.html

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Embroidery found at Oseberg that is considered to be a Saxon import. (Osebergfunnet, bind iv)
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Valsgärde embroidery, 10th Century. This is worked in metal thread and is thought to have originally been part of an ecclesiastical garment.
Ideas for using embroidery to create a more accurate impression:
  • Use embroidery very, very sparingly.
  • Use appropriate stitches, threads and colors.
  • Only use embroideries for very wealthy personas of high status and use the embroidery only on textiles worthy of that class.  Look for high thread counts and a well-dyed cloth in period appropriate colors.
  • Be conscientious in your chose of patterns and motifs.  Celtic knotwork is always inappropriate for a Viking kit.  Yes, there is fabulous Jelling style knotwork that lends itself well to embroidery, but nothing has been found to support the notion that these motifs were replicated in textiles. 
  • Scale is very important.  Most of the extant pieces are quite small.
  • Consider using embroidery that uses only outline as some of the items from Mammen did. 
  • Or, consider researching Saxon, Rus or Byzantine embroidery, creating a piece and then cutting it down for use on a Viking kit (as if your persona had traded for the item and then re-purposed it as decoration).  Actually, that could be a pretty interesting project, maybe I will try that!



The Argument

Often someone will have their heart set on embroidering a large scale, fantastical beast onto a garment and when looking for advice they are confronted with the facts that this style of decoration seemingly did not exist in our period.  The most common argument I have heard to defend their position is that that people had “all winter trapped indoors to work on these things”. 

Yes, there were long winters, but people were as busy then as they were at other times of the year.  Women were responsible for spinning, weaving and sewing garments for their entire family.  Yes, a wealthy woman might have had slaves or servants to help with these tasks, but that also means that those slaves and servants also needed to be clothed.

Let us look for a moment at the time involved in just these tasks.   In Tools for Textile Production by Eva Andersson, the author comments on experiments in which she took part that showed wool could be spun at 21 yards an hour while the experiments at Ribe show that an average of 61 yards of linen could be spun an hour.  (The difference in the two is that the combing included in the wool time from Andersson’s work, whereas the flax would have already been prepared before the spinning begins).  

If I need 3 yards of 50” wide fabric for a dress (that is roughly what I use for the tunic type gowns I wear under my aprondresses) and I want to craft a textile that is 25 ends per inch for the warp, I need 4200 yards for my warp.  If the weft was slightly thicker yarn (as was often the case) and set at 18 picks per inch, I would need 3478 yards of weft.  That is 7678 yards of yarn for one garment.  Based on the prep/combing/spinning time that Andersson lists you would need 365 hours to accomplish JUST the spinning portion of your garment creation.  If you work on this for ten hours a day, you are looking at over 36 days just spent spinning for a solitary garment.

(And because we are discussing embellishment, which is something reserved for higher classes, here is the calculation for a more finely crafted textile than the modest one mentioned above.  With a warp sett of 50 ends per inch (knowing that this is still not nearly as fine as some of the extant textiles), I would need 8400 yards of warp yarn and another 5799 yards of weft that would be set at 30 threads per inch.  676 hours of spinning.)

Both the experiments at Ribe and Andersson agree that setting up the loom takes 2 days of work (approximately 20 hours of time total).  Weaving was listed as 27-31 inches a day by Andersson.  That 25epi tunic I would make for myself would take me over 3 and a half days to weave if I spend 10 hours a day doing nothing but that. 

The result of all of those figures?  One dress of decent, but not exceptional cloth, takes approximately 43 days of work at 10 hour days.  And this does not include time spent cutting or sewing, this is merely time spent in textile production.  Consider then that I would likely also need a smokkr (aprondress) and possibly a new caftan or mantle.  And do not forget that one would also be crafting garments for a spouse and children. 

I simply find it implausible that there was much time to spare even when "trapped" indoors in the winter.

Assume now that when you are finished with the necessities to cloth your family or fill your house and that you do indeed have extra time.  Would you embellish your attire as befits your station?  Certainly!  I think, however, that would you would choose to add silk strips to your garments (which would provide a costly, but time effective embellishment), or use the thrums from weaving to decorate a seam, or make use of tablet weaving which is a technique that is already considered a status symbol in your community, as is evidenced by the number of wealthy finds that include tablet weaving.  Additionally, it is likely that there is a long tradition of this type of weaving in the Viking areas and this skill been passed down to you by your mother or grandmother.  There is far more logic and evidence to me to support the use of these techniques, rather than the assumption that someone would have chosen to employ elaborate embroidery (which they may indeed never have even seen in their life, which means essentially they would be inventing a new art form...). 

Understand that my goal with this article is not in anyway to stifle an individual’s creative spirit when it comes to embellishing their costume!  I enjoy seeing creative works and often compliment artisans on the skill it took to construct their elaborate garments.  Instead, I am giving my own personal reasoning based on my research as to what I think is realistic in terms of Viking embellishment and why some techniques might have been used more often than others.

And note also that I do not discount that someday we could find that even a farmer's wife did indeed own heavily embroidered clothing.  Personally, I would love to see that, and when it happens, I will happily revise my thoughts on this subject!  :-)


7 Comments

Viking Embellishment and Embroidery - Part 2

12/2/2014

1 Comment

 
This is the second part of my article on Viking Embellishment and Embroidery.  The first can be found here: http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/a-wandering-elfs-journey/viking-embellishment-and-embroidery-part-1

We know that they used strips of silk to embellish garments.


Like Tablet Weaving, this is a technique that was evidenced at several sites.  The book Silk for the Vikings by Marianne Vedeler covers these bands (as well as other use of silk) in detail.  This method of decoration is exceedingly simple, as well as cost effective.  Grave finds show that imported silken textiles were cut into very narrow strips (often less than half an inch) and sewn to garments as a method of embellishment.

Like the silk threads used in tablet weaving, silk fabric was a sign of affluence.  Even the wealthy, however, chose to cut down these precious textiles to extend their use. 

For those who want to use real silk, but who are on a budget, note that often Etsy or Ebay sellers offer "fat quarters" of Indian silks for very reasonable prices.

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Watercolor painting of one of the Oseberg silk strips as well as a drawing showing what the textile likely looked like as a whole. Artist - Sofie Kraftt. Photo credit - University of Oslo.
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Silk strip from Oseberg, you can see the creases where this was folded and applied to another textile. Photo credit - Osebergfunnet, bind iv.
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Drawing from Inga Hägg's Kvinnodräkten i Birka. Shows the top of a smokkr (aprondress) narrow silk band at the top edge.
Ideas for using silk strips to create a more accurate impression:
  • Keep the strips very narrow.
  • Choose colors available in period with natural dyes (research dyes used in Byzantium or Persia for palette inspiration).
  • Only apply silk bands to garments made from high quality textiles.
  • Silk twills and silk taffettas were both found in graves in Birka and could be reasonable choices for use. 
  • Despite that the weft in some period examples could be of a rough quality, I would not suggest that one use modern silk noil (what we often lable raw silk) for those purpose at all.  Our raw silk is a very different item than the silks used in period for embellishment.
  • If you plan to use a patterned fabric, it might help to research period sources of silk and see what types of patterns were then available.


We know that metal posaments were used.

Metal posaments have been found in graves in Birka.  Some of these are simple knot bands in silver while others were far more intricate. 

More information on posaments (as well as some beautiful reconstructions) can be found here:  http://silberknoten.de/en/index.php?id=2#posamente


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Posaments from Birka. Photos from Birka III by Agnes Geijer.

More information on posaments (as well as some beautiful reconstructions) can be found here:  http://silberknoten.de/en/index.php?id=2#posamente

Ideas for using posaments to create a more accurate impression:
  • Use this method of decoration sparingly.
  • Best used if your persona is from Birka, as these were not found much outside of that region.


Applique work was very rare and very small.

Oseberg left us a couple of very tiny silk scraps that were once appliqued onto a costume.  There were tiny leaf-like shapes, only a centimeter long, and one small stylized shape of an animal's head.  Both were cut from silk and applied to a garment.  There is no evidence, from any site, of the lovely, large scale applique work you frequently see used by reenactors nor have I seen use of wool applique in period.


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Leaves shaped from silk in Oseberfundet, Volume 4 page 301.
Ideas for using applique to create a more accurate impression:
  • Use applique very sparingly and on a small scale, and would be very stylized.
  • Use silk as your applique material.


Part 3:  http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/blog-my-journey/viking-embellishment-and-embroidery-part-3
1 Comment

Viking Embellishment and Embroidery - Part 1

11/26/2014

4 Comments

 
There are several arguments that come up repeatedly on Viking costuming forums.  Many of them surround appropriate decoration techniques for costumes of the era (in contrast to things that are pure fantasy).  Large scale embroidery is likely the most contentious of the techniques commonly employed by reenactors today.  I have seen garments created and heavily embellished by individuals that were awe inspiring in their form and complexity, but realistically, there is no evidence for that type of work.

To begin this conversation, let me break down what we do know from archaeological evidence about garment embellishment:

We know that they had tablet woven bands. 

There are dozens of band fragments from many areas ruled by the Vikings.  Scandinavia, Ireland, York, Iceland even further east to places such as the Ukraine all have ample evidence of the use of tablet weaving.  Most of these bands were brocaded, rather than the simple threaded-in patterns you commonly see used by reenactors.  I have seen no evidence at all of decorative bands that use a method of simplistic 4 forward, 4 backward style of turning to create basic patterns such as diamonds.  Rather, the patterning in most examples was created by brocading, a hand manipulating technique that produces an intricate design on the surface of the band, often executed with metallic thread (typically hammered silver or gold, or hammered metal wrapped around a silken core).

It is important to remember that there were only decorative bands found in less than 5% of graves, making even this type of treatment quite rare.  
​
Most bands were less than a half an inch wide and were woven from silk, or a warp of half silk and half linen with the linen never showing on the surface.  This allowed the weaver to use less of their costly silk while still creating a luxurious band.  Wool has also been found as tablet woven bands.


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Extant bands from Birka. (from Birka III: Die Textilfunde aus den Gräbern)
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Tablet weaving on a mantle ribbon (Mammen). Photo credit - National Museum of Denmark
I personally have only had limited experience with tablet weaving, though adding brocading to my skill set is part of my eventual plan.  I fault no one for using their learning attempts (typically simple threaded in patterns) to embellish their garb, and have done so myself because I prefer to use everything I make, even if it is a ‘learning process’ type of project.  Indeed, I think this style of handwork still makes a better addition to a costume and purchased jacquard trim!  I do, however, think it important for those who seek to improve their overall historic impression to understand what techniques were actually employed and work to master those.

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My simple tablet woven band in 24/2 wool. The technique used for this is not evidenced in the Viking age.
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The expertly crafted brocaded, tablet woven belt that is my apprentice belt. It is fine silk and based on one of the Birka finds. My Laurel is amazingly talented! Photo credit to Daniel Spies.
Ideas for using tablet weaving to create a more accurate impression:
  • Use narrow bands (most finds were half an inch or less)
  • Stick to silk, wool or linen when possible (or cost saving substitutes such as tencel for silk), and use very fine rather than thick threads
  • Use brocading techniques to create motifs on the band or explore other methods of patterning done in period
  • Choose your colors based on those available with natural dyes
  • Only apply silk tablet woven bands to garments made from high quality textiles
  • Opting to only use bands on a small portion of your kit, rather than decorating every available edge with a band, as the finds were rare

Part 2 can be found here:  http://awanderingelf.weebly.com/a-wandering-elfs-journey/viking-embellishment-and-embroidery-part-2



4 Comments
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