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

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.

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)

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.

​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.

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

Birka 1084
Wool garment with string.

Thunem, Smokkr; Image from Kvinnodräkten i Birka.

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.

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.

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”

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”

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.

(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