Le contexte historique de la Savoie Médiévale et info sur assos Médiévistes francophones

The skirt, post seam-ripping This summer vacation, I'm trying to step up the authenticity (and documentation) of our garb, using materials I have on hand. As such, I'm recycling projects that either turned out a little wonky or just don't fit into our current costuming needs. For today's endeavor, it was a teal linen Edwardian skirt that hit the block. I adored this skirt, but it's been a year and I didn't have a single excuse to wear it. I decided to go the Viking apron dress route, because a) I wanted another linen one for summer wear and b) It was constructed of six narrow wedges, so an apron dress would be the most efficient use of the fabric without extensive piecing. Planning notes and documentation After several days (and evenings) with the seam ripper, the only machine stitches that remained were a couple edges that I had done a zig-zag stitch on to keep it from fraying. Taking that out would have encouraged more raveling, so I went ahead and stopped there. I decided to base the construction on Countess Gwen's Viking Clothing class at Gulf Wars XXII. She had made some interesting arguments for using period weaving widths when considering garb construction. Today's linens tend to be around 50" wide, while she said period widths would be up to 24" wide, but generally closer to 18" due to the human arm span. Because of this, she suggested that the apron dress would most likely be constructed with loom widths and gores. The construction diagram she showed us had three rectangles and three gores. I like my apron dresses to be 41" long, so with a top and bottom 1/2" seam allowance I'd need rectangles that were 42" long. For the width, you take your bust measurement, divide it by three, and add seam allowance. I did a little math and discovered that none of my pieces of fabric would be wide enough, so I decided to increase the number of rectangles to four. Luckily, that finally did the trick. I chopped up what was left into my gores - now four as well, to match the number of rectangles. But that's just cutting out the pattern! Strap Construction The straps and front loops were a little more problematic. There are a lot of opinions out there, and even less in terms of actual facts. When you look at Viking SCAdians and re-enactors, about half the time you're going to see the loop strap construction, while the rest have a wider strap that only has a small loop at the end. This style looks a lot more like the Russian sarafan, so it's origins may have been drawn from an intuitive leap based on a more modern garment. For this garment, I decided to go ahead and use the double-loop strap construction. I do not like them aesthetically - they're ugly and roll around - but after re-reading a lot of my documentation, In the grave finds, it seems like only the loops underneath the tortoise brooches have been preserved, and nothing any higher than that. Probably the most damning thing for the wider strap construction is that when I wear my apron dress, that part is covered by my tortoise brooch. Since that's the area that tends to be preserved, the fact that the construction's not in evidence leads me to believe the double strap is the way to go. After all that, making the straps themselves was the easy part. I had a bias-tape maker on hand from one of my quilting projects, so it was easy to iron them quickly into submission. While I may have used a little technology to help, I did adhere closely to Thunem's example. From there it was just some whip-stitching to close the gap. I decided to skip the running stitch I'd originally planned, as the first couple inches of it looked like more stitching than fabric! Seams and Body Construction Next I needed to figure out what kind of sewing techniques would be period... and sturdy enough to keep my linen from raveling! I decided on four stitching types for the body of the garment: A backstitch (stronger than a running stitch on its own) with a flat fell, hem-stitch, and herringbone stitch. I used the same gore construction technique as the gray apron dress. Instead of matching up the edges, I made sure the gore seam allowance was longer than the rectangle I was sewing it to. I used a backstitch initially, then went back over it by rolling the longer seam allowance over the shorter one and finished it neatly with a hem stitch. Here you see the point of the gore between two of the rectangles. I made sure to stop the backstitching when the seam allowances from both sides came together. Next, I pinched the tip of the point under, and then... I pinned it down so I could start rolling the seam allowance over and cover the raw edge. To save my fingers, it was easier to sew down one side at a time. Rolling and pinning both sides at once would turn my fingers into pin cushions! From there I was able to just continue sewing up the side with hem-stitch. I wanted two continuous lines of stitching on either side of the gore - not some random stitches to break up the lines - so I just came back to the top of the gore when I came back down the other side. See? I took a quick detour over the flattened tip of the gore, but I was careful to only stitch the seam allowances together. I didn't allow my needle and thread to come out the front at all. Here's the same seam from the front side. Just a perfectly flat gore with two lovely continuous lines of stitching. And the final step in the construction was to add the silk at the top. I've been hoarding about half a yard of this silk for the better part of a decade, and I decided it was about time to make use of it! I ended up using it structurally, and sandwiching the ends of the loops between the silk and the linen. I'm not sure how good of an idea that was, but we'll have to wait and see how it wears. I'm just glad it's finally sewn down. It frays like a mother @%$#! I considered using pulled threads to sew it, but my teal silk thread was a better match because the warp and the weft are different colors. I sewed it together with backstitch, turned it right side out, then used a backstitch at the very top and a hem-stitch at the bottom. And here I am in it. For now the basic construction is complete. It still needs to be hemmed and have the trim woven and attached, but that will be shown in Part 2. Bibliography: Baker, Jennifer. "Stitches and Seam Techniques Seen on Dark Age/Medieval Garments in Various Museum Collections." 2009. 11 June 2014. Ewing, Thor. Viking Clothing. Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing, Inc. 2006. Geijer, Agnes. "The Textile Finds from Birka." Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe: Essays in Memory of Professor E.M. Carus-Wilson. Ed. N. B. Harte and K. G. Ponting. Pasold Studies in Textile History. 1983. Hägg, Inga. "Viking Women's Dress at Birka: A Reconstruction by Archeological Methods." Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe: Essays in Memory of Professor E.M. Carus-Wilson. Ed. N. B. Harte and K. G. Ponting. Pasold Studies in Textile History. 1983. Stewart-Howard, Stephanie (aka Countess Gwendolyn Isabella Stewart of Meridies). "Viking Clothing." Gulf Wars XXII. Lumberton, MS. 11 March 2014. Workshop. Thunem, Hilde. "The Apron Dress from Køstrup (Grave ACQ)." 21 October 2013. Thunem, Hilde. "Viking Women: Apron Dress." 25 February 2015.

This is probably the most speculative piece of garment in my entry but definitely the most fun and the piece I spent the most time on embellishing. I was introduced to this concept By Viscountess Inga the Unfettered from An Tir. She taught a class at Kingdom Collegium 2010 in Sentinels’ Keep called ‘Survey of Viking Clothing’ and the evidence she presented as well as her logical application really stuck in my head. When I began my Norse clothing project, this was the first piece I wanted to work on. HE Inga had the most beautiful representation that someone had made for her. I have based the theory of the cloth and my design on the figure from Tuse and backed up with other carved designs and figures. I elaborated on the design to include the dragon shapes that I liked from some of the stone runic carvings that have been discovered. The panel is made from a reclaimed piece of wool from and old coat and is already fulled. I have embellished my panel with textile techniques used in the Viking time period and based on various extant finds. I may have stretched it a bit by using lucet cording and nalbinding as trim but the figures I used for reference had decorative geometric looking trims and could have easily represented woven yarn trims such as can be made by nalbinding or lucets. I embroidered with the stitches documented by Heather Rose which included overhand hem stitch, running stitch, backstitch and herringbone stitch. I added some small bone and silver bead and discs for interest. I used commercial yarn for much of the decorative work but included pieces of yarn I hand spun from some Icelandic sheep fleece that I won from an auction. The dragon shapes are a wheel spun yarn from my friend Ygrainne that I couched down with a wool embroidery thread using herringbone stitches. The shield shaped medallion in the middle included some of my hand spun which works up a little irregular and bumpy… I decided to use it to remind myself later of where I began! I used nalbinded pieces tacked down with overlapping decorative stitches. Some have been hand and machine felted and some were left as is. I like the look of the nalbinding un-felted because it looks almost like decorative runic characters and adds interesting texture to the piece. Note on the asymmetry issue: Norse artwork especially with knot work designs sometimes do not match completely. They liked the whole presentation to have a symmetrical look but had variation within the designs as times. I want to make a personal comment in favor of the panel. At our Harvest event, I did a LOT of dish and pan washing to help the very busy cook and crew. After slopping mass quantities of soapy dish water down the front of my apron dress, I could definitely see the advantage of popping on the panel and going to court. But I thought a lot about it afterwards… In my time period, they would not have been working in the kitchen and then going to court in the same way as we do in the SCA. However, it would seem to be more practical to have panel/s ready to dress up a worn or messy apron dress when company arrived. Working aprons could have been worn (as we do now) but they would have needed to be washed each time they were worn and I imagine a women in that era would have tried to wear clothing for as long as possible before washing due to the work involved in doing laundry with fabric such as linen and wool. Panels used less fabric than a whole tunic or under dress (perhaps even scrap fabric was used?) and could be hanging on a hook and ready for use to cover the messy clothing if needed. I can also see having a fancy one for special occasions/rituals and definitely you would want a special one to be buried in so your people could see the successful homemaker/wife/mother/craftswoman/etc. you had been before dying!!! Or how successful your hubby was, depending on your interpretation-ha! I do not have hard evidence for the use of nalbinded and lucetted trim but since both techniques can be documented to the time period, I feel a woman wishing to be creative would have adapted any technique she felt would enhance her work. Also, if you look at the stone carved figures, the clothing they wear seems to be embellished and decorated in this manner. There is evidence for card woven trim so I do want to try to make some if I have time. I just learned to do the weave a few months back and need to sit down and refresh my puny brain cells!!! I also feel that trim and decoration would have been added to cover worn spots or stains and the panel would become more decorative as time went on. Several pieces of my previous garb have evolved in this way in the past few years. During my research I had a light bulb type moment about the dome shaped brooches. I kept wondering about the symbolism or whatever of the dome shape pins but then it hit me… With all of the layers of clothing and accessories that is proposed to be pinned through the brooches, they would almost have HAD to be domed for all the fabric, jewelry, and hanging implements to fit under and still lay nicely against the body? I have included small bits of the only hand spun yarn I have finished…and that is not much!!! The lighter gray in the middle of the 3-color piece, the lighter gray that is couched over the darker gray trim on the right side and around the wider white trim next to that, and the very thin white that is couched from the bottom curls of the dark gray trim and around. Update: I have added a couple more rows of trim and some stone and bone beads. Friend (now household aunt) Ygrainne gifted me with a skein of her beautiful home spun yarn which will also reside on the panel eventually. Lucet cord in the making. Lucet forks have been found in many burial sites but they are of bone or antler (wood may have disintegrated) and usually are more irregular shaped than the one above. The harp shaped lucet fork was probably a Victorian era design. This shape seems to be commonly accepted in SCA but I have plans to make myself one out of antler for a more authentic representation. I have used lucet cords in many different ways but specifically for drawstrings in my nalbinded pouches. I am anxious to see how well they fare as apron dress straps. I call lucet cords my version of Viking bungee cords. The panel is recycled wool from an old coat that I pieced together in the middle. The Nalbinding strips down the middle are covering the seam. The dark gray in the middle of the Nalbinding medallion is from a piece of yarn that I spun myself from fleece I won in a slient auction at Crown Tournament 2011 in Sentinels' Keep. I started spinning on it that day. It is lumpy and bumpy but it is all mine! I decided to use it anyway as a reminder of where I started! I have nalbinded and felted the white trim from an alpaca yarn I purchased and the red trim was made with a lucet and commercially spun wool...not felted. The lucet cord will be used for the loops that will attach to the apron brooches. I will probably do more lucet trim and do some knotwork designs. The rest is basic embroidery of blanket stitch, herringbone and running stitches that have been documented from some of the remains found. Some Basic Information: Most of the fabric recovered by archeologists are scraps that were protected under metal adornments. Under the tortoise brooches are remnants of several strap fabrics of linen, wool and silk. There is much speculation of what the brooches held and it is reasonable that an apron panel could have been connected there too. The pages below contain drawings of carved designs that illustrate several layers of clothing and what could be a decorated apron panel attached to the brooches on top of the apron dress. I based my panel on the piece below because…well I look like it! I believe the upper area at the neck represents a necklace but I incorporated that into my panel design. The panel here seems quite plain (her work apron?) but I am embellishing mine with strips of embroidery, and nalbinded and lucetted trim. http://www.vikingsonline.org.uk/resources/articles/dress.htm I searched for Tuse and found a site with wonderful photos by Sofie Regenthal http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieregenthal/473391171/ http://sites.google.com/site/sregenthal/ My grandmother was Norwegian and was raised in North Dakota before moving to Montana. She was a very practical, resourceful and unassuming woman who loved to cook, craft, and take care of her family. She never wore pants even on picnic and camping outings (although she wore sturdy shoes) and at home she almost always wore an apron and had a hanky in her pocket. I sometimes reinforce the information I gather on Norse women clothing by thinking of what my grandma would have done in the same instances. She would definitely had worn apron panels while cooking and cleaning to protect her clothes underneath and she probably would have had a very nice one (probably a gift from someone) put away for ‘good’ and/or her burial clothes. I will call these WWGJD* moments in my documentation. *What Would Gramma Johnson Do?

The medieval tradition of covering the hair with a haube, a hood, as a sign of marital status continued during the 16th century. In the firs...

If you are looking for instructions on how to make patterns for Viking Age women’s clothing, you have come to the right place. Some of these are patterns I developed and some are patterns I f…

In the SCA (that medieval hobby thing I do) there is Arts and Science competitions - where you can present something you have recreated of the medieval time be it embroidery, some kind of food dish, calligraphy, etc. etc. etc. I haven't done a lot of the competitions since I don't do so well with criticism and I didn't ever feel like I could submit something unless it was my best thing that I had put blood sweat and tears into and I couldn't bear to have that torn to pieces by other people. Especially if it's something I've researched a lot on and the person judging it doesn't know very much about it. Then it came to me - I'd enter stuff that was a bit more obscure, something that most people don't do but that I think is fun and want to share the fun of it. This made it possible for me to share something that isn't finished and a lot of times not get a ton of criticism, or if I did get criticism I could brush it off easier since it was just something for fun. The first thing I did with this was a pink faux fur edged viking coat - that was completely period! :D Yep, vikings made pink faux fur. I'll have to do a separate blog entry on that I think. Sure enough, the judges were very surprised to see my documentation and research and thought it was fun. Ah yes, documentation. For some it's a 4 letter word and for me it was at first. One of the biggest reasons for this is I learned how to do research in college and I confused research with documentation. Documentation for an A&S competition is supposed to be a very simple 1-2 page write up that explains what you made, how you made it, why, etc. etc. so those who are judging it have a better idea of what they are judging. All that cool research - like the proof of Vikings making faux fur - you can add as an appendix and if the judges want to see it they can but they don't have to see it to understand what you made. I was very happy to hear that the judges all wanted to see my appendix with the faux fur - since in a lot of ways that's what I want to share even more than my own made entry. Another thing that helped a lot was this: Kitten’s Rules for Documentation (Kitten Reames, mka: Duchess Caterina de Forza d’Agro, OL, OP, Atlantia): 1. What is this? 2. Describe the region and date I might see one in the Middle Ages. (Example: 1400-1450, England). 3. Do you have any pictures or photocopies of ones from the Middle Ages? Circle: Yes/No If yes, please display with your entry. If pages are in a book, please mark pages with post-it/sticky markers. 4. List up to 5 sources/books that were the most helpful to you in learning about this project. Include Title, Author’s name, date published, publisher/web URL and one sentence listing what made that source useful for this PARTICULAR entry. Example: Amman, Jost, 1539-1591. Kunstb=FCchlein. Pictorial archive of decorative Renaissance woodcuts. New York: Dover, [1985] c1968. I found a period picture showing details of how parchment was prepared. 5. What did you use to make your entry? (list raw materials used). 6. What were the ones in the Middle Ages made of? 7. What steps and tools did you use to make it? 8. What steps/tools were used to make ones in the Middle Ages? 9. If the answers to5+6 and/or 7+8 above are different, how and why are they different? (Example Materials: It is illegal to buy modern ivory and I can’t afford legal, antique ivory, so I used Sculpy clay instead. Example Tools: While a medieval garment would be hand sewn, I chose to use a sewing machine ) OPTIONAL: 10. What do you like best about your entry? 11. What would you like to change if you could? I used this outline for the latest entry I did and was very excited to present my entry. Of course, events can get a bit busy with all the other activities so I thought I'd share it here so I could easily share it with those who didn't get to see it. Plus, it is something fun and cool that I think is fun to share. So here we go! I was really happy with how the presentation was. I took a thick piece of cardboard and covered it with a thick velvet type fabric and then I pinned each Posament to the fabric along with a small slip of paper label. Viking Posament Documentation By Lady Tabitha de Luna This entry is a sampling of Viking Posaments which are decorative ornaments made of wire or thread which is braided and/or knotted and then sewn onto textiles. Basically they are like Celtic knotwork done in gold wire. Posaments have been found in Viking graves including Birka, Uppland, and Hedeby contained posaments, the most being found at Birka. 45 of the 1,160 graves at Birka had posaments dating these at 9-10th century but the findings from the other graves appear to be older. Most of the findings were in male graves and appear to have decorated headbands, hats, or purses based on location but there have also been small ornamental pieces found at the end of stings or as standalone pieces that could have been used like sequins. The posaments came in different types including borders, small knots used like sequins, and three dimensional decorative knots such as the Turk's head knot. I was unable to find any information about how to make these other than the idea of them being braided and or knotted so I observed the extant pieces as well as replicas made by other people (Appendix A) All of the information I found about posaments was from online and the majority of the sites were in another language which made research a bit difficult. I did find a wonderful handout in English by Meisterinne Katheryn Hebenstreitz (Annika Madejska) and some wonderful information from Rieke who does many posament reconstructions both replicating the extant finds and designs inspired by them. (Appendix B) It was also helpful to find out that modern day Sami jewelry, a Swedish art made by the indigenous Sami people is the same kind of technique and is believed to have been brought to the Sami by the Vikings. (Appendix C) The most helpful information for making the posament has been tutorials for decorative knot bracelets and other knots such as a Turk’s head knot. (Appendix D) A list of the sources and why they were useful is at the end of this documentation. To make the posaments, I used gold dmc floss, gold 28 gage bead wire, and silver 24 gage craft wire. The original posaments were made with real gold thread and spun silver which was silver thread wound around a silk core. My research says that the posaments were worked completely by hand without any tools but I felt it would be best to attach the wire to something to give it stability so my first piece (labeled A) was made by folding the wire in half to make a loop and clipping the loop to a chair. Having a lot of experience in hair braiding I believed it would be easy to braid the thin gold wire and that I could make the posaments quickly. I found out quickly that braiding in the way I do hair did not achieve the desired look in any way and the thin 28 gage wire was a bit delicate. So I tried out the knotted design that I had found a tutorial for. I then tried the same design with the gold dmc floss (labeled B) and found I could control the floss better but the design didn’t show up as well and the dmc floss twisted but that can be fixed when the posament is sewn down. I was not able to get the dmc floss to work for some of the other designs, mostly only the knotted design. this was what I set up to be able to knot the wire and dmc floss here it is unpinned so you can see how it twisted In trying out some of the other designs and having a difficult time I endeavored to use some tools mainly a bent flat nose pliers but I also tried to make a jig with small nails hammered into a piece of wood. The jig was essential for the piece I made with the 24 gage silver wire (labeled C) but I couldn’t get it to help with the other pieces I made. In trying to get uniformity I did a combination of using the nails on the jig and just holding the other pieces in my hands and using the pliers. These smaller pieces (labeled D) were made without any instruction, just simply by viewing pictures of the extant and recreated pieces and trying to stumble my way through them. I have had a little bit of experience with jewelry making and wire work but was not prepared for how hard this would be and most of the pieces were undone and redone as I figured out how some of the designs worked. Most of the pieces I hammered a bit with a wooden hammer on the wood side of jig I made (hence the dents) since I had heard that helps to strengthen wire pieces and to help smooth them out. I wanted to try and have a braided example and found that rather than holding the wire down the way I would hold hair, I had to bend the wire to the side as I braided to achieve an open look (labeled E). Piece F is a small sample of one of the knots I tried to figure out. The Turk’s head knot (labeled G) was made around a cylinder (the spool of dmc floss) H is another try at the 8 shape knot I tried in the beginning with the gold wire and dmc floss but I tried it with the thicker silver wire. All of these samples are beginner pieces as I am just starting to learn how to make them. I am happy with some of the pieces when seen from a distance but I am also pleased with what I was able to come up with considering the lack of available research. What I like best about my entry is that it is something I haven’t ever seen anyone else do and so I wanted to share all the pieces I made to share something new and fun to use as decoration on Viking garb and accessories. If I could change anything I would want to use thicker wire and try out some other decorative knots that have tutorials online and in books. I would also want to make some finished pieces that were smoother and more refined which would come with more practice. Research: About Posaments. Rieke. October 11, 2009 First Viewed April 2013, last viewed November 7, 2013 http://www.silberknoten.de/en/index.php?id=2 This is the site that introduced me to posaments. Rieke has a wonderful article telling about the history of posaments and showing some extant pieces but I was mostly inspired by her reproductions which helped me to see what posaments are supposed to look like and inspired me to try my own. Posament Pretty knots from Birka. Meisterinne Katheryn Hebenstreitz (Annika Madejska) June 24, 2013, First Viewed July 2013 last viewed November 7, 2013 http://textiletimetravels.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/posamenthandoutfinal.pdf A great handout with a lot of information about posaments, what they are made of, where they are found, and a lot of pictures of extant pieces. Sami Bracelets and Jewelry. Nomadic Artistry. viewed November 6, 2013 http://www.nomadicartistry.com/Home_Page.html This site had some history information about Sami Bracelets as well as a lot of photos of modern day pieces that helped me to see the connection between these and posaments. Turk's Head (Woggle) Knot. Animated Knots by Grog. July 1, 2013, viewed November 7, 2013, http://www.animatedknots.com/turkshead/index.php?Categ=decorative&LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com This site has step by step pictures and instructions for how to do knots and it was the only way I figured out how to do a Turk’s Head. Appendix A http://birkaposamente.de/posamente/gleitknoten/ http://Vikingsnitt.blogg.no/1345665215_silverpusament_silber.html Appendix B http://www.silberknoten.de/en/index.php?id=2 Posaments - Ornaments of the Birka vikings The word "posament" has its origines in the french word "passement" which means applicated onto textile material. Agnes Geijer states in her work about posaments that the choice of the word "posament" is not always ideal or hundred percent correct, but because of the similarity to younger pieces of textile decorations she agreed to use this term for all the knotwork and all the braids made out of silver or gold wire in Birka III. The posaments found in Birka are continuous patterns of braids and/ or knots that were made without tools. The loops and twists were carefully tightend by hand to reach the extreme filigrane results. It is hard to make a difference between knots and braids. Some troves show only one or the other, others contain a mix of both which also contributes to the difficulty of a correct wording. The material that was mainly used was straigth golden thread, very little spiral gold and only very rare spun gold. Silver was only found in the spun version (I am still looking for somebody providing this highly delicate material!). In most cases two parallel threads were found but there also exists some work with three or more threads Different types of posaments: 1.) Continuous borders oder braided strings that were fixed on top of the textile. 2.) Border decorations that were sewed on to the end of a textile. 3.) Decorative little knots, sewed on like sequins 4) Flat objects that were found at the end of slim silk strings; 5) Three-dimensional knots that were also placed at the end of silk bands or strings like in 4) (Pictures can be found in the Galery) The archeological troves The different knots and braids were found in 9 burned graves. One of these is a female incremation with two posament troves. Only one other burned grave with unknown gender contains two troves in one grave. The other unidentified graves contain each one braid and one knot, likewise the two graves that were identified as male incremations. Also the graves with bodies only provide one female grave with posament troves (Grab 557) that contained 8 pieces. Only 6 male graves with bodies contained knots or braids. Only grave 520 contained 12 posament pieces and grave 561 6 pieces. Additionally grave 886 must be mentioned with one braid and one knot. The braided and knoted borders are not much more numerous, 11 troves were found in as male identified graves with bodies, thee troves were counted in not identified burned graves. Only grave 798 contained 2 different braided and knoted borders, in all other graves it could only be detected one or the other. Out of the 29 graves with posament troves only the ones with remaining bodies contained the braided and knoted borders. In only five out of 29 graves were found both knots and braids in one grave. Having in mind the high number of over 1100 graves in Birka the amount ouf posament troves can be stated as very little. Leaving the archeological site of Birka there is very little evidence of other identical posaments at that time. I only know of the following troves: - One cremated grave in Kirchspiel Aringsas, Alvesta, Värendsgatan; Smaland SHM Inventar Nr. 19803:5 knot or bead as an ending of a textile string made out of silver wire. (O-Text: "knut, flätad av silvertrad; pärla, flätad av silvertrad"; the mentioned "pärla" is most probably the from A. Geijer as knot identified object. - 3 ca. 10mm big golden crosses from Adelsjö - one fragment of a cross from Vagsnes, Sogn och Fjordane - thirty little crosses or knots in a trove from Bjelvretschenskaja in Kuban* If anybody knows of other archeological evidence I would be more than interested into the whereabouts. As a result of this little summary it can be stated that posament troves were equally often found in Birka of the 9th and the 10th century. Posaments were mainly used as a male decoration or better as textile ornaments on man's clothing. That the cremated graves were richer than the graves with remaining bodies can only be assumed. Quelle: "Birka III, Die Textilfunde aus den Gräbern", Agnes Geijer, Uppsala 1938 *) A. Geijer was leading this archeological site, Lit. Atchet Archeol. Komm 1896, Abb. 211, my own research remains without result concerning this source. Archeological troves: 1. Birka Grave 644 Original, P4 Source: Picture 59488; SHM 2001-05-01 excerpt from the online catalogue of: Historiska museet 2009, Stockholm, Sweden Go to Replica of Birka Grave 644, P4 1. Birka Grave 542 Original, P5 Source: Picture 59489; SHM 2001-05-01 excerpt from the online catalogue of: Historiska museet 2009, Stockholm, Sweden Go to Replica of Birka Grave 542, P5 2. Birka Grave 736 Original, P8 Source: Picture 59490; SHM 2001-05-01 excerpt from the online catalogue of: Historiska museet 2009, Stockholm, Sweden http://www.housebarra.com/EP/ep07/02trim.html Knotted Trim from Birka I missed the picture the first few times I flipped through Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe. It showed a section of a man's coat from Birka (Norse, approx. 1000 A.D.) with an intricate interlace trim. On close examination, I discovered that the trim was composed of silver spiral wire arranged in decorative knots in a cross pattern. (fig. 1). The resulting trim was stitched to a strip of silk and then to the garment fabric, which allowed the trim to be removed from the garment and reused with little difficulty. This technique has all kinds of possibilities for making period and yet simple and affordable trim. Below are directions for making the 'Josephine's knot' (fig. 2) and the 'Turk's head' knot (fig. 3) used in this particular example. Since spiral silver wire is hard to find, you can use linen, wool or silk-like cord. There is also a metallic cord with wire inside that is carried by some craft shops. It is more brittle than pure silver or gold wire would be, so keep that in mind. Try to get your knots the same size and evenly spaced. The best way to do this is to plot lines for the connecting cords (fig. 4). Pin this paper to a section of drop-ceiling tile, a fabric bold board or a piece of heavy corrugated cardboard. Pin your knots to the paper pattern as you work to keep the pattern even. Sources: Geijer, Agnes Birka III: Die Textilefunde aus dem Graebern. Uppsala, 1938. Harte, N.B. and Ponting, K.G. ed. Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe. Heinemann Educational Books, 1983. I also had a printoff of this great handout http://textiletimetravels.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/posamenthandoutfinal.pdf Appendix C Sami Jewelry http://www.swedart.com/lapland_Jewelry_info.htm History: SwedArt’s™ aboriginal Sami artisans reside near the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden. Sami People with a 10,000 year old history live in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia and lived on the land before the rest of the Scandinavians arrived. There are 17,000 Sami (formerly called Laplanders) in Sweden today. Approximately 3,000 own herds, sometimes with thousands of domesticated reindeer (caribou), and reindeer husbandry is their livelihood. Only Sami can own reindeer in Sweden so we support the small indigenous Sami People by buying products made of traditional Sami materials like reindeer leather and reindeer antler. Their unique craft items are admired and sought after worldwide. Sami embroidery with pewter wire on reindeer leather and fabric has been done for hundreds of years in the Sami culture, and Sami actually invented the spun pewter wire. In the old days, they melted tin to make the wire and then spun it around reindeer sinew entirely by hand. Today, the wires are spun on a small machine. Appendix D

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After I made the green tunic from the previous post, I started to work on an outfit for me for the same event. I actually had the pattern, La Fleur de Lyse MAR 1001, traced for about two months before … Continued

Image taken from the Babenberg Family Tree, Hans Part, 1489-93. The flinderhaube (from the German flinderlien – spangles/metal flakes and haube – cap/caul) is a piece of headwear that was pop…

This post is about the research I did for my Norse outfit, and I want to talk a bit about my feelings on wearing "Viking" clothing...

The skirt, post seam-ripping This summer vacation, I'm trying to step up the authenticity (and documentation) of our garb, using mate...

I've been working on my Herjofsnes challenge dress (finally!) and have been inserting the centre-front and centre-back gores. Now, this means doing those lovely gores that the Greenland garments are so famous for, with their interesting M-shaped tops. I've seen a tutorial or two, but none that really made sense to me, so I invented my own method. Here's how to do it. The first question is: where to put your gore? On the Greenland garments, gores with an M-shaped top are inserted into the centre-front and centre-back. Their tops reach approximately between waist and the base of the sternum on the wearer. However, gores with M-shaped tops are not used at the sides - this is because nearly all of the Greenland garments that have side gores have ones that reach the armscye. However, hypothetically this method will work on waist-height side gores, too. This entire tutorial works with the garment right-side out. The first thing you need to do is mark the centre line of your panel and the planned height of your gore. I tend to mark the centre line before assembly and the height of the gore when draping the rest of the torso. Once you've done that, mark a small grid at the planned height of your gore, like this: On this diagram, the blue line (CD) is the planned height of your gore and the red line (EF) is the planned bottom of the M-shaped bit. The distance between AB, CD and EF are all 1" (1/2" on either side of the centre line). The distance between AC, CE, BD and DF are all 1/2". You can mark this with pins, chalk and/or tailor's tacks. Personally, I like chalk supplemented with tailors tacks. Once marked, it should look something like this: Next, very carefully cut up the centre line until you reach the bottom-most horizontal line you've just marked (point G on the diagram above and below). You're then going to make two diagonal cuts, following this diagram: First, cut the diagonal line GC. Then, cut the diagonal line GD. Finally, cut the the tip off the triangle you've just made. It should end up looking something like this: Now, take the gore you're going to insert (it must be an isosceles triangle with the tip chopped off - the endwhere the tip was chopped off should be 1" across). Working with the garment right-side out, lay the gore inside the garment so that its 1" long tip is directly on the inside of the marked line AB (the top of your marked grid). Pin it firmly in place. Next, carefully fold the seam allowances of the long centre-line cut underneath and pin them to the gore below. You will need to gently taper these seam allowances from their existing 1/2+" to whatever you're most comfortable working with. It should look something like this: (This is why, as per the cutting diagrams in Medieval Garments Reconstructed, the original Greenland garments have the top of the slit a bit wider than a single cut-line and gradually tapering down. Once you trim the seam allowances from doing the gore insertion this way, this is exactly what you'll end up with!) Next, sew down these seams, either working from the right side (as on the original Greenland garments) or using a seam method you're comfortable with. Leave about 1" at the top and the entire M-shape bit alone for the time being. Once you've done at least 6" of seam on either side (and, if you wish, felled those seams), you can tackle the M-shape at the top of the gore. For this, you have to work from the right side and you'll probably have to use a stab stitch. Carefully use your needle or a pin to force the raw edge underneath as you go along, giving you a very narrow single-turned hem, stitched onto the gore below. When you're working, it'll look something like this: Alternatively, if sewing from the right side seems too daunting, you can fold the entire little flap to the underside and sew a horizontal seam across this fold from the wrong side. This won't give you a true reproduction of the M-shaped Greenland gores. However, it does work very well and avoids the puckering you get from trying to insert a gore into a slit via the more commonly espoused methods. Once you're done with the top of the gore, you can sew the long seams down to the hem of the garment. Then, unpick any tailor's tacks, brush off the chalk and admire your handiwork. Depending on the fabric the overall effect may be fairly subtle, but you can take pride in the fact that a) you've learnt a new documentably authentic technique and b) once you've learnt it, this is a really easy way to insert a gore into a slit without risking any unsightly puckering or pulling at the top of the gore. Happy sewing! Let me know if you end up using this tutorial on one of your projects. :)