SCA: Oseberg Loom: An Experiment

What Is It?

Photo from the Oseberg Textile book (Nockert 2006, p. 144).

The Oseberg loom is a wooden loom found in the Oseberg ship burial (Tonsberg, Norway, excavated in 1905, dating from the 9th century).  It was partially destroyed by the weight of the ground above it, but a  woven band and weaving tablets were still attached to it.  The loom consisted of a base, two upright sides, and a crossbeam in the center for support; the whole thing measured about 2 meters wide by about a meter high and is made of beech wood.  

I've found LOTS of information online about the woven bands that were found at Oseberg; but very little information about the loom itself - mostly what I've found are people's recreations of the loom in various sizes (which I found very helpful for construction ideas, but not documentable research). 

 

How I Built It

I decided in late January that I wanted to build myself a smallish version of the Oseberg loom as an experiment -  just to see if I could do it, and to see how weaving on an actual period loom would be (I normally use an inkle loom, which was invented in I believe the 1700s). 

 I used only scrap wood I had laying around in my shop for this, because I wanted to get this done on the cheap.  The original Oseberg ship burial loom is made of birch; mine is made of pine 1x2" furring strips. Each piece that I had on hand was about 3.5' long, which was the perfect size for this project. 

(ignore the table legs, that's a different project)

My loom is approximately 3' wide and about 18" high.  It's a little big for a "tabletop"loom - but I planned to use this on my low coffee table in my living room at home, and it's exactly the right size and height to work with there while sitting on the couch.  

The uprights are pegged into the holes in the base with dowels that are glued into the uprights, but can be removed from the base. The crossbar in the middle of the loom is also pegged in place in the same way - glued in the crossbar but not into the sides.  The whole thing breaks down into 3 sticks and the base/foot piece for travel and storage. 

The base is also made of a 1x2" furring strip, with crossbars attached to the ends to stabilize the loom and stand it up.  The crossbars are pegged in place permanently.  

How the Heck Do You Warp This Thing??

Honestly, I went into this with zero idea how to warp this loom.  I'd seen pictures of recreations of this loom with weaving already on them, but never found any description of how it was accomplished, so I just decided to wing it and see how it worked.  After all, this IS an experiment, right?  

welcome to my dining room

I'd seen two ways of warping this loom online: one, where the length of the thread is wrapped around the post and the finished part of the woven band was wrapped around the other post, with the weaving happening in between;  or two, where the length of the thread was wrapped around the whole loom from one post to the other, and tied together like you would do on an inkle loom.  I decided to try the second method: 

Weaving on this loom is…interesting. I had intended to use this loom on my coffee table, sitting next to it, but I have to twist my back so much to weave that it hurts me (I have a bad back).  The next thing I tried was putting it on my dining table and standing next to it, which worked great - except that the loom is so lightweight that it walks around while I’m trying to weave, so I had to clamp it to the table top to get it to stay still. Once I did that, though, weaving was super easy, and fast.  

Advancing the warp is easy enough: I achieved proper tension by tying the lower warp to the crossbar, so to move the weaving I just untied it, shifted the warp around, and then re-tied it. 

The A&S Display

This project was intended from the beginning to be an A&S entry at the Bjornsborg "Battle of the Beasts" event this past weekend.  Here's what my display ended up looking like: 

The entry consists of the loom with weaving in progress already on it that I could demo for people who wanted to see it in action (of which there were actually quite a few!), my documentation, a page of photos showing the process of building the loom and some related things (patterns, examples of woven goods), a couple of woven pieces to show what you can do with a loom like this, some threads I've used to weave with, and some tools like shuttles, cards, and period-replica scissors.  

I warped up my inkle loom with a new project before I went to the event, and sat nearby and sewed for most of the day so that I would (a) have something to occupy me at the event since I wasn't doing anything else (I didn't have any "jobs" this time around and I don't fight or compete in any of the other activities that were going on) and (b) so that I would be available to answer questions and demo the Oseberg loom for people, which was a lot of fun. 

I got a lot of really great feedback on my project and my documentation.  I didn't win, but I'm told I was one of the finalists, which pleases me.  The best part, though, was that I got to sit down and chat with a couple of my favorite Laurels about the project and about weaving in general, and I have lots of great ideas for warping up the Oseberg loom and some adjustments to my documentation which will make it even better for the next time I enter this project (which might be in March, not sure yet).  I'm excited about trying out a new method of warping this loom - I need to finish the weave that's on it now and figure out what pattern and colors to use for the next round.  

More about this project in the next couple of weeks, I hope!  

SCA: Bjornsborg Spring Event

Bjornsborg's spring event "The Battle of the Beasts" was this past weekend.  I had SO much fun!  It was a theme event, inspired by Aesop's fables, so we had lots of animal-themed activities and animal-inspired clothing going around (including some kids in animal onesies, which was adorable).  

I'm a nut for ravens and crows, so I brought some of that into my clothing with some dark colors which I never get to wear (because the black dress isn't really period),  and I wore some black feathers on my dress and in my hair - and of course, all my raven jewelry bits and accessories: 

A&S

I entered two A&S competitions at the event.  One was the largesse competition, for which I donated some of my woven bands that I made in December/January for the A&S event at Candlemas that never happened.  Turns out, there were only two entrants - me and the person running the derby, so we kind of both won.  

The other was the Bjornsborg A&S Championship, into which I entered an Oseberg loom that I made a couple of weeks ago.  I'll have a full post on that up very soon; but for now, here's a pic of the entry: 

I didn't win or anything, but I got a LOT of really positive feedback on my project and my documentation; and I got to sit down with two of my favorite Laurels to discuss the project, and tablet-weaving in general.  It was a very positive experience, and I have some great tips to work into my documentation and my project for the next time I enter this project  (which might be next month, I'm not sure yet).  

What's Next? 

I'll have the post about the Oseberg loom project up tomorrow, and some stuff about weaving in general as well. 

I'm currently working on some alterations to my Oseberg project, a new Hedeby bag, and a Roman outfit for the upcoming hot weather, which I'll post about soon.  I also expect to have a new tent in the next couple of months, and so I may be doing a post about my campsite soon as well.  

SCA: We Interrupt This Blog For: A New Loom!

 I got a new loom! 

This is a Windhaven “Harpsichord” model loom. It’s 24” wide and 31” tall.  The wood is red oak, and the loom was designed by Windhaven over 7 years ago, so this loom is possibly that old. The top comes off and you can use it as a lap or tabletop loom by itself; or you can connect the entire thing and use it as a floor loom. When put together, it’s capable of making up to five yards of continuous trim. 

One of my  favorite things about this loom is that I got it for free. My local SCA barony has a Facebook gifting group -  sort of like Buy Nothing but for the whole barony - and someone there was just giving this thing away, can you believe that? I had to drive over an hour to pick it up, but it’s definitely worth it. 

It’s seen some use for sure - the wood near the tension peg is worn a little bit, and one of the pegs is a bit loose. (Currently debating whether to remove it and repair it now, or leave it until it becomes a problem).  

For fun and for comparison, here is my “old” loom: 

I built this myself based on a design in a YouTube video a few years ago. It’s pine; 15x37”; and it has two loose pegs and a number of adjustments and repairs that I’ve made over the years. It makes 3 yards of card or inkle trim when fully warped. 

I can’t wait to start using the new Harpsichord, though. I’m going to have to go watch some videos on how to warp it, because I’ve never used one with a tension peg in this position before. 

I have a Viking coat that needs trim all the way around (front edge, lower hem, and sleeves), and the coat takes just under 9y of trim all told. I would have had to have made three weaves to cover the distance with my “old” loom; now I’ll only have to make two. I don’t know what colors I’ll use yet, or what design, but I definitely want to try something more complicated than I’ve done before, to grow my skill set. 

First, though, I have to finish my current A&S project, which I’m going to be completing on my old loom - I’m making 13 bits of trim, and since I started on the old loom I’ll finish the project there so they’ll all be uniform. Only 5 more to go! Whew.