SCA: The Hand Sewn Viking Project, Part I

For the last couple of years, I've been paying special attention to finishing my machine-sewn garments by hand as much as I can.  Usually I do the long construction seams on the machine, and then hem everything by hand; and I've made several small things - hats, bags, etc.- completely by hand, for the practice. 

Now it's time to level up, and try sewing an entire outfit by hand for the first time. This will eventually be a complete (female) Norse outfit (generally 9-10th century); for now, I'm starting with the serk, or underdress. 

lower hem meets side seam

The fabric for this serk is 100% linen (very light weight, 3oz), and the thread I used is 80/3 linen in a color as close to matching as I could find. The fabric is near-white, bleached linen.  For accuracy, my linen could have been left natural (unbleached and undyed), but I'll be honest with you, I look awful in the beiges and pale taupe shades of natural linen - those tones make my skin look green. There is some evidence of dyed linen serks, but not just a whole lot of it, so I wanted to steer away from using dyed linen for this project. That left me with bleached linen, which is a historically correct option, albeit one that might not have been worn by *everybody*.  Most people would probably have used undyed, unbleached linen (in cases where they used linen at all, but that's a whole different discussion).   

The pattern for this serk  is a basic tunic such as the ones found in Greelqnd and the UK: a rectangular front and back, rectangular sleeves, square armpit gussets, and triangular side gores to widen the skirt.  The neckline is a wide round one, with a deep keyhole slit in the front.  I made the sleeves a bit longer and wider than I usually do so that I could roll them up when I needed to. 

I used period stitches throughout the garment.  I used a backstitch on the long seams for strength and stability, and then flat-felled each seam with a whip stitch.  The hems were folded twice and then secured with a herringbone stitch:  

Inga Hagg's "Osenstitch" (1984) 

I pre-washed my linen fabric in hot water to shrink the fibers and soften them; after I was done sewing the serk I washed it again to shrink the thread and tighten up the seams.  I like add a little bit of cheap, sulfate-free hair conditioner to my washing machine when I wash linen, which makes the fabric SUPER soft and comfy.  

Overall, I'm pleased with how this sewing project turned out.  It didn't take me as long as I'd feared it would to sew this entire garment by hand - about 14 hours (spread over about three months).  The thing that took the most time to was the sleeve under seams and armpit gussets, because I put them on inside-out the first time and had to take it all apart and redo it. 

here, have a neckline instead

I do feel like my hand sewing improved on this project.  It was easier than I thought it would be, and like I said, it was faster, too.  By the time I finished this I was ripping through the sewing like it was nothing, and my stitches got smaller and more even the more I worked. My one complaint is about the thread: my waxed linen thread felt like sewing with dental floss, and I hated the feel of it. I think next time I do this I’ll order a finer thread.   

The next phase will be to create a new smokkr (apron dress) to go with this underdress. But that’ll be it’s own post. 

One Last Serk

 Nothing major to report, I just made one last under-dress for my Viking wardrobe: 

This fabric is a pale grey lightweight linen - if you look closely you can see the outline of the hem of the tshirt I have covering the mannequin.  (If you look even more closely you can see the outline of a kitten playing underneath the dress, heehee).  

Now I have an even number of apron dresses and smocks, so I won't have to re-use any smocks during an event (ew sweaty).  And so the Great Big Viking Project I started in April is finally complete. 

Next time I'll have something completely off the wall for you.  Stay tuned! 

Bayou Linen Dresses

I had 6 yards of linen in a shade of muted blue called "Bayou" which I absolutely adore - so much so that I've already got a Eura dress and a Skjoldehamn hood out of the same stuff.  I forget why I originally bought this particular yardage, but I've had it for years and hadn't done anything with it, so I decided to use it to flesh out my Viking wardrobe a little bit more.

First I made a new Viking apron dress - almost the same pattern I always use (more on that in a sec), with thin loop straps.  This one is full length instead of short, since I had enough fabric this time to make it long. (Nothing wrong with the shorter apron dresses; I just prefer mine longer).

It's also unadorned so far, since I didn't have anything to use as trim around the top of the dress.  I'm hoping to find some nice trim at the event.














In an effort to be as frugal with my fabric as possible (because I wanted to get a second dress out of it), I went looking for more conservative cutting layouts online. And I discovered something:  apparently the entire known world makes apron dresses with 3 panels and 3 gores!  I've been making them with 4 panels and 4 gores.  The heck?   I honestly don't remember where I even got my pattern, but I think I figured out what happened:

This is the standard pattern that it seems everyone uses - both halves of this picture are identical, except for the colors.  On the left is the three-panel pattern, on which the two smaller (blue) panels are meant to be seamed together to make a full third panel.

On the right is the interpretation of the pattern that I've been using, where the blue side panels are used separately as TWO side panels (blue and purple) - each a quarter of the dress, instead of being combined into a third of the dress.

Obviously, somebody read those side panels wrong.  Was it my mistake, or was that how the pattern was drawn when it came to me?  I really don't remember. It's just as likely to be either one, I guess. It really doesn't matter; both ways of patterning the dress are equally valid.  I just thought this was neat.  I kind of love being shown that I'm wrong or that I've been doing things slightly differently without knowing it, because it means I get to learn new stuff and try out new ways of doing things.

So, I tried the three-panel dress.   I have to say, I really like the way the skirt lies with this method. It's less full, because there's one less  gore to make up the skirt circumference, but it's a smoother lie, and it's still plenty swishy.  The way I cut it uses a little less fabric than my four-panel method, too - which is what I'd wanted in the first place. 

From the remaining 3y of linen I squeezed out a new smock. It's a plain rectangular-construction T-tunic with 4 gores like all of my smocks (inspired by the Birka  and Haithabu reconstructions).This one has a wide, oval neckline (almost a boatneck but not quite as wide) finished with a narrow edge binding in the same fabric. The sleeves are a little extra long so that I can wear my new bracelets over the fabric.

True, I've got a Eura dress out of this same fabric, and I really don't need two smocks in the same color.  But I hardly ever wear my Eura dress anymore, since it's too early to have been worn with the apron dresses we know and love (9th century, whereas the apron dresses are 10th-11th).   So this isn't a second smock in the same color, it's a replacement for the Eura dress, which I think will be relegated to life as  a nightgown, or maybe something to wear to the showers.   

What's Next?  

Q.  Whatcha doin', Mady? 

A. Destroying priceless heirlooms, you?   

Two Viking Smocks

I badly needed a couple of plain, neutral-colored underdresses, since most of mine are very strongly colored (red, black, dark blue) and don't go with my apron dresses - I've been struggling to make enough outfits for a longer event.  So, since I was ordering blue fabric for the blue apron dress makeover, I went ahead and ordered some linen for a smock as well.  I also recently purchased some off-white linen from Joann's (a friend gave me a gift certificate for my birthday).  Now I have two new under smocks:

The first one is a plain T-tunic style smock with side and front/back gores.  The sleeves are a little extra long so that I can wear my new bracelets over the fabric.  The keyhole neckline is finished with a narrow edge binding in the same fabric.  The color is "natural" from Fabric-Store.com.  It's a medium weight linen, and maybe I should have ordered a light weight - it's a little heavier than I wanted an under-layer to be, and just the tiniest bit scratchy.  That will wear out and the fabric will get smoother and more flexible as it's washed, though.

The second smock is nearly identical to the first one; the main difference is the fabric:  the linen from Joann's is a 55/45% linen/rayon blend. It's lighter weight, a denser weave with a smoother finish, and a straighter drape.  The pattern itself is the same:  a T-tunic with 4 gores, extra-long sleeves, keyhole neckline.  I used a neckline facing on this dress instead of an edge binding strip because I like how flat and smooth the faced neckline is.  The edge binding is more period, I just like this better.

I could decorate the sleeve cuffs of either of these dresses with a thin strip of ribbon or woven trim;  I haven't put much thought into it yet.  I'll have to stare into my stash and see if anything inspires me.

What's next? 

I'm trimming out my coat with some new fake fur;  but first:  some new jewelry.  Stay tuned.