Cloth of Stars
A Sewing and Crafting Blog for the SCA and Other Pursuits, by L. Madylyne Taylor called Hrefna
05 April 2024
SCA: A Roman Outfit for Hot Weather
01 April 2024
SCA: Oseberg Loom, Take II
After showing my Oseberg loom at the A&S competition at Bjornsborg in February and getting some really great feedback on the project, I decided to enter it again at the Hellsgate Commanders' Crucible event in March, after making some changes to the project based on the feedback I received:
- I made some changes to the documentation - mostly formatting stuff, but also some changes to the writing to make it flow better, and I included some new information that I've learned since I started the project
- Someone at Bjornsborg in February showed me a new way to warp up this loom which solves almost all of the problems I had had with weaving on the loom on my first try
Instead, according to the input I got from a laurel who talked to me about it at length, I've warped it more like you would do with a backstrap loom, with a long warp which is lashed to the loom frame with a strip of leather thong which can easily be moved when you need to advance the warp or adjust the tension. This way makes it easier to weave, easier to adjust the weaving, and removes all limits to the length of the weave - you can literally weave as long a thing as you want this way, woohoo!
Also, since now it's so easy to remove the weaving project from the loom and put it back on again with the leather thongs, you can remove the weaving, take the loom apart to pack flat for transport, and then just put the weaving back on the loom when you get where you're going. My Oseberg loom is small enough to fit in my car fully assembled, so it's not an issue for me right now; but if I ever build a full-sized model of this loom I'll definitely need to take it apart to take it to an event.
Something else new this time around is the thread I'm weaving with. I'm using a 2-ply wool thread in three shades of indigo blue - I've never woven with wool fiber before, and the feel of it is quite interesting. The band I'm weaving is coming out very nicely, but the fiber is really fuzzy and sticks to itself a LOT, which is making weaving slow and kind of a pain in the ass.The pattern on the loom right now is the "Oseberg narrow band" (the design with the rhomboids/diamonds on one side and the squared-off zigzag on the back (band 12L1, Nockert 2006). It's a 10-card pattern, and the finished width is only about 1/4" (the warp is four yards, so I'll get three-and-some when it's finished). I'm not sure yet what I'll do with this piece when it's done.
Here's my display from Hellsgate. The wind was wreaking all sorts of havoc with the tablcloth, and knocking the loom and the spools of thread all over the place, but it mostly looked nice. I got a ton of great feedback on the projects from lots of people, and once again I got the opportunity to sit down with a couple of laurels and really discuss the project in-depth, which was a LOT of fun. I get super nervous when talking to judges about my work, but I'm getting better at handling it without falling all over myself and coming apart at the mental seams afterwards, hehe.
So what's next for this project? Honestly, I don't know. I think I've done all I can do with this little prototype Oseberg loom - I think the next step for me, if I want to continue in the weaving vein*, is to either switch my focus to the weaving itself, or to go bigger and build a full-sized Oseberg loom to work on and display at the next A&S event (it was suggested to me by two people that this would be a fantastic project for Kingdom A&S in September, but yikes, that's high-stakes!)
*And of course, I DO want to continue to weave - I love weaving. But I also have a new Viking outfit I want to get to work on which will be as near to "completely" historically accurate as I can make it, all hand-sewn, hand-dyed, etc. I've been planning that project with the idea in mind that I would take it to LPT next year; but I could just as easily do both the sewing project and the big loom if I wanted to. Right now, I just don't know.
Right now, I'm very happy with the way the last two competitions have gone; and I'm excited about moving forward - but I'm also ready to take a break and work on something else for a minute. Steppes' Warlord is coming up, and it's going to be HOT, so I'm working on a new Roman outfit that I have to finish in the next couple of weeks, so that's what I'll be doing with my April. Show you when it's done. :)
18 March 2024
Stuff and Things
I'm still alive, just haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I'm in the middle of several projects right now that I'll be posting about very soon; for right now, though, I may be off and on with posting for the next little while, because I'm dealing with a family medical situation that's taking up a lot of my time and mental energy.
Coming soon, though:
1. More tablet weaving, including a new way of warping up the Oseberg loom, new wool thread to weave with, and the next A&S competition
2. A new Roman outfit for the upcoming hot weather
3. A new Viking outfit, which I'm sewing completely by hand for the first time
4. Maaaybe a new Regency dress. I have a set of sheets that I don't need anymore that may become a blue-and-white dress; I also have my eye on some black cotton voile which really wants to be a mourning dress. Not sure yet where I'll go with that (and I have to get through Hellsgate at the end of March and Warlord at the end of April first, before I start new Regency stuff!)
04 March 2024
SCA: Tablet Weaving Stuff & Upcoming Projects
old linen trim bands |
new herringbone trim in blue, white, and navy |
What's Next?
28 February 2024
SCA: Oseberg Loom: An Experiment
What Is It?
Photo from the Oseberg Textile book (Nockert 2006, p. 144). |
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 |
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
27 February 2024
SCA: Bjornsborg Spring Event
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.
20 February 2024
SCA: Shiny New Viking Stuff!
Yes, I was responsible with most of my tax refund this year, but I also treated myself to a couple of new shiny things for the SCA:
Birka Cup
I think my favorite thing in the world, at the moment, is this little glass cup in the foreground of this photo.
It's a replica of a glass cup found at Birka (this cup was from grave 750, exc. by Hjalmar Stolpe in 1897), and it just makes my heart glad. I love glassware, especially period glassware - and this is the first piece of period glassware I've ever owned.
Key
I also got this lovely little bronze Viking key from Raymond's Quiet Press. It's a replica of an extant key from Lund in Sweden, and it's a great little addition to my set of "jewelry". I wove a very thin band to use to hang it from my brooches.
Yay, shiny Viking stuff!
What's Next?
I'm working on a BUNCH of things right now, so there'll be posts a-plenty coming up soon. This weekend is the spring Bjornsborg event, from which there will be pictures (I hope). I'm weaving my butt off right now making trim to go on my linen Viking coat, I'm working on a new Hedeby bag, I built a new loom and am trying it out, and I'm working on a Roman outfit for the hot weather this coming season. Whew! More soon!
05 February 2024
SCA: Just Some Viking Stuff
In addition to spending two months whomping up a new Italian outfit for Candlemas, which was this past weekend, I also, in that space of time, made a TON of largesse items for a largesse competition that was supposed to be held at the event.
I started working just before Thanksgiving, and finished about the middle of January; and I made the following items:
thirteen Hedeby bags |
1. Hedeby bags!
I love making these things, and I had plenty of supplies on hand, so I went for it. The handles are a simple, curvy Hedeby-style similar to the ones I usually make (based on the handles found at Hedeby and Birka), and they are made from 1/4" red oak flooring pieces that someone gave to me a few years ago. The handles were cut on my table saw and shaped with a hacksaw and electric sander; then stained with a walnut Minwax stain. It took me about a week to produce all thirteen pairs of handles.
The bags are hand sewn out of linen, because I had a lot of linen scraps on hand that were perfectly sized for this project. Some are lined, some are not, depending on the weight of the linen used. Each bag has a hand-stitched trim in a braided/herringbone stitch, examples of which were found on an apron dress fragment from Hedeby and on a hat from Denmark; some are bands across the front of the bag, some are stitched around the top edge, and some are covering the side seams. The handles are sewn onto the bag with matching thread (cotton embroidery floss). Each bag, from sewing to decorating to handle attachment, took me about three hours.
The bags's carrying straps are a combination of flat card-woven bands, and tubular card-woven cord bands made after a method I found described in this paper by L. Elena Hylton. You use 4-6 cards with 4 holes threaded, and pass the weft thread/shuttle through one side of the warp only, looping under the warp to get back to the first side (instead of going right-to-left and then left-to-right as you do in "regular" card weaving). This causes the weave to pull itself into a hollow round tube when you pull the weft tight, instead of creating a flat band. This method of weaving tubular cording is documentable to as early as the 1100s, according to Elena's research. I used 6 cards for my tubular straps, after I found 4 to make a square-profile band and I really wanted a rounder profile. I also found that it's harder to weave this tubular band after switching the card's direction in order to untwist the threads - for some reason it just works better going "fowards" than going "backwards". I'll have to practice it more.
tubular strap |
thirteen woven bands |
There are five different designs, each very simple and no more than 10 cards each, and all are either period designs or based on period designs. Each one took me about 3 hours to make from warping to finishing.
I hadn't made glass beads for several months (due to it being summer, and about 120ºF inside my garage where my glass workshop is set up), and I needed the practice badly. I'm not very good at doing this - I'm still VERY much a beginner, so my beads aren't, like, awesome or anything - but they'll make nice additions to someone's Viking kit, I'm hoping.
I made thirteen sets of 8 beads. All of them are about 8mm in size; some are round, some drum-shaped with flat sides, and some are kind of round/oval with little bumps or dots on them - there are 2 of these "fancy" beads in each set, and 6 plain ones. It took me about a month to make all the beads, working in 20-minute sessions of about 7 beads per session (not all of which turned out right).
Guess What?
For some reason, the competition didn’t happen at the event. I don’t know why it got scrubbed - I KNOW I read a whole post about it on the event page two months ago, but no one knew anything about it when I got there and asked about where to set up. Shoot! All that work...! Not "for nothing" - after all, I'm now prepared to enter the next largesse competition, whenever that happens.
Meanwhile, I learned a lot, and got a lot of good practice with woodworking and weaving. And glass bead making, although I'm kind of burnt out on glass beads for the time being and probably won't be doing any of that any time soon. We'll see.
dry run of display at home |