Handfasting Garb: Handspun, Handwoven Apron Panel

 This project started as my "coming out" project to the new community. I don't do things in half measures, so I entered an A&S competition with the theme of stepping outside my comfort zone and trying new things. I added a lot of new skills for this project. 

I’ve been a fiber artist for 15+ years. I knit, dye, spin, and weave on a floor loom. For this project I have put everything together. 

My partner plays a 9th/10th c continental viking. After many years of digging around, I’ve finally landed on a persona from 10/11th c Scottish highlands. 

This project started because I had recently fallen in love with spinning cheviot fiber from my favorite indie dyer. After a little digging into the breed’s history,  I found the cheviot sheep can be traced back to these time periods and regions. I then looked for a dark fiber for contrast and as serendipity would have it, the herdwick sheep arrived in the Danelaw around the same time and are thought to have been brought by the continental vikings. 

In my little fairy tale, my northman brought me a few herdwick sheep to add to my flock and I combined that wool with wool from the cheviot to weave an apron panel for a viking smokkr. He also gifted me the wolf brooches. This is my garb for the rehearsal dinner before our wedding on the summer solstice this year!

Started with 2oz sample of Cheviot and 1oz sample of Herdwick, spun on a Lendrum double treadle spinning wheel. Yarn was z-spun then, s-plied (Smith). 

Cheviot wool is known to be one of the whitest wools. The sheep are particularly suited to their environment. Mary, Queen of Scots tried to introduce Spanish Merino to the Cheviots, however the merino stock was not hardy enough to survive the highland hills(1). Herdwick sheep are thought to have been brought to the Danelaw in the late 10th c. The lambs are born black and lighten to brown/gray as they age. Their wool is coarse and they are currently prized as a food source(2). 

Once the wool was plied and wet set, I measured out the Cheviot on my warping board to make the apron panel. This is the first time I have used my own handspun yarn in weaving. 

 Viking sites have shown many examples of wool that is twill, woven 2x2 straight draft and sometimes herringbone. I selected a herringbone point twill for this. 2x2 twill is my favorite fabric to produce, it has more loft than tabby weave and more 2-way stretch. (Smith, (5))

This is a point draft, which means the order of the threads reverses at regular intervals when being pulled through the heddles. I chose to proceed weaving with a straightforward treadle pattern.