Indigo and Embroidery

Now that the apron panel is finished, I turned my attention to embellishing the dresses. 

The undergown is commercially sourced 100% linen following an adapted version of a t-tunic sewn with a machine. I chose not to taper the sleeves that Viking tunics have, or go for the “Saxon pucker” as this was modeled after a leinne (Barrett). This turned out to be a very fortuitous decision as within a year of making this, I fell and destroyed my right wrist and needed something that would accommodate a cast that extended past my elbow!  

The smokkr is a commercially sourced linen blend (exact components unknown) and a heavily adapted pattern to reduce the number of seams and cuts. Most extant examples of smokkr dresses are of wool. Since I am wearing this on the summer solstice, I opted for linen instead of wool. The straps I used for the smokkr must be attached with pins and the shape/configuration of the straps are a source of contention for a lot of reenactors. (Priest-Dorman)(5)

For the embroidery, I dyed silk and cotton yarns for the embroidery with indigo, using soda ash and thiox (a modern powder equivalent to concentrated hot urine - yes it still smelled bad) to fix the dye in the dye bath and white vinegar to set the pigments on the yarn. Both yarns took the color beautifully and I opted for the silk as it would be a luxury and have a bit more luster than cotton. 

Both herringbone stitch and chevron stitch have been found on extant examples of garments from several viking dig sites. (Smith; Priest-Dorman, (5))

I may go back and add tablet woven trim to the smokkr - once I can figure out how to deal with the twining that happens! All in all, I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

Sources: 

Smith, M. H., The Valkyries’ Loom: The archaeology of cloth production and female power in the North Atlantic

Priest-Dorman, C. A Quick and Dirty Look at Viking Women's Garb in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries https://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/qdirtyvk.html

Priest-Dorman, C. "But That's How They Look in the Book!": Viking Women's Garb in Art and Archaeology  https://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/roach.html

Barrett, Early Gaelic Dress An Introduction https://coblaith.net/EarlyGaelicDress/EarlyGaelicDress12bw.pdf

(1)Cheviot sheep: https://www.britannica.com/animal/Cheviot-breed-of-sheep

(2)Herdwick sheep: http://www.herdwick-sheep.com/

(3)A Brief History of Spinning https://www.lahottee.info/E_SpinningIntro.php

(4)Brief History of Spinning Wool https://woollenwytch.co.uk/blogs/news/brief-history-of-spinning-wool

(5) Recreating Viking Clothing https://urd.priv.no/viking/

(6) The War Between Indigo and Woad https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/collex/exhibits/originsof-color/organic-dyes-and-lakes/war-between-woad-and-indigo/