Viking Hood, Coat and Gloves
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I made my Viking hood in 2014, when a friend gave me a yard of a lovely dark brown wool. It is based on the Skjoldehamn find, made in the brown wool, lined in flannel. I started with the lining, and I’m glad I did, because it came out too small to start with. The edges are all top stitched, the seams are finished with arrowhead stitch and the embroidery on the front is a larger version of the fish on my first apron dress.
The viking coat/kaftan followed in 2015. It is the same brown wool (said friend had more!), lined in flannel, with silk trim. The pattern is very simple – it is based on the basic underdress, with square underarm gussets, an opening down the front and a wide V neckline. It closes at the front with a silver trefoil brooch. The silk trim is wide bias tape made from a scrap of silk I had lying around. Eventually I would like to add a tablet woven band along the edge next to the silk trim.
The gloves were an interesting experiment. I drew around my hand to make a pattern, cut them out of both wool (outer) and flannel (lining), embroidered my fish on the outer fabric and sewed the linings together – only to find that my wrists are so narrow I couldn’t get my hand in! So I added a gore. I later discovered that there have been finds of gloves made using gores. I love it when I’m accidentally historically accurate!
