Oseberg

Athenaeum 2020

Teaching Tablet Weaving During the Plague and Beyond

And A Deep Dive into One Oseberg Pattern
My Year in Review

In the last year, I have done more research on tablet weaving patterns–finding new ones to explore, create, and share, as well as trying to use more period materials of the correct size to recreate tablet woven bands more in line with the extant finds. I have begun using technology during this age of plague to share my weaving skills with others, teaching across the miles and over seas. I have also started re-exploring interests in fiber processing and spinning as well as woodworking, and of course, spending some time enhancing my wardrobe.

Teaching at Home & Abroad

Tablet weaving, like other arts, is not something that is easy to learn from a book, and some people simply learn a technique better by watching rather than reading and experimenting. Over the years, I had been looking for videos about tablet weaving to learn a technique or a pattern, and so many of them are missing one or more elements to the instruction, and fail to walk the viewer through the process, step by step. There was one very long instructional (nearly three hours) where the viewer is sitting in on a class, but the video quality is rather poor, the room is dark, and there are virtually no close ups to doing each step.

Most of the other videos already had the loom warped, which is a significant gap in the learning of the craft, and leaves weavers wondering about threading the cards, the difference between S and Z threading (which can be different in various parts of the world), the history of the pattern (which may not be the purpose, but for SCA tablet weavers, this is of interest)–and one of the biggest issues–how to read the patterns.

To make things even more complicated, there are several different ways that weavers draw up patterns, and knowing how to determine which ways the cards face, how to thread correctly and how to turn the cards in sequence between one system and the next is a HUGE learning curve and can be profoundly discouraging to new weavers. Even experienced weavers may think, “I got this,” then find that their pattern is appearing on the underside of the band and they’ve got gobbledygook on the top.

Enter “Weave Along With Elewys”

In order to fill that void, I decided to make a YouTube video series on how to do tablet weaving from start to finish. I made a list of things that students need to learn the craft in video form–which would be true for any art:

Start simple. Use a pattern/project that anyone could do.
Use easily accessible tools and materials. Keep investment costs low.
Explain each step clearly and demonstrate the techniques.
Do close ups, and work slowly. Repeat complex processes.
Have good lighting and sound, and use a tripod if you don’t have an assistant.
For history nerds, add some background information to the piece.
Make it entertaining and not too long.
Smile and have fun!

Also important, make sure you’re in a quiet, organized space…I’ve been contending with loud neighbors with pressure washers & lawn mowers …and “roommates”…

With those points in mind, I set out to make tablet weaving more accessible to the beginning weaver who may not have a teacher nearby (or may not be able to get to classes during this pandemic) and showing others how easy it is to create beautiful, period tablet woven pieces, even as a beginner. I discuss yarns to use, threading the cards, tying a secure knot, reading the pattern, turning cards, advancing the warp, and most importantly, the satisfying snip as you remove your finished project off the loom.

It was my dearest friend, HL Aenor de Pessac, who initially suggested it, although I was thinking about doing something very similar, just not sure how to execute it myself. In discussion with her, we developed the idea further and came up with a plan. She not only encouraged me to make the videos, but has been instrumental with editing and movie magic, which I had no idea how to do (I’m learning!). I owe her a great deal of credit and thanks.

Weave Along with Elewys – Episode 1 Oseberg (variation)

Building Skills

The first video is a very easy pattern and each subsequent video builds on the skills learned, and my emphasis is using period patterns or designs. As a fun side project, each new piece will be done in the colors of the 20 SCA Laurel Kingdoms, in chronological order of creation, starting with the West Kingdom. There are also a couple short videos with quick weaving tips and tutorials on adding new weft thread and weaving a pattern in reverse to untwist the warp. More tutorials will be added in the future as they occur to me or if I get requests from viewers. In the first month, I added 50 subscribers to my YouTube channel after releasing just one full video, and 50 more more since then. Feedback I’ve gotten so far is that this is something people had been looking for, and I’m delighted!

In addition, and as a supplement to the videos, I have made use of my blog to post the patterns and add additional details and instructions for students. Links are provided in the videos for the patterns and the products I use if anyone is interested in finding them.

A Close Look at Oseberg 12L1, 834 AD

Two of the videos focused on one piece in particular: Oseberg 12L1, one of at least 10 tablet woven bands found in a large burial mound that was discovered at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway in 1904. The Oseberg dig, as it is known today, had finds which date to around 834 AD. The burial mound contained two female skeletons–the ages of which are estimated to be about 80 years old and 50-55 years. The ship and some of its contents are displayed at the Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy, Oslo, others are located at the nearby Historical Museum. Among its finds were a loom (commonly called the Oseberg loom), weaving tablets, several narrow bands, a wooden cart, woolen textiles, imported silks, and narrow tapestries. Earlier grave robbers took valuables, but in my opinion, they left the good stuff behind!

Goal

To recreate the tablet woven trim known as Oseberg 12L1. The original was made of silk (or silk & linen) and measured only 5 mm wide, and I have done several experiments to get the correct size of the woven piece using various silk and cotton threads that I can acquire from commercially made goods.

Extant Object

Photo by Eirik Irgens Jørgensen in 1998. Kindly provided by Bente Skogsaas, author of Oseberg Tablet Weave – Book II, which will be released next month.

The piece itself has few images available, and the museum keeps it in a dark room to prevent further decay and no photographs are allowed.

Materials

Original was reportedly in silk (or silk and linen). Some may be surprised that silk was used so much in tablet weaving in Scandinavia, but there was a great deal of Central Asian and Middle Eastern imports into the area, particularly to Birka, a renowned trading center about 540 km away, which was in the midst of its heyday. Birka operated as a trading town from 750 to 960 AD, bringing in goods from the far northern realms of the Saami down to the Byzantine Empire and beyond. The Byzantines had been silk farming for a couple hundred years before Birka opened for business.

vikings silk route — Silk routes during the Viking age

Colors

Imported silks may have been dyed prior to arriving in Scandinavia, but if they had been adding color after, a huge variety of colors were available. Madder for red, woad for blue, weld and broom for yellow, and more colors achievable from heather, birch leaves, buckthorn, bedstraw, walnut, and lichens. There were clearly other imported dye stuffs as there is evidence of items being dyed with kermes and cochineal, which come from more southern regions.

Pattern

After a couple of experiments, and chatting with other weavers around the world, the pattern that is most likely to be accurate is this one–give or take a couple of additional border cards. More on that later.

This pattern, actually, has an additional border card on one side to create a more balanced design; it appears that the one in period had 8 cards instead of 9, but to create this piece in An Tir colors, I decided to add another black stripe on the other side. I like the symmetry. It appeals to my OCD nature.

Tools

Non-Period Loom Options

Warped onto my inkle loom; although not period, it is my preferred method of weaving as it is portable, maintains even tension, and sitting at a standard table, it provides ergonomic comfort…it also works in harmony with my life as a busy mom. I began weaving inkle some 25 years ago and invested in this loom (spent a whole $20 at an event for this) and it has been an invaluable tool!

Period Loom Options

Backstrap

Backstrap looms are a favorite among many weavers around the world. This was something I tried once or twice, but found that it restricted mobility as you’re tethered to a stationary object.

Box or Tape Loom

Box loom or tape loom. Photo by Reinsfelt, Anne-Lise. Used with permission from the Norsk Folkemuseum.

Box (or tape) looms are portable and very event-friendly, but can have tension issues, as the weaver has to be able to warp the loom with some expertise. It also requires the use of a warping board or a similar technique to measure all the lengths of warp at once before loading it onto the loom. These appear later in the Middle Ages, around the 1400s, so not quite Norse period appropriate.

Oseberg looms would be ideal for this project, as it was found at the same dig as the woven piece. They can be designed to come apart for easy transport and look fantastic while working on them at events. It can, however, be uncomfortable to work at for long periods as it requires the weaver to sit next to the work and twist the torso.

https://eugenetextilecenterblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/medieval_tablet_weaving.jpg — Oseberg style loom

This is a modern portable design of tabletop Oseberg loom which can work if clamped to the table, but that also requires some skill at managing tension. Like the box loom, you must also have a warping board to measure out all your warps before loading and threading the cards. I find this one is a little long for easy use, but I may try to make a shorter version.

Tabletop Oseberg loom that I made for portable projects.

Warp Weighted

I recall someone suggesting using a warp weighted loom to do tablet weaving, but that doesn’t seem practical. Warp weighted looms require space to set up and a wall for the loom to lean against, and the weaver stands at the loom to work. It seems like a whole lot of loom for such a small project. It’s definitely not portable. I have seen theories on how tablet weaving may have been done as edge finish on a project and worked at the same time as the rest of the fabric was woven (I haven’t done any serious research on this yet). There are ways that one could do warp-weighted weaving with tablets on a small scale, but nothing that I could find in period that demonstrates this technique.

Cards

My preferred cards are 3 1/4″ Schacht tablet weaving cards as they have color coding on the edges. This is ideal for checking the position of the cards at a glance, which is much more helpful in complex patterns, where cards are turning forwards and backwards in the same pick and should return to the ‘home’ position at the end of a sequence; if you make a mistake and they are not turned correctly, you can see this immediately. I find it to be a great visual cue. They are a bit bigger than period cards, however–those found in the Oseberg dig were about 2 1/2″ wide.

Period Card Options

In period, bone, wood, antler, leather, and other materials were used to make cards. I have a few now that are made from wood, and they work well for some projects although I find that they don’t turn as smoothly as other materials. Perhaps over time they will become smoother with use. I have probably 300 cardboard ones that have fallen into my possession over the years, so I do not lack for supply at this point.

Textiles found on the Oseberg Viking ships shown with tablet-weaving cards. Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway.Textiles found on the Oseberg Viking ships in 1904 shown with tablet-weaving cards. Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway. Oseberg 34D tablet woven band pictured here (not the piece I’m recreating). Based on this image, I estimate these wooden cards are about 2 1/2″ across.

My Experiments in Weaving

8/4 Cotton Warp

I made multiple pieces for this Oseberg 12L1 re-creation. The first using Maysville 8/4 Carpet Warp, which is 100% cotton. 8 cards were used in this pattern, and using this yarn yielded a width of 10 mm (1 cm) in the finished project. Given that the original measured 5 mm, I knew I needed to use something much finer.

Oseberg 12L1 in Maysville 8/4 Carpet Warp, 100% cotton

60/2 Silk

My second attempt at this pattern was using 60/2 silk that I had on hand (purchased a little more than a year ago from Eowyn the Weaver on Etsy). This is the same silk that I used in the French tablet weaving that I did last year from 7th century Merovingian Queen Bathilde, which resulted in a near-perfect match for finished size; the original was 18 mm and mine finished at 15 mm.

Wanting to create a slightly different esthetic to this piece with balanced borders using colors that mimic other Scandinavian narrow bands, I altered the pattern slightly, adding 3 extra cards to the borders, but the finished width was still only 4 mm; significantly smaller than the original.

4 mm finished piece. I needed my readers to see what I was doing.

Size 10 Crochet Cotton

I decided to warp up a very small project on the Oseberg table loom with size 10 crochet cotton. It’s what I have on hand and given the pandemic and limited ability to search for other options in the stores…we’ll go with it.

And wouldn’t you know it…it’s a match! 5 mm exactly! So if silk is not available, this is the size you can use for period tablet weaving.

20/2 Silk

I ordered some 20/2 silk, which was listed as ‘lace weight’ yarn, hoping that the slightly larger size would yield better, and more size-appropriate, results. Discussions with one of my Oseberg connections suggests that this would be the proper size thread. I warped up the loom in the 20/2 silk to test the size and it’s exactly the right size!

Further Research

Note the loops in the bottom side of the woven piece.

Brand new research–and I mean the book is due out next month–is that the band appears to have had a few additional threads added on the edges, possibly in linen or some other vegetable fiber, that has deteriorated over time. Bente Skogsaas, a weaver from Norway who has authored this book, noted in her study of the piece that the weft has small loops on the edges, as if there were more threads that had been there but had decayed. She suggests that it’s possible that they found it difficult to sew through the silk to attach the weaving onto garments, so the linen threads added to the edge was easier to sew through. I agree with this hypothesis and contend that sewing through the linen is more forgiving to that kind of abuse than the silk. I can imagine that silk might pucker or gape in an unattractive way if you sew through it. Also, if the silk needs to be removed for laundering the garment or attaching to a new garment, it would put the wear and tear on the linen instead of the silk.

Adding this linen border would increase the overall width of the woven piece; however, it would not change the look and dimensions of the main part of the design. Perhaps in the future, I’ll try weaving a piece using linen on the edges to see how this changes the width and if it makes a difference in attaching the woven piece to a garment.

Future Weaving Projects

Hallstatt 3

There are many more period bands to research and recreate, and more videos to be made for new weavers. I still have 18 more woven bands to finish for the Laurel Kingdoms video series project, and the next one (a sneak peek for you all!) is going to be a throw back to ancient times, the Hallstatt 3 band (HallTex 152) for the Kingdom of Atenveldt, which dates to 800-400 BCE. Some fantastic research was done on this piece three years ago and revealed a lot of great information about this fragment. The original was made in wool and I’m tempted to invest in a couple cones of weaving wool, but I need to find a source of affordable lace weight yarn that is strong enough for weaving.

Icelandic Brocade

Also, one of the items I will be weaving for a future project will be a brocade pattern, a weaving style that I have only done a very small amount of…about 3″ worth.

There is a project I’ve picked out to do and it has the least amount of brocade possible that would still qualify it as a brocade.

Reconstruction of the tablet woven band from Reykjasel i Jökuldal by Aisling.

The only part of this design that is a brocade is the white zig zag across the top. This will be a great way for me to dip my toe into the waters of brocade without being overwhelmed, like I was in my first project.

Køstrup Brocade

The Køstrup band is another one that I’m thinking about doing which has a series of different brocade designs and looks really stunning. This find was in a 10th century grave from Denmark.

http://urd.priv.no/pics/viking/kostrup/x584.jpg Extant Kostrup band
http://www.shelaghlewins.com/tablet_weaving/gallery/kostrup_band.png

http://www.shelaghlewins.com/tablet_weaving/gallery/kostrup_band.png — Weaving by Shelagh Lewins, photo used with permission.
A free pattern is available from TwistedThreads.org

I’m looking forward to learning and teaching more using the online platforms, and–when this plague leaves us behind–teaching in person when possible.

Bibliography

Gundersen, Kristine. Viking Age Dyes: A Brief Overview. 2013 (Also Tournaments Illuminated #191, 2014). https://www.academia.edu/4652690/Viking_Age_Dyes-_A_Brief_Overview
Kjell S-e Bull-Sveen blog: https://vevstua.bull-sveen.net/?p=5556.
Lester-Makin, Alexandra. The Lost Art of the Anglo-Saxon World: The Sacred and Secular Power of Embroidery, 2019.
Lewins, Shelagh. https://www.shelaghlewins.com/tablet_weaving/gallery/kostrup_notes.htm
Norsk Folkemuseum. https://norskfolkemuseum.no/
Pasanen, Mervi. Applesies and Fox Noses. ISBN 978-952-5774-49-8, Salakirjat, 2013. https://www.salakirjat.com/product/159/applesies-and-fox-noses—finnish-tabletwoven-bands
Priest-Dorman, Carolyn. Colors, Dyestuffs, and Mordants of the Viking Age: An Introduction. https://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikdyes.html
Skogsaas, Bente. Blog. http://www.findglocal.com/NO/T%C3%B8nsberg/733085720422001/Oseberg-tablet-weave
Skogsaas, Bente. Oseberg Tablet Weave Book I (34D) and Osebert Tablet Weave Book II (not yet published) https://www.facebook.com/bente.skogsaas/
Thunem, Hilde. http://urd.priv.no/viking/kostrup.html
Twisted Threads Kostrup pattern. https://twistedthreads.org/pattern/zn6qDBWB5QJ4mJJHw
University Museum of Norway Photo portal http://www.unimus.no/foto/#/search?q=Oseberg%20brikkevev*&museum=KHM
Viking Ship Museum https://www.khm.uio.no/english/visit-us/viking-ship-museum/exhibitions/oseberg/
Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oseberg_Ship#Burial_mound

Other Projects – Gallery

A gallery of images of other stuff I’ve been working on.

6th century tablet weaving for Birka Coat
Birka Coat
Six Board Box made in class from AMR
Inspiration photo for Pink Ladies Dress
The Pink Ladies Dress, 12th Night 2020
Oseberg 12L1
Oseberg variation
Ladoga Burial Mound, Karelia, Russia, 10-12th c.
Ladoga Burial Mound, Karelia, Russia, 10-12th c. skip hole variation
Birka 12, Sweden, 9th c.
Oseberg 12L1, silk
German 14th century
Checky fabric created from linen squares for Royal Sleeves, Sept Crown 2019
Checky linen, detail
Karelia, Russia 10-13th c.
Wool scouring, July 2020
Beading Royal sleeve for 12th Night 2020
Group applique on Royal Sleeve for 12th Night 2020

10 Replies to “Teaching Tablet Weaving During the Plague and Beyond”

‘Izza al-Dimashqiyaa ‘Izza al-Dimashqiyaa says:
July 14, 2020 at 3:19 pm Edit

You are my hero!

I took an class at an event and had so much fun I invested in a loom, cards, books, etc and then when I tried to sit down and do it at home…no luck. Every time I try to get started I can’t seem to get past the warping! Thank you so much for not just teaching, but truly starting at the beginning with warping, patterns, etc. I have now subscribed to your channel and will work on dusting off my cards and giving it another try. Thank you!!
Reply
Eowyn de Wever says:
July 14, 2020 at 12:41 pm Edit

The one comment on the warp weighted loom; I’ve seen two variants. One is a long board on a table, and the weights dangle off the end. (See Guntram, for instance.) The other is very similar to a setup for a viking tent, only with a much smaller top pole. On each side, you have two poles that meet at the top; mine has cord between the two poles around mid height so that the legs don’t spread apart too far.

The latter setup for me works nicely in front of the tv.
Reply
Elisabeth de Rossignol Elisabeth de Rossignol says:
July 13, 2020 at 8:53 pm Edit

I am currently checking out the YouTube videos. Congratulations and well done! You’re quite right that many instructional videos on YouTube don’t really address what the beginner needs to know, and recognizing this gap and addressing this is a real public service. I look forward to hearing more about your work and future plans.
Reply
Gwennan nic Ailpien says:
July 13, 2020 at 8:36 pm Edit

Greetings from the Hon Gwennan nic Ailpein in Shire of Lost Moor in Calontir!

I was very happy to see the advanced level of research and card weaving you have been doing. Cuz wow! Its wonderful to hear that you are teaching as well! I am glad to see that you also researched the different types of looms that were used with card weaving. Very nice!

Card weaving is not my specific specialty; I spin and weave, but on different types of looms as well as dyeing. I process the raw sheep wool into useable fiber and then spin and weave it.

I would love to chat with you in some way. I have a few questions for you concerning card weaving. I hope you will email me.

Have you done any dyeing or used handspun yarn for your projects?

I really enjoyed reading about and
seeing your wonderful work. Thank you for doing this!
Reply
Viscountess Kerij-e Viscountess Kerij-e says:
July 13, 2020 at 8:57 pm Edit

Hon Gwennan, you are welcome to sign up as a Participant and request a 1:1 meeting! ~ Kerji-e, Athenaeum Staff
Reply
Katelijne van der Ast Katelijne van der Ast says:
July 13, 2020 at 3:50 pm Edit

Hi Elewys,
Always a pleasure to see your work! I subscribed to your youtube channel as my daughter is interested in starting to tablet weave. Thank you so much for the wonderful examples and clear process steps.
Reply
Elonda Blue Haven says:
July 10, 2020 at 9:45 am Edit

Very interesting. I was just going to watch a portion of your video and ended up watching the whole thing. You have such a great teaching presence. I have a book on Latvian cardweaving that I picked up in Riga last September. I really would like to see your take on some of the items in there. It is written in Latvian but the pictures are in English.
Reply
Margaret Hamilton of Stirlingshire says:
July 9, 2020 at 7:07 pm Edit

Good angle on the video! That Oseberg pattern has quickly become a favourite, interesting to hear about the linen edge threads. Great article. Thank you!
Reply
Guido d’Aquila says:
July 9, 2020 at 6:48 pm Edit

I love the tablet weaving you have done. I’ve just started in the past two months and have jumped in with both feet. 50 bands so far. It would be great to chat some time.
Reply
Elewys of Finchingefeld Elewys of Finchingefeld says:
July 9, 2020 at 6:49 pm Edit

Sure! I would love to!
Reply

Exhibit Table of Contents

My Year in Review
Teaching at Home & Abroad
Enter “Weave Along With Elewys”
Building Skills
A Close Look at Oseberg 12L1, 834 AD
Goal
Extant Object
Materials
Colors
Pattern
Tools
Non-Period Loom Options
Period Loom Options
Backstrap
Box or Tape
Oseberg
Warp Weighted
Cards
Period Card Options
My Experiments in Weaving
8/4 Cotton Warp
60/2 Silk
20/2 Silk
Size 8 Crochet Cotton
Further Research
Future Weaving Projects
Hallstatt 3
Icelandic Brocade
Køstrup Brocade
Bibliography
Other Projects – Gallery

About the Exhibitor

Elewys of Finchingefeld Elewys of Finchingefeld
Branch: Barony of Aquaterra

Enthusiastic student, focusing on tablet weaving, lampworking, spinning & costuming. Serving Mistress Isolde as both apprentice & protégé for the last 5 years.

Athenaeum 2020

Thoughts on Period Looms

I was thinking a bit tonight on period looms. We all want to go to a demo and use a period loom and wear our historic clothing and really look the part. Like we just stepped out of a medieval illustration.

In the SCA and in our modern lives, however, we often have to make concessions for budget, availability, accessibility, and ergonomics. I have usually done all my weaving on an inkle loom, which, to be frank, is a 19th century invention. However, I find it much more easy to work on, transport, maintain tension on my work, and most importantly, not hurt my back.

I have made a few other looms to weave on and have experimented with weaving on them with varying degrees of success.

The biggest one I made was this warp-weighted loom that I created using scraps from the garage. I based it on a number of drawings from books like Marta Hoffman’s “The Warp Weighted Loom” and several historic images.

Overall, it worked well, although I did decide that it could be a little bit shorter to better accommodate my height (or lack thereof). The weights were just bags of gravel, the yarn was wool, and the selvedge edge (across the top) was a woven piece with long wefts that became the warps of the project. I was able to weave a little bit on it, but it required standing and a fair amount of wall space. As this was a prototype and an experiment, I ended up packing it away and it’s living in the garage at the moment. I didn’t do any tablet weaving on it, however, and it seemed like much more tool than necessary for a narrow band. I have read about people doing the fabric weaving and using tablet weaving as part of the side selvedges, but this wasn’t included in my experiment.

Many people LOVE backstrap weaving, but I have tried it several times with NO success. It is ergonomically challenging and always ends in back pain for me. I did see this option of using two fixed points to weave, but this is also difficult to do in a place like a hotel lobby…

Looking to make something more portable, and easy to manufacture in bulk to teach a class, my friend and I made a bunch of “surfboard” looms. It was 1 x 4 lumber, a couple small blocks and some long screws and nuts (although this prototype has hex nuts, we swapped them out for wing nuts as they were easier to tighten by hand). It worked…mostly… There were some tension issues, but overall it was a workable loom for a class…but still not very period.

This loom was hexed, but later had wingnuts

The next couple of experiments were rigid heddle and I didn’t do much with them as I was struggling with the tensioning systems…but then I tried making a 3D printed loom. Hubby has a printer and I thought it would be fun to try making it. After making several modifications from the original rigid heddle loom, I created this simple frame loom. In the end, very few parts were 3D printed–just the corner pieces and the ratchet and pawl assembly, which didn’t work quite as well as I needed–the pawl keeps popping out under tension. I did weave a couple pieces on it and it worked OK. It was a fun experiment, at least!

This is similar (at least in method) to the box looms of the later Middle Ages, like this image: La Noble Pastorale from c 1500. It is rather hard to see what’s going on here (blurry), but it’s clearly meant for narrow band weaving. It is more box-like, not a frame.

La Noble Pastorale (tapestry) Loire region about 1500 Paris, Musee du Louvre Scan from Medieval Tapestry Dora Heinz Crown 1965 plate 14 (Detail)

The next collection of looms are based on this pile of sticks–the Oseberg loom.

Grave robbers took all the valuables, but they left the good stuff behind!

This remarkable find from the Oseberg farm in Norway dates to the 9th century which includes an unfinished piece of weaving with a whole bunch of cards. This is an upright loom that looks something like this:

From Machtdasglücklich Oderkanndasweg, found on Pinterest.

I love this modified loom design because it looks like it breaks down for easy transport! This is ideal for demo purposes and small vehicles.

Also, there are a number of medieval images of women using similar set ups for weaving, like this one:

The plans for this loom were found on Pinterest, also.

With a few modifications, it can be made into a break-down loom!

I took a class many years ago (in the 90s) from Master Fiacha, also a tablet weaver in An Tir, and he created these portable Oseberg-style table looms. It is a simple 2 x 4 and a couple dowels, and requires a clamp to hold it on the table, but it is a fairly usable tool.

It was rather LONG, however, so I thought I’d try to create a more portable size using the original loom as inspiration.

With just a couple of pieces of dimensional lumber, a couple of dowels, and 4 screws, this little loom went together quickly. It stands just over a foot tall and about 18″ long. It fits easily into a carry on bag, ready to fly off to exotic locales for vacation weaving!

I loaded up a project on it and worked it for a while, getting used to the angle and the wobbly nature of the cards as I worked. It was different, but not unmanageable.

So for future demos, I will be bringing the little Oseberg table loom with me to work on projects. It’s small and portable and fun to work on!

Elewys

Weave Along with Elewys, Episode 1: Oseberg, 834 AD

I have created these blog posts as an addendum to the YouTube videos: Weave Along With Elewys. While some people learn very well from videos, others learn well from written directions and still images. This blog post will serve that need. I also need to have copies of the patterns that I use in the series available for weavers, and a central location to put them, so this blog will serve that need as well.

We haven’t been able to fully launch the project yet due to mundane demands (we expect it to be ready very soon). Despite the coronavirus Stay at Home orders, mundane work still gets in the way of filming and editing, especially the Intro to Tablet Weaving episode, which is going to be longer than the others as it covers all the materials and tools as well as techniques. I am struggling to do video taping while there are kids, a working husband, and birds in the house, so if you hear thumping, yelping, laughing, chirping, squawking, or another ambient noises, please forgive me. I’m doing the best I can with the resources at hand.

Note: one of the things that I will have to assume in this series is that the weavers are using an inkle loom. If you are using a backstrap, warp-weighted, or box loom, you may need to consult with other resources for directions on how to warp and anchor those.

Old oak inkle loom purchased second hand sometime around 1992 and has helped me produce hundreds of yards of inkle and tablet woven bands. Working on finding a name for it…

The first episode is a pattern from the Oseberg dig, dating solidly in the Norse era, 834 AD. A large burial mound was discovered at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway. The ship and some of its contents are displayed at the Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy, Oslo. Among its finds were a loom (commonly called the Oseberg loom), weaving tablets, and a work in progress (known as 34D), as well as this silk piece. The original measured only 5 mm wide–a diminutive little weave–but we’ll do ours in a larger cotton rug warp for this demonstration.

As we have just celebrated the SCA’s 55th birthday, I decided to couple this project with a celebration of the Kingdoms of the Known World in the SCA. I’ve decided to weave 20 pieces in this series in the colors of each of the Kingdoms. The first Kingdom formed was the Kingdom of the West, in 1966. It comprises Northern California, Nevada, Alaska, Japan, Korea and the Pacific Rim. This is where it all started–with a backyard party that turned into an international medieval history organization with tens of thousands of members in 20 kingdoms. All of the Kingdoms, origin dates and colors are, in order:

The West Kingdom was created when the Society originated in 1966. Colors: green and yellow.
The Kingdom of the East was created in 1968. Colors: yellow and purple.
The Middle Kingdom was created in 1969. Colors: red, white and green.
The Kingdom of Atenveldt was created in 1971. Colors: white, yellow and blue.
The Kingdom of Meridies was created in 1978. Colors: black and white.
The Kingdom of Caid was created in 1978. Colors: blue and white.
The Kingdom of Ansteorra was created in 1979. Colors: yellow, black and red.
The Kingdom of Atlantia was created in 1981. Colors: green, white and blue.
The Kingdom of An Tir was created in 1982. Colors: yellow, white and black.
The Kingdom of Calontir was created in 1984. Colors: purple and yellow.
The Kingdom of Trimaris was created in 1985. Colors: blue and white.
The Kingdom of the Outlands was created in 1986. Colors: green and yellow.
The Kingdom of Drachenwald was created in 1993. Colors: red, yellow and black.
The Kingdom of Artemisia was created in 1997. Colors: black and yellow.
The Kingdom of Æthelmearc was created in 1997. Colors: white, red and black.
The Kingdom of Ealdormere was created in 1998. Colors: white, red and green.
The Kingdom of Lochac was created in 2002. Colors: red, white and blue.
The Kingdom of Northshield was created in 2004. Colors: White, yellow and black.
The Kingdom of Gleann Abhann was created in 2005. Colors: red, white and black.
The Kingdom of Avacal was created in 2015. Colors: red, white and yellow.

So let’s get started by celebrating the Kingdom of the West!

The Oseberg weave will make Os on one side and zig-zags on the other. Makes a great belt or trim on an apron dress or tunic.

Alternatively, this pattern, which is more historically accurate, has boxes on both sides. It is just as easy to weave!

Reading the pattern: squares with a white background are turned forward–away from the weaver. Squares with a grey background are turned backward–towards the weaver. I marked this pattern with the reverse after 10 and 12 turns so you can see what the reverses look like, but you don’t have to reverse so soon. In this particular pattern, the cards all turn the same direction until the warp is over-twisted, then all reversed until they not only become untwisted, but over-twisted in the opposite direction….then it’s back to forward turning again. Repeat this until you reach the end of your warp.

Technique refresher:

Warp your cards with the top of the card facing to the right–this is important if your cards are labeled clockwise. If they are labeled counterclockwise (anti-clockwise), face the tops of the cards to the left.

This is my preferred brand of cards–clearly labeled and colored sides are great visual cues to me while I’m weaving.

Get out your Lazy Kate (or whatever facsimile you create…mine is simply a Amazon Prime box with a couple of dowels stabbed through it) and load up your threads.

Thread your cards, making sure to keep your S and Z diagram handy to make sure you are going through the cards correctly.

It’s easiest to tie the four threads together for each card, using a surgeon’s knot. It’s similar to a square knot, but has a double throw for the first pass, rather than a single. This makes it easier to untie to adjust tension or to correct mistakes–and trust me, you will make mistakes…we all do.

Once all your cards are threaded, double check your work to make sure they are correctly S and Z threaded and that the colors are in the correct hole. Once you have given it the final inspection, ready your shuttle! I wrap a bunch of warp around the top of the shuttle, in a figure 8 pattern, to keep the thickness of the shuttle to a minimum.

Your belt shuttle only needs to be 5″ or 6″ long, and works best if it has a tapered edge for beating.

I begin by setting all the cards with AD at the top and slip the tail through the shed so the shuttle is on the left and a 4″ tail is on the right. Turn the cards forward (away from you) and throw the shuttle and the tail in opposite directions, criss-crossing through the shed. This will help anchor the tail and prevent unraveling later. Turn the cards again, beating the weave, and throwing the shuttle, leaving a loop behind. On the next pass, turn the cards, snug up the weft, beat and pull the shuttle through. Don’t be over-zealous on the weft; gently pull the weft thread to pull the warp threads together. Do four turns total so that AD is back at the top again. The first few passes are going to look a hot mess…don’t panic. It’ll get better as you go, and your tension gets more consistent with practice.

Keep weaving along until the twist gets too tight, or every so often (maybe every 10 or 20 repeats, or whenever it moves you), then reverse direction to untwist. You will develop a funny little bump on the edge of the weave–don’t panic…it’s completely normal. The finer the threads you use, the less noticeable it is.

When the pattern changes directions, the threads on the border cards leave an odd lump. This is less noticeable using finer threads.

Every so often, you will need to release the tension on the loom, and shift it to continue your work. As you work, you will notice that the length of the weave is getting shorter and shorter…you will lose up to 20% of the warp length from start to finish.

When you get to the end of the warp, you will have 6″ or 8″ left between the end of the weave and the knots tied…remember you will also have the width of the cards and the shuttle between the beginning and end…so if you want to get a minimum length of weaving for a project, you will need to factor that into your warp length.

Some weavers carefully untie all their knots and tie up the ends in a variety of ways. I used to twist and knot the threads, but lately, I’ve decided that it’s far more effort than it’s worth, so I just leave a half inch of fringe and chop off the excess. If you plan on sewing it down as part of trim on a garment, it will likely have the ends tucked inside the seams. It hasn’t unraveled yet, at least using the carpet warp or wool, but finer threads like silk might be more trouble.

I hope this has been a helpful tutorial, and I hope you find the videos helpful as well. I look forward to hearing about my fellow weavers’ projects and anything that I have presented that you, and I’d love to see your completed projects!

I also wanted to give a shout out and direct you all to a tablet weaving generator that I use a lot, created by a British woman named Catherine. It is both super useful and periodically updated (other generators like GTT haven’t been updated in more than a decade). It can be found at: https://jamesba.github.io/tabletweave/.

Coronavirus Quarantine

Many of us around the world are on a shelter-in-place order from their local bureaucrats. Those of us in the Seattle area have been on some kind of social distancing program since about mid-February, and we have been working from home and online learning for the last 3 weeks. This is going to get old really fast…

We got what? The virus? Isn’t that what we’re trying to AVOID?

But it’s giving me an opportunity to catch up on some projects and branch out into some new territory…for me.

I’m getting the finishing touches put on a Norse coat, and plan to make a few tunics and apron dresses to wear this summer…if we ever get out of this…

The last few feet of sewing the weaving down–pattern is a reproduction from the Karelia Burial ground, dated about 600 AD.

I’ve also been working on a costume project for Their Majesties of An Tir with a group of talented costumers. I’m so honored to be part of the team! I only hope that May Crown will not be cancelled and we can see our Royals in Their new clothes!

Coming soon: I’ll be doing an online tutorial for tablet weaving. Introducing the tools & materials, warping my loom and showing viewers how to read and follow a pattern. We’ve done most of the filming and it is now in the hands of my very capable producer/director.

Teaching Tablet Weaving During the Plague and BeyondAnd A Deep Dive into One Oseberg PatternMy Year in Review