tablet weaving – Lady Elewys of Finchingefeld, JdL, GdS

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

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

Hallstatt 186

Sorry it took a couple days to get this posted. Ooops!

This is the third of the tablet weaving pieces (the most famous, anyway) that were found in an Austrian salt mine that date from 400-500 BC.

Here’s the pattern!

If you produce this, or any of the patterns that I have provided through my videos and on this forum, please post them to Instagram or Facebook (or your social media platforms that you use) and use #weavealongwithelewys or #elewysoffinchingefeld. You can find me on Instagram at Elewys_Finchingefeld.

Have a great day!

Weave Along with Elewys, Ep. 33: Seydisfjordur Smokkr Weave

A landslide in 2020 uncovered a bunch of archaeological finds in a small village on the East coast of Iceland. Beads, a ring, and this fragment from a woman’s smokkr were found, and this piece of tablet weaving on the smokkr is a beautiful example of weaving from the 9th-11th centuries.

Top of the smokkr with woven trim, about 2 cm wide, and a loop for a broach

I think this is a decorative broach! Maybe not one that went with this dress….

Here’s pattern A. It’s not twist-neutral by itself, but weaving the reverse will untwist that pattern! See pattern B…

Pattern A courtesy of Marcelo Oliviera, Brazilian Speed Weaver 😀

Updated pattern B! If you were here on the first day, you will have noted there was an issue with the pattern–a few of the picks were missing at the end. I rebuilt the pattern and here it is!

And this is part B…weave both parts and it will create a twist-neutral repeat.

And just for a little more variety, there were a couple other motif ideas that I saw, so I drafted those up as well.

Another option with a “scissors” motif, version A

Another option with a “scissors” motif, version B

Brocade Tablet Weaving 101

If you have seen the video on Brocade Tablet Weaving, you will (hopefully) have a good idea how this technique is done. If you haven’t seen the video, you can go to it from this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY3KibRfwP4

If you would like to use the fragment of the Birka 2f pattern that I was using, you can print out my pattern here:

I probably should have colored the border cards blue, just to be clear…

The two outside cards are border cards and will be skipped. The inside cards are blue=background and white=silver foreground.

The blue yarn I used for the ground fabric is the Maurice Brassard 8/2 cotton. You can use two strings of 8/2 for the brocade, or use Maysville 8/4 cotton, or use all 6 strands of embroidery floss, whether a color or metal (or synthetic).

This pattern requires 13 cards–4 border cards and 9 pattern cards–and all cards are threaded alternating S and Z. It doesn’t matter if you start with S or Z, just as long as they alternate all the way across.

You also don’t need to have numbered cards or have them labeled clockwise or counterclockwise, or indeed labeled ABCD at all! You also don’t need to have AD at the top when you start the pattern. All threads are the same color!

This pattern is, therefore, one of the most forgiving in terms of set up.

Following along with the pattern, go OVER both of the threads in the white boxes and UNDER the threads (through the shed) where there are blue boxes. Drop the silver shuttle down at the border cards–the shuttle will not go through that shed. It will come up between the border cards and pattern cards, go over and under through the pattern cards, and back down before the border cards on the other side. This will create a sort of silver stitching on both sides of the back of the band, but not have the silver on the selvedge edge.

I had chosen to do just a small portion of the 2f pattern, but if you would like to chart out the entire pattern, you can do so yourself on grid paper (or an Excel spreadsheet, if you’re so inclined).

Good luck! And happy weaving!

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 24: Birka 2f

The last installment in the Laurel Kingdom series! Avacal!

I thought I would do one more Birka pattern to finish the set, this time choosing a design that I couldn’t find a pattern for. It gave me the opportunity to challenge myself to create a pattern from just a sketch. This is the sketch of Birka 2f that I found:

Birka 2f, found in Sweden, dated 8th-10th centuries

I used the Tabletweaving Draft Designer to create the patterns, which can be found at https://jamespbarrett.github.io/tabletweave/. A video to help you navigate the program and learn some of the features can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmPy61SSTP0&t=3s.

4-hole sample and pattern:

It really didn’t turn out how I imagined. It’s not terrible, but I wonder if it would look better using finer threads? That’s something I’ll have to try in the future.

Skip hole sample and pattern:

This turned out far better! Skip hole pattern. The border is the same but the middle cards create a much narrower piece with more defined designs.

Avacal is the newest Kingdom in the SCA, formed from Saskatchewan, Alberta and a tiny bit of BC; the eastern slope of the Rocky mountains. Their colors are yellow, white and red.

So there you have it! The final installment of the Laurel Kingdom series! I hope you enjoyed it and will start weaving up your own pieces and creating patterns of your own to share with others. I’m not sure what my next projects will be–perhaps I will go through Tablets at Work and learn all the different types of techniques that have been found through history.

Yours, the warped and twisted,

Elewys

Weave Along with Elewys: 20th EPISODE! Cambridge Diamonds

As you might have gleaned from the video, I encountered All The Problems. Good times. Fun stuff. BUT, I got there in the end.

And if you follow the pattern and the turning sequences, you should be JUST FINE…

The TDD version of the Cambridge Diamonds pattern.

Once you have this warped up–double check your work–you will separate your cards into two packs. All the odd numbered cards in one pack, and all the even numbered cards in another. The exception being that card #19 will be with the even numbered pack.

Place your weft thread into the shed with the tail hanging out on the right side, and the shuttle on the right. All cards should be in the AD position on the top.

Turn all the odd numbered cards forward (except 19, of course). Pass the shuttle to the right.
Turn all the even numbered cards forward (including 19). Pass the shuttle to the left.

That’s it. Repeat until your warp is over-twisted. To reverse the twist, follow this sequence:

Loosen your tension and flip all the cards so S are Z and vice-versa.
Tighten your tension and separate your cards into two packs, like before: a set of odds and a set of evens.
Move card #1 into the evens pack, and #19 back to the odds pack.
Turn all the EVEN numbered cards forward (including card #1). Pass the shuttle to the right.
Turn all the ODD numbered cards forward (excluding #1). Pass the shuttle to the left.
Repeat 4 and 5 until the warp is over-twisted again.

To reverse again, you need to make one additional change before flipping your cards. Do two more quarter turns (one quarter turn for each pack), so that AB are at the top. Then loosen your tension, flip your cards, move 1 to the odd pack and 19 to the even pack. Begin weaving starting with the ODD pack.

Weave Along with Elewys, Ep 19: Hochdorf 39

This is the finished piece I made after I figured out the pattern a few years ago.

The Hochdorf Chieftain’s Grave is a richly-furnished Celtic burial chamber found near Hochdorf an der Enz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, dating from 530 BC in the Hallstatt culture period. This is the same time period we also find the woven pieces in the salt mines of Austria that I shared with you a few weeks ago.

Most of the time, we think of Celts being almost exclusively in the British Isles, but that isn’t the only place where this cultural group was found 2500 years ago. The Celts are a collection of Indo-European peoples in parts of Western Europe that included modern day Poland, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, as well as the British Isles. There were also tribes of Celts that expanded as far East as Romania and Turkey.

They are identified by their use of the Celtic languages and other cultural similarities. They had no written language, so there is a lot we don’t know about how they expanded so far and why their culture died out everywhere except for the British Isles, remaining most notably in Ireland and Scotland. Many of the people were assimilated into the local cultures where they lived, logically, but it was the Romans that had the biggest influence of defeating the Celtic peoples throughout most of Europe, and only in pockets of the UK were the Celts able to hold back the Roman armies and maintain their culture and traditions long after the Romans left.

The burial chamber at Hochdorf dates to 520 to 530 BC. It was discovered in 1968 by an amateur archaeologist and excavated 10 years later from 1978 to 1979. By then, the burial mound covering the grave, which they estimate to have been originally 6 m (20 ft) in height and about 60 m (200 ft) in diameter, had shrunk to about 1 m (3 ft) in height due to centuries of erosion and agricultural use.

To completely dispel the myth that the Medieval people were all short and died young, the man found inside the chamber was roughly 6 ft 2 in (187 cm) tall and died at the ripe old age of 40. OK, 40 is young…but six feet TALL! Holy moly!

So this giant of a man, who they determined was a chieftain of a nearby village, was laid out on an a fantastic 9 ft (275 cm) bronze couch with eight wheels inside the burial chamber. He had been buried with a gold-plated torc on his neck, a bracelet on his right arm, a hat made of birch bark, a gold-plated dagger made of bronze and iron, amber jewelry, a razor knife, a nail clipper, a comb, fishing hooks, arrows, and most notably, thin embossed gold plaques which were on his now-disintegrated shoes. At the foot of the couch was a large cauldron decorated with three lions around the brim. This cauldron was originally filled with about 100 gallons (380 litres, or 666 pints) of mead. That’s a party for the afterlife! The east side of the tomb contained a wooden four-wheeled wagon with iron-plating holding a set of bronze dishes—along with the drinking horns found on the walls enough to serve nine people. The items found are kept at the museum Alte Schloss in Stuttgart.

Treasures from the burial mound (reconstruction)

The burial mound has been reconstructed for the museum with replicas of all the goods that were found to really give us a visual understanding of what ancient grave sites looked like, how it was laid out and just how dang impressive it was with all the items that were buried with those who had passed on. During the construction of the museum’s burial mound, the foundations of an ancient Celtic village were found, more than likely the one to which the chieftain belonged. These were, of course, incorporated into the museum. So in the building of the museum’s display for the Celtic Chieftain, they accidentally found his village. Some things are meant to be…and now he’s home. 😀

This dig was featured in a series called The Celts: Rich Traditions and Ancient Myths…and it’s on YOUTUBE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU1dKfMIEUQ&list=PL_Y6Qui9KStOQ9rVrBzOLkJO8hNiDtl8c

This is Hochdorf V, woven by Lise Raeder Knudsen.

In addition to all the riches, there were several pieces of tablet weaving found both on the wall hangings and other textiles. Dr. Johanna Banck-Burgess analysed the textiles and wrote her disertation on the research of the preserved textiles (Johanna Banck-Burgess: Hochdorf IV. Stuttgart 1999). You can read a little bit about Hochdorf IV here: http://tabletweaving.dk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Hochdorf-IV-bidrag.pdf. Hochdorf IV (object 1.42) is really complex…A reconstruction was woven using 98 tablets, and 6 cm wide using very fine thread. This is a life goal for me…

Actual learning piece that I struggled with, eventually chopping it off the loom in frustration.

The piece we’re going to look at today is this significantly simpler, jagged diamond piece called Hochdorf 39. This tablet woven border edged one of the wall hangings in the tomb and was made using the skip hole method. I’ve made it once before and it took several tries, three patterns, phoning a friend, and a lot of swearing it get it to work. Hopefully I can show you how to do this in a way that doesn’t cause you to curse like a sailor. If you’ve been weaving along with me, you’ll be familiar with this technique now, so you know what you need. (pencil)

Note: this is not a twist-neutral pattern, but I suspect that you can weave in reverse, as I showed in a previous video. Flip all your cards (S to Z or Z to S), and start weaving from line 32 (or 36–wherever you start) and work your way down to row 1.

We’re getting down to the last few Kingdoms in our Laurel Kingdoms project. This time we’re celebrating the Kingdom of Æthelmearc was created in 1997 from the Kingdom of the East. It covers northeastern/central/western Pennsylvania, central/western New York, and West Virginia. Their colors are gules, argent and or. That’s silver, red, and gold, for the non-heralds out there…or white, red and yellow, if your hoards of precious metals are depleted. It’s been a long, lean year….

This is a biggun…you’ll need 36 cards for this thing. Ready?

Weave Along with Elewys, Ep 17: Elisenhof E-417

This is a piece that is not as well known in the tablet weaving community and information is a little thin on the ground (at least in English). However, we do have this lovely image:

We also have a couple of experts who have put in their two cents on it: Egon Hansen in his book Tablet Weaving (pub 1990 Hovedland Press; ISBN 978-8777390470), and Hans-Jürgen Hundt, who wrote about it in a series of studies on the Coastal Archaeology of Schleswig-Holstein. Hansen suggested it was a 3-1 twill woven in wool and linen, whereas Hundt thought it was a single-color skip hole weave that gave it its texture. Other tablet weavers have tested out these theories and while the jury is still out, I am using a modified version of Hansen’s pattern using two colors.

Guido Gehlhaar from http://www.steinmaus.de/Mittelalter/weben/hansen/elisenhof.html provided a corrected version of the pattern, however it appeared to have a 14 pick repeat. I revised it to a 16 pick repeat here:

This is actually a modified pattern from what I used in the video–adjusting the threading pattern and putting pick #16 in the pick #1 position. It turns out exactly the same.

Edit, 7/5/2021: I was finally able to tinker with the pattern and created a method to reverse the pattern to untwist almost seamlessly. Weavers can just do picks 1-16 until the twist is unmanageable, then weave 17-32 until it is over-twisted in the other direction, then begin at 1-16 again. Alternatively, one could just weave 1-32 and repeat.

And this is the next installment in the Laurel Kingdom Project! The Kingdom of Artemisia was formed in AS XXIII (1997), the 14th Kingdom of the SCA. It currently covers Utah, Montana, southern Idaho and the parts of Colorado and Wyoming that are west of the Continental Divide. Their colors are black and yellow.

Special thanks to Aisling, a German tablet weaver, who gave me some jumping off points for research and provided her own theories about the construction of this piece.

Weave Along with Elewys, Ep 15: Zaltys 10th century Lithuanian

Archaeologists have produced a few tablet weaving pieces in their searches, including this one that was found in the 10th century grave of a woman from Paragaudis. In a book called North European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles X (edited by Eva B. Andersson Strand, Margarita Gleba, Ulla Mannering, Cherine Munkholt) there is a mention of this textile fragment that was found in grave 59. It’s a colorful wool band of red, grey and brown, although they are unsure what dye stuffs were used. The pattern of the stylized S motif is known as the ‘serpent’ pattern, which is found frequently in western Baltic countries; known as a žaltys in Lithuanian mythology, it is a sacred animal of the sun goddess Saulė, the guardian of the home and a symbol of fertility. Killing žaltys was said to bring great misfortunes upon the household, so people would find them in the fields, give it milk to befriend the creatures and sometimes even bring it home to keep as a pet, as it promised good harvests and wealth. Snakes in the house. That’s a nope.

I came across this archaeological image a few years ago, but I couldn’t find a pattern with it, so I had to figure it out on my own based on experience…but I’m always up for a challenge! Looking at the drawings, I guessed that it was probably a skip hole weave, based on the little dots on the edges between the S motifs. It looks very similar to a couple other patterns I had seen, so I was pretty sure that’s what I was looking at.

Drawing these sorts of things on paper is not easy…and doing physical experiments would be time consuming and use up a lot of materials, so I needed a better option. Luckily, I had just discovered the TDD! If you haven’t checked out the Tablet Weaving Draft Designer site, you should do that! It’s a very easy to use program, and Catherine and her husband James just did some updates recently, and Catherine made a YouTube video that walks you through how to use it.

So after tinkering with the pattern a bit, I came up with this…and warped it up to see how it looked…and it was a match!

Today’s Laurel Kingdom is the Kingdom of the Outlands! It was created in 1986 and encompasses New Mexico and Colorado, parts of Wyoming, the Nebraska panhandle, El Paso County and the Hudspeth County in Texas. Their colors are green and yellow. My favorite part is their heraldic banner, which has the same deer on it as the Deer Xing signs. Of course, the banners for An Tir has the Lowenbrau lion.

The original piece appears that it started with 16 picks of diagonal lines, but then follows with 56 picks to the sequence. If you want to weave the diagonal stripes into your piece, you can do that, or you can use one of the other options that I’ve included: a 56 pick pattern (without the diagonal stripes) or a 24 pick simplified pattern. I’ve also included options to untwist the pattern by weaving S motifs instead of Z. Dealer’s choice!

In the video, I erroneously identified this as a twist-neutral pattern, but discovered after doing several repeats that the twist was, in fact, building up. I modified the pattern to create a twist-neutral version, which is below:

Twist Neutral Serpents, simplified (24 picks x 2)

For this pattern, you can weave as-is, or you can weave picks 1-24 until it’s over-twisted, then weave picks 25-48 until it’s over-twisted in the opposite direction.

If you want to do the long version, here are the two parts to make it twist neutral.

Enjoy!

Elewys

Teaching Tablet Weaving During the Plague and BeyondAnd A Deep Dive into One Oseberg PatternMy 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 Loom

Oseberg

Warp Weighted

Cards

Period Card Options

My Experiments in Weaving

8/4 Cotton Warp

60/2 Silk

Size 10 Crochet Cotton

20/2 Silk

Further Research

Future Weaving Projects

Hallstatt 3

Icelandic Brocade

Køstrup Brocade

Bibliography

Teaching Tablet Weaving During the Plague and Beyond

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