This piece is a tablet-woven gold-brocaded purple silk trim made for a Viking man's hat. Since the hat will be worn by a 10th century Dublin Viking the colors and design were chosen with this in mind.
This piece is based on Band III from the Ruins of Hamar Cathedral in Norway (Bergli, 1998) dated between 1050-1230. A similar band, also from Hamar (Spies, 2000), is dated to the 11th Century. Initially I started with drafts based directly on the archaeological finds. As the weaving progressed I noticed certain features I liked and altered the pattern. After several iterations I ended up with 3 motifs repeating, each divided by a star-like motif. Below are shown Band III from the Cathedral (left) and a draft of the Spies piece from Hamar (right).
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My drafts: Below and left is the starting draft based on the exemplar. Below and center is an intermediate draft incorporating basic designs from several of the exemplar pieces. Below and right is the final draft. The final is based on a number of aesthetic changes made as the weaving progressed.
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Kreinik Japan #7 was chosen for its similar appearance to the original gold strip spun around a silk core. The original gold thread would have created an extremely stiff band and was prone to cutting through the silk where it was tied down at the ends of each pass. The Kreinik thread produces a slightly stiffer band than plain weave but not nearly as stiff as with real metal. It was also interesting to note that the brocade weft rarely appeared on the back at the tie-down points.
The 60/2 pre-dyed silk (.33mm diameter, s-plied) was chosen for its similar characteristics to the original thread (.25mm diameter, s-plied). Both single and plied threads were used in period tablet woven pieces. The charts below provide a brief comparison between this piece and various period samples (my piece is indicated in red and italics.)
| Sample | Width (cm) | Card Count | Warp Ct./CM | Weft count (cm) |
| Valgardr - Purple Brocade | 0.8 | 25 | 31 | 15 |
| Memmelsdorf (Spies #24) | 1.4 | 32 | 23 | 15 |
| Dublin (Pritchard, 1992) | 4.2 | 61 | 15 | 20 |
| Memmelsdorf (Spies #25) | 0.6 | 17 | 28 | 22 |
| Cingulum (Spies #29) | 3.6 | 96 | 27 | 26 |
| Birka (Spies #28) | 3 | 84 | 28 | 32 |
| Trondheim (Spies #31) | 0.9 | 23 | 26 | ? |
| Hamar III (Bergli, Band III) | 0.95 | 25 | 26 | ? |
| Rodrigo (Spies #32) | 1.6 | 41 | 26 | ? |
| Trondheim(Spies #30) | 1.7 | 41 | 24 | ? |
| Leonor (Spies #34-35) | 5.8 | 155 | 27 | ? |
Threads dyed purple from lichen have been found in leg-bindings from London and York, 9th-10th Century (Beatson, 1995) and also in nalebinding from Dublin c.917-1169 (Pritchard, 1992). Most of the brocade finds have been identified as dyed red from madder; however no color is indicated for the two exemplars. This piece was done in purple for personal taste and its striking contrast with the gold thread.
The brocade weft was doubled up to get a fuller appearance as was common in period. Spun-Gold brocade is doubled in numerous finds from the 11th-15th Century. (Spies, #21,26,32,36,40). The two brocade wefts were passed in opposite directions, as when taken together the two threads would twist and not cover as well. The tie-downs were done using two-threads to make them more distinct, both single and double tie-downs are used in period. The brocade weft was brought to the back of the piece 2 cards from each side. This was to hide the tie-downs underneath, but ironically they barely showed there anyway. This is most likely because the kreinik thread is more flexible than real metal. This piece is 25 cards wide for a woven width of approximately ¼".
The exemplar was likely woven on a post loom similar to that found on the Oseberg ship. The tablets would have been made of wood, bone, or leather, and would have been about 1 ½" square. This piece was woven on an inkle loom for portability and space concerns. I used modern cardboard cards (3" square) for convenience. In addition to being kinder to the hands (I have carpal-tunnel) they also provide a larger shed which helps when managing 3 wefts at once.
