It's not perfect but I used the Russian join to add new pieces of yarn and it turned out a lot tidier than my hat.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
My Final Project
Here is my last attempt at nalbinding for the project. I'm sorry it could not be ready for the presentation!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Evolution of my Nalbinding
 |
| From Left to Right: First attempts, to my present headband |
A month ago when I first began nalbinding, I was quite simply terrible and It was not a positive start, granted if only because, I have little to no back round in needle or craft work. I am pleased, however, to say that I can now make proper pieces, by use of the Oslo stitch. I wanted to try and make a pair of gloves or mittens but unfortunately I didn't have enough time so I settled for a headband to decorate my teddy bear for the presentation.
 |
| It's difficult to see but this is the Coopergate/York stitch |
I had attempted to also work on the Coopergate or York stitch but found it difficult to practice both types enough to be good at both, in the limited time I had. Also I noticed that it was much easier to make mistakes in terms of dropping a stitch and having gaps in the piece with the Coopergate/York variation.Which is why as a beginner I decided to focus on the somewhat easier Oslo stitch.
 |
| My first successful try at joining pieces aka nalbinding in the round |
Basically I wanted to see what I could use at home, or at least without having to buy new material and I got lucky because it seems I have a slight inclination towards chopstick collection...I have lots of different kinds. Now the ones I have are made of proper wood, not the recycled ones at most places that are disposable. I did try with a round brown one first... but it didn't really work because once I got the piece thin enough, I accidentally broke it, the wood was apparently more prone to breaking when thinned down.
 | |
| The one I used the most was the 3rd from bottom (apologies, I couldn't get the image to rotate...) |
I suppose over the course of this past month or so, I've actually grown quite fond of nalbinding, it's enjoyable once you begin to understand the movements and get good at the method, with enough practice of course. I will probably try and continue my practice, maybe even make those mittens before Christmas, fingers crossed!
Comparisons and Observations, as well as Materials Research
Comparison of Nalbinding to Knitting
Overall, I found knitting to be much faster than nalbinding. Completing a row of 10 knit stitches took about 20-30 seconds, while 10 Oslo stitches took around 2.5 minutes. Part of this difference in time could be attributed to my relative lack of experience in nalbinding as compared to knitting. However, I am also quite amateurish where knitting is concerned, and the difference in time/stitch also seemed noticeable when videos of people knitting and nalbinding were compared. Knitting also was more efficient in that you did not have to stop as often to add on more yarn.
Additionally, the use of two needles in knitting, instead of a needle and a thumb, made it significantly easier to keep the stitches uniform. This was one of my main struggles in nalbinding, as the wool would slip from wider to thinner portions of my thumb as I worked. Nalbinding also had to be worked in the round, where knitting can be worked into a square or in the round.
I did find that the product achieved through nalbinding was much denser than knitting, and so could potentially be warmer. However, this could also be attributed to the fact that I used only plied yarn for knitting, and used mostly non-plied yarn for nalbinding.
Comparison of Yarn Types (Plied vs. Non-Plied)
Although I used mainly non-plied yarn in my nalbinding, I did make a few attempts using plied yarn. I found the plied to be easier to work with, as the stitches were more spaced out, and 'visible', but I preferred the results of the projects made with the non-plied wool. The final product made with non-plied had less gaps, and was much thicker than the plied work. However, the non-plied wool had a tendency to 'stick' to itself, and was far harder to untangle. It was also weaker than the plied, as I didn't need scissors to break off strands, it could just be pulled and snapped with the tension.
Comparison of Needle Types
I also made one of the chopstick needles, and tried it out on a row of Oslo stitch. I found it to be harder to use then the shorter, metal needle, mostly because I found the size was less 'clumsy' to maneuver. I also found that the metal needle slid much better, the wood had a tendency to catch as it was being pulled through, particularly when using the non-plied wool. Having said this, I might find a needle made of bone or something of the sort preferable to wooden needles, or perhaps a shorter wooden needle.
Materials Used
Although wool seems to be quite prominent as a material used, there has also been discussion regarding the use of plant based fibres in Viking textile production (Jorgenson, 1990; Skoglund, 2013). Jorgenson speaks mostly about pre-Viking age Northern Europe, focusing primarily on the Stone Age. Although this is quite long before the time period in question (the Viking Age), it is relavant in that it is noted that most textiles from this time period seem to be made of vegetable fibre (such as flax and willow). This indicates that these are materials which would have been readily available in the region, seeing as it would be some time before the arrival of the domestic sheep in Northern Europe (Jorgenson, 1990).
By the time the Viking Age came about, domesticated sheep would have become much more widespread, and it seems likely that their wool would have been adopted into use by textile producers. However, the possibility that vegetable fibres continued to be used throughout textile production remains, and is supported by Skoglund et al. (2013). He argues that hemp and flax continued to be used, alongside wool, in the production of both coarse (sails, etc) and fine (clothing, etc.) textiles. In his study, ten samples of locally produced textiles dated to the Viking Age were tested, with four being found to contain hemp mixed in with the wool fibre (Skoglund et. al, 2013). This, he feels, is evidence which suggests that plant material continued to be used in textile manufacture, despite the adoption of wool.
Sources
Jorgenson, L.B., (1990). Stone-Age textiles in North Europe. Textiles in Northern Archaeology, 1-10.
Skoglund, G., Nockert, M., & Holst, B., (2013). Viking and early middle ages northern scandinavian textiles proven to be made with hemp. Scientific Reports, 3, 2686.
Overall, I found knitting to be much faster than nalbinding. Completing a row of 10 knit stitches took about 20-30 seconds, while 10 Oslo stitches took around 2.5 minutes. Part of this difference in time could be attributed to my relative lack of experience in nalbinding as compared to knitting. However, I am also quite amateurish where knitting is concerned, and the difference in time/stitch also seemed noticeable when videos of people knitting and nalbinding were compared. Knitting also was more efficient in that you did not have to stop as often to add on more yarn.
Additionally, the use of two needles in knitting, instead of a needle and a thumb, made it significantly easier to keep the stitches uniform. This was one of my main struggles in nalbinding, as the wool would slip from wider to thinner portions of my thumb as I worked. Nalbinding also had to be worked in the round, where knitting can be worked into a square or in the round.
I did find that the product achieved through nalbinding was much denser than knitting, and so could potentially be warmer. However, this could also be attributed to the fact that I used only plied yarn for knitting, and used mostly non-plied yarn for nalbinding.
 |
| Knitting Swatch |
 |
| Nalbinding Swatch |
Comparison of Yarn Types (Plied vs. Non-Plied)
Although I used mainly non-plied yarn in my nalbinding, I did make a few attempts using plied yarn. I found the plied to be easier to work with, as the stitches were more spaced out, and 'visible', but I preferred the results of the projects made with the non-plied wool. The final product made with non-plied had less gaps, and was much thicker than the plied work. However, the non-plied wool had a tendency to 'stick' to itself, and was far harder to untangle. It was also weaker than the plied, as I didn't need scissors to break off strands, it could just be pulled and snapped with the tension.
 |
| Non-Plied Cuff |
 | |||
| Plied Cuff |
Comparison of Needle Types
I also made one of the chopstick needles, and tried it out on a row of Oslo stitch. I found it to be harder to use then the shorter, metal needle, mostly because I found the size was less 'clumsy' to maneuver. I also found that the metal needle slid much better, the wood had a tendency to catch as it was being pulled through, particularly when using the non-plied wool. Having said this, I might find a needle made of bone or something of the sort preferable to wooden needles, or perhaps a shorter wooden needle.
Materials Used
Although wool seems to be quite prominent as a material used, there has also been discussion regarding the use of plant based fibres in Viking textile production (Jorgenson, 1990; Skoglund, 2013). Jorgenson speaks mostly about pre-Viking age Northern Europe, focusing primarily on the Stone Age. Although this is quite long before the time period in question (the Viking Age), it is relavant in that it is noted that most textiles from this time period seem to be made of vegetable fibre (such as flax and willow). This indicates that these are materials which would have been readily available in the region, seeing as it would be some time before the arrival of the domestic sheep in Northern Europe (Jorgenson, 1990).
By the time the Viking Age came about, domesticated sheep would have become much more widespread, and it seems likely that their wool would have been adopted into use by textile producers. However, the possibility that vegetable fibres continued to be used throughout textile production remains, and is supported by Skoglund et al. (2013). He argues that hemp and flax continued to be used, alongside wool, in the production of both coarse (sails, etc) and fine (clothing, etc.) textiles. In his study, ten samples of locally produced textiles dated to the Viking Age were tested, with four being found to contain hemp mixed in with the wool fibre (Skoglund et. al, 2013). This, he feels, is evidence which suggests that plant material continued to be used in textile manufacture, despite the adoption of wool.
Sources
Jorgenson, L.B., (1990). Stone-Age textiles in North Europe. Textiles in Northern Archaeology, 1-10.
Skoglund, G., Nockert, M., & Holst, B., (2013). Viking and early middle ages northern scandinavian textiles proven to be made with hemp. Scientific Reports, 3, 2686.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Dyestuffs and Mordants
When I walk into Beehive Woolshop, my favourite yarn store, the first thing I see is colour. The shop is packed with yarns of any and every shade, and the best part about selecting the perfect yarn for a project is choosing the colour palette. Now, the majority of these yarns are dyed through chemical processes; very few are hand-dyed using natural colourants. During the Viking Age, however, and for a great amount of time prior and after this period, yarns were dyed by hand using natural dyestuffs obtained either through trade or through local collection. The majority of textile fragments preserved in the archaeological record are stained muddy brownish colours from hundreds of years of contact with the earth, but many of these fragments were originally vibrant reds, blues, greens, yellows, and purples. Researchers can study the original colour of these samples using a variety of techniques, such as different methods of spectrochemical analysis. In this blog post, I want to provide an overview of the methodology of dyeing wool, which was the most common material used in nalbinding, and discuss the materials that would be needed to achieve brilliant, rich colours through natural means that were present during the Viking Age.
Dyestuffs:
Throughout the Viking world, wool was dyed using primarily plant-based colourants, although other mineral and insect sources have been discovered as well. The process of obtaining dyes through these plants depended on the substance being used, whether it be roots, barks, stocks or leaves, but generally, the plant material was powdered or soaked in almost-boiling water and applied to the fleece, yarn or finished textile (dyes could be added at several different points during textile production). Some vegetative sources could have been hand-picked close to home; depending on their geographical location, individuals would have access to certain native plants that could yield colourants through proper treatment. Other dyes, particularly those of higher quality and value, would be obtained through trade networks that spanned across Europe during the Viking Age. Many of these dyestuffs that traveled great distances would have yielded brilliant colours more easily, and so they were generally more expensive, reserved for those who had the wealth to spend on such luxury goods.
Even locally grown plant sources could produce brilliant colours, however, if the dyer was skilled and patient enough to obtain the dyes from the vegetative sources, which could take many weeks to produce. Plant materials used for dyeing wool specifically included madder, woad, weld, lichens, and certain barks, such as walnut, although again, there was regional variation in the accessibility of some dyestuffs. Dyes could also be blended to obtain different colours, and the application of certain mordants (see below) could change the colour that the dyestuffs would yield. Some individuals also chose not to dye their wool garments, and would still achieve whites, browns and greys, dependent on the natural shade of the sheep's fleece.
Mordants:
In order to produce more brilliant and long-lasting colours, a mordant would be applied to the wool, either before or after dyeing, depending on the substance being used. A mordant is basically a substance, usually a mineral, that is applied in order to make the colour from the dye more vibrant and help it to stay on the wool evenly. Substantive dyes do not need the application of a mordant to achieve a desired effect, whereas non-substantive or adjective dyes do need the application of a mordant. Common mordants included alum, copper, iron and apparently even stale urine! As mentioned above, certain mordants could be applied to achieve different colours using the same dyestuff (the first video below demonstrates how iron could be used to make a dye produce a greenier colour).
Below I have included a couple videos of a demonstrator briefly discussing vegetative dyestuffs and mineral mordants that could have been obtained in England during the Saxon period, but the materials she displays would also have been common during the Viking Age as well. The swatches she has created and the visual demonstration of dye preparation and mordant sources are useful in understanding the techniques, and since we're talking about colour, we should add a little visuality to the mix! (Forgive the enchanting flute in the videos!)
The wool I have been using for my nalbinding was not hand-dyed, but I can definitely see how fun and rewarding hand-dyeing could be! Textile production wasn't the relaxing past-time it is today, but it might be a fun summer project for me to try (although I think I'll steer clear of the stale urine). I chose grey, dull brown and plum coloured yarns for my practice. It's interesting to think that these colours could very well have been achieved during the Viking Age!
Sources:
DEGANO, I., RIBECHINI, E., MODUGNO, F., and COLOMBINI, M. P., 2009. Analytical methods for the characterization of organic dyes in artworks and in historical textiles. Applied Spectroscopy Reviews, 44, pp. 363-410.
FRANSEN, L., NORGAARD, A., and OSTERGARD, E., 2011. Medieval garments reconstructed: Norse clothing patterns. Hightown, Lancaster, UK: Aarhus University Press.
HALL, A. R., 1996. A survey of palaeobotanical evidence for dyeing and mordanting from British archaeological excavations. Quaternary Science Reviews, 15, pp. 635-640.
TAYLOR, G. W., 1983. Detection and identification of dyes on Anglo-Scandinavian textiles. Studies in Conservation, 28(4), pp. 153-160.
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikdyes.html
http://vikingladyaine.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/mordants-wool-and-natural-dyes/
http://www.woolery.com/store/pc/Information-on-Natural-Dyes-c567.htm
http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/clothing.htm
 |
| An example of the colour selection available to us modern-day knitters Image: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/a4/44/1a/a4441a4193662c2572c0969aee56c5b2.jpg |
Dyestuffs:
Throughout the Viking world, wool was dyed using primarily plant-based colourants, although other mineral and insect sources have been discovered as well. The process of obtaining dyes through these plants depended on the substance being used, whether it be roots, barks, stocks or leaves, but generally, the plant material was powdered or soaked in almost-boiling water and applied to the fleece, yarn or finished textile (dyes could be added at several different points during textile production). Some vegetative sources could have been hand-picked close to home; depending on their geographical location, individuals would have access to certain native plants that could yield colourants through proper treatment. Other dyes, particularly those of higher quality and value, would be obtained through trade networks that spanned across Europe during the Viking Age. Many of these dyestuffs that traveled great distances would have yielded brilliant colours more easily, and so they were generally more expensive, reserved for those who had the wealth to spend on such luxury goods.
 |
| Madder root, a common vegetative dyestuff used to obtain a variety of reds |
 |
| Woad was one of few vegetative sources that yielded blue dyes Image: http://www.woad-inc.co.uk/woad-inc_images/woad_layout.jpg |
In order to produce more brilliant and long-lasting colours, a mordant would be applied to the wool, either before or after dyeing, depending on the substance being used. A mordant is basically a substance, usually a mineral, that is applied in order to make the colour from the dye more vibrant and help it to stay on the wool evenly. Substantive dyes do not need the application of a mordant to achieve a desired effect, whereas non-substantive or adjective dyes do need the application of a mordant. Common mordants included alum, copper, iron and apparently even stale urine! As mentioned above, certain mordants could be applied to achieve different colours using the same dyestuff (the first video below demonstrates how iron could be used to make a dye produce a greenier colour).
Below I have included a couple videos of a demonstrator briefly discussing vegetative dyestuffs and mineral mordants that could have been obtained in England during the Saxon period, but the materials she displays would also have been common during the Viking Age as well. The swatches she has created and the visual demonstration of dye preparation and mordant sources are useful in understanding the techniques, and since we're talking about colour, we should add a little visuality to the mix! (Forgive the enchanting flute in the videos!)
The wool I have been using for my nalbinding was not hand-dyed, but I can definitely see how fun and rewarding hand-dyeing could be! Textile production wasn't the relaxing past-time it is today, but it might be a fun summer project for me to try (although I think I'll steer clear of the stale urine). I chose grey, dull brown and plum coloured yarns for my practice. It's interesting to think that these colours could very well have been achieved during the Viking Age!
Sources:
DEGANO, I., RIBECHINI, E., MODUGNO, F., and COLOMBINI, M. P., 2009. Analytical methods for the characterization of organic dyes in artworks and in historical textiles. Applied Spectroscopy Reviews, 44, pp. 363-410.
FRANSEN, L., NORGAARD, A., and OSTERGARD, E., 2011. Medieval garments reconstructed: Norse clothing patterns. Hightown, Lancaster, UK: Aarhus University Press.
HALL, A. R., 1996. A survey of palaeobotanical evidence for dyeing and mordanting from British archaeological excavations. Quaternary Science Reviews, 15, pp. 635-640.
TAYLOR, G. W., 1983. Detection and identification of dyes on Anglo-Scandinavian textiles. Studies in Conservation, 28(4), pp. 153-160.
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikdyes.html
http://vikingladyaine.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/mordants-wool-and-natural-dyes/
http://www.woolery.com/store/pc/Information-on-Natural-Dyes-c567.htm
http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/clothing.htm
As promised...a bone needle!
So the other day we were trying to figure out a cost effective way to obtain some bone or antler for a bone needle for this project. Apparantly, antler is quite expensive around here, so it was decided to try for some bone instead. In the spirit of experimental archaeological research, my boyfriend so kindly obtained and consumed a T-bone steak so I could use the bone for the needle. What a guy!
I don't really have good tools for this kind of thing. I only used a regular saw, the dull pocket knife you see in the pictures and a power drill for the yarn hole....oh and some sandpaper to file it down.
So, after many hours of cleaning and scraping, followed by an hour or so of sawing, shaping and filing, this is what I came up with. My thumb was pretty sore and I nicked it a bit with the saw (just a little....barley any blood...).
It is shorter and broader than my chopstick needle. I tried it out, and I think I still prefer the wood one. I think my bone needle is a bit too short to be effective for nalbinding...but hey, at least I tried!
So after many hours of boiling and scraping and sawing, then boiling and scraping some more, I would up with a workable piece of bone.
It was next to impossible to get that dark marrow out...and I'm extremely impatient sometimes, but I did my best to clean it and saw it down to size. AND...I have all my fingers still!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Some Cultural Backround
I would like to start off with a basic overview of nalbinding as it is most commonly referred. Firstly it requires only one needle that is used to make non-continuous pieces or threads that are then attached through further loops to create larger pieces. Because the thread is pulled all the way through each loop, it does not unravel, this results in a row by row upward spiral. As a textile technique, nalbinding or the method of single needle
knitting is not limited to Scandinavia but stretches as far as Israel,
Egypt and Peru. Most often nalbinding is used to make mittens, socks, hats, milk strainers, bags, sweaters or shirts and even dresses depending on your level of ability...like in this picture on pinterest posted by one Alison Fuchs
https://s-media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/78/18/51/781851d1aeb881a778b0e5cf696d6ffb.jpg
OR this, also by Alison Fuchs, which I totally want ....
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/123286108522988455/
As my research part is for the sociocultural aspects, I will start with what's most easily found in regards to Scandinavian nalbinding. Basically everyone 'knows' that women would have been the predominant group to deal with textiles and its relation but because of poor preservation, it's hard to tell fiction from hopeful fact in regards to the backround of nalbinding.
Now considering the fact that if you type nalbinding into Google today you can find thousands of results that showcase all the possibilities of nalbinding, it would be so easy to find out who did it, why, its importance in culture but then you would be quite mistaken. Even with the mountains of information available, you'd be hard pressed to find material associated with its cultural history.
Especially if you take into account folklore in parts of Scandinavia and the current interpretations of such stories. For example in Finland, that say fishermen and hunters had to have been very proficient in nalbinding because they had to make their own clothing and materials for their hunting or fishing trips. Supposedly because they would lose their good luck in hunting or fishing if they wore clothes nalbound by women, so you could assume that men, probably as boys would have been taught how to nalbind along with girls.
In Finland there is also 'record' of a small municipality, Joutseno, that had the custom of paying the church clerk in either money or with nalbound mittens as payment for a wedding. This would suggest that depending on the level of skill, items made using nalbinding would be considered quite precious. Along with this is the tradition of women, generally the bride, making nalbound mitten elaborately decorated for her husband to be, as well as other important guests of the wedding. The bride was also to arrive newly wed at her in-laws with a set number of proper nalbound clothes to demonstrate her skill in crafts and as a useful member of the family.
In general there is little evidence of nalbound clothes for sale very often in any parts, this I think is mostly due to the personal esteem associated with being able to make nice things for your family and your family only. With exceptions at times of festivals or to honor someone in particular with a well made gift. Now as speculation on my part, I think giving mittens and such as gifts would not only apply to making the items yourself in terms of labor but perhaps to the quality in concerns to the type of wool or fabric used, the level of decoration and perhaps even a cultural representation of what it meant to give someone something in a society of exchange and reciprocity.
Overall, as is often the case in regards to female realms of work, there is little or obscure evidence about women and nalbinding. Most of it is hearsay and speculation based on close culture cousins of the Scandinavians but with little supporting archaeological evidence as of yet. Or else it's not easily (if at all) found accessible in english, needless to say Google translate has recently become a dear friend... so on that note I shall get back to it.
Most of the information in this post has been found at http://www.en.neulakintaat.fi/17#Lahempana, with some further research of the sources used by her at the bottom of the page.
https://s-media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/78/18/51/781851d1aeb881a778b0e5cf696d6ffb.jpg
OR this, also by Alison Fuchs, which I totally want ....
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/123286108522988455/
As my research part is for the sociocultural aspects, I will start with what's most easily found in regards to Scandinavian nalbinding. Basically everyone 'knows' that women would have been the predominant group to deal with textiles and its relation but because of poor preservation, it's hard to tell fiction from hopeful fact in regards to the backround of nalbinding.
Now considering the fact that if you type nalbinding into Google today you can find thousands of results that showcase all the possibilities of nalbinding, it would be so easy to find out who did it, why, its importance in culture but then you would be quite mistaken. Even with the mountains of information available, you'd be hard pressed to find material associated with its cultural history.
Especially if you take into account folklore in parts of Scandinavia and the current interpretations of such stories. For example in Finland, that say fishermen and hunters had to have been very proficient in nalbinding because they had to make their own clothing and materials for their hunting or fishing trips. Supposedly because they would lose their good luck in hunting or fishing if they wore clothes nalbound by women, so you could assume that men, probably as boys would have been taught how to nalbind along with girls.
In Finland there is also 'record' of a small municipality, Joutseno, that had the custom of paying the church clerk in either money or with nalbound mittens as payment for a wedding. This would suggest that depending on the level of skill, items made using nalbinding would be considered quite precious. Along with this is the tradition of women, generally the bride, making nalbound mitten elaborately decorated for her husband to be, as well as other important guests of the wedding. The bride was also to arrive newly wed at her in-laws with a set number of proper nalbound clothes to demonstrate her skill in crafts and as a useful member of the family.
In general there is little evidence of nalbound clothes for sale very often in any parts, this I think is mostly due to the personal esteem associated with being able to make nice things for your family and your family only. With exceptions at times of festivals or to honor someone in particular with a well made gift. Now as speculation on my part, I think giving mittens and such as gifts would not only apply to making the items yourself in terms of labor but perhaps to the quality in concerns to the type of wool or fabric used, the level of decoration and perhaps even a cultural representation of what it meant to give someone something in a society of exchange and reciprocity.
Overall, as is often the case in regards to female realms of work, there is little or obscure evidence about women and nalbinding. Most of it is hearsay and speculation based on close culture cousins of the Scandinavians but with little supporting archaeological evidence as of yet. Or else it's not easily (if at all) found accessible in english, needless to say Google translate has recently become a dear friend... so on that note I shall get back to it.
Most of the information in this post has been found at http://www.en.neulakintaat.fi/17#Lahempana, with some further research of the sources used by her at the bottom of the page.
Yarn Spinning
It’s easy for us to take for granted where our yarn comes from and how
it was produced. For the casual knitter like myself, all that needs to be done
to start a project is a quick search on Ravelry or through a book for a
pattern. To acquire the appropriate yarn for the project, one can travel to a
favourite local woolshop and select from a large inventory of ready-made yarns
of various makes, materials and qualities. Knitting is a fun and relaxing
past-time nowadays, and yarn production is left to the manufacturing companies
and those who choose to produce their own yarn out of interest.
During the Viking Age, textile production was not a relaxing hobby.
Yarn spinning, as well as weaving and nalbinding, were important household
tasks that consumed a great amount of time each day. In order to produce
clothing, bedding and other textiles for trade and to keep members of the
family warm in the cool northern climate, immense quantities of wool needed to
be spun into lengths of workable yarn, making spinning a top priority. During
this time period, yarn production was completed entirely by hand. Today, re-enactors
and hobbyists still hand spin their wool using the drop-spinning method that
was employed during the Viking Age, but out of interest rather than necessity.
This blog post will outline the technique of drop spinning that was used during
the Viking Age to produce wool yarns.
Although flax and other related plant fibres were most likely also utilized, wool
was the most common source of yarn during the Viking Age. There were many
factors that contributed to the quality of yarn produced from wool, such as the
breed of sheep from which the wool was shorn, and the section of the sheep’s
fleece from which the wool came from; for example, the outer coat of the fleece
which yields the longest hairs is the most coarse, whereas the inner short
fibres of the fleece are much softer.
 |
| Viking Age replica spindle whorl |
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| There are many different breeds of sheep today, and the specific breed raised during the Viking Age largely depended on the area of habitation. Image: http://www.wallpaperswala.com/wp-content/gallery/sheep/cute-lamb-wallpaper.jpg |
Once the wool had been shorn from the sheep, it could be cleaned, depending on preference, all
the foreign matter removed from the wool and possibly soaked in water. After
cleansing, the fibres would be untangled and organized using a pair of hand combs
(carders were a later invention). After combing the wool, the fibres would be
hand spun into yarn using spindle whorls of stone, bone or ceramic, with shafts
made of wood, or possibly bone. The method of hand spinning that was used was
called “drop spinning.”
A basic tutorial on drop spinning.
This video shows the basic technique of drop spinning. The fibres were pulled
down and spun together by the weight of the whorl. One could achieve different
sizes of yarn based on the weight of the whorl; lighter whorls were generally
used to make thinner threads, whereas heavier ones could produce thicker yarns.
According to Spindle and Wheel, a blog devoted to yarn crafts from which a lot
of this information was sourced, the average whorls that have been recovered
were about 10 to 14 grams, although smaller whorls are also quite common. After
spinning, the yarn would be wound onto a reel, and could then be used for
nalbinding or weaving. In order to produce adequate amounts of material to
produce textiles for the entire family or for trade, spinning was a constant
activity that required great attention and expertise.
Although we are purchasing all our yarns ready-made for our nalbinding
project, it would be really interesting to try hand spinning wool using the
drop spin method that has been described above. There are loads of re-enactor websites and YouTube videos devoted to making your own spindle whorl and
learning the technique. Perhaps this is beyond the scope of our project, but I’ll
definitely need to try drop spinning myself in the future!
Sources:
FRANSEN,
L., NORGAARD, A., and OSTERGARD, E., 2011. Medieval garments
reconstructed: Norse clothing patterns. Hightown, Lancaster, UK:
Aarhus University Press.
LARSSON, A., 2008. Viking Age Textiles. In: S. BRINK, ed, The Viking World. London and New York: Routledge,
pp. 182-185.
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