Red and Blue Viking Garb – Teaser
The main project I have been working on for the past couple months (and then some) is Viking garb for Diana and myself. It can be extremely taxing for me to spend time at a sewing machine, so I decided to make the outfit entirely by hand. It’s not unusual for me to be able to sit on the couch and stitch away slowly, so even though it took a lot more hours of work to make, it means Diana’s garb is well underway and wearable. Had I decided to make it by machine, odds are it would still be sitting un-sewn.
Diana was able to wear the garb to Great Western War 2015 the one day we attended, but it was so hot and we were so tired that taking nice, full-length photos was not going to happen. Instead I took a little teaser snapshot while we were sitting in the shade.
The Serk
The red linen underdress (also called a serk) took a little more than fifty hours to sew by hand. I have not added any decoration to it yet.
The Apron Drape
The apron drape is hemmed with double herringbone stitch in Londonderry linen thread, with about fifteen hours of sewing involved. It is about six inches longer than it should be to avoid tripping over it, so Diana had to pin a fold to wear it at the event. I am currently unsure if I should just turn it into a table runner and make an entirely new one that’s also a little wider, or if I should fold the fabric and add some more embroidery to hold it in place. The intention for this piece is a simple white apron that is functional and can be easily washed and bleached, so I had not originally intended to add any more decoration to it. Decisions, decisions.
The Apron Dress
The apron dress is a floor length, open-front style with pleating in the back. It is inspired by Valkyrie figurines, and intended as special occasion style garb, rather than practical everyday style wear. It is held closed in the front by a penannular brooch that is hidden by the apron drape in the top photo. It took about fifty hours to hand sew, which includes the time spent embroidering the shoulder straps. I have spent about twenty-five hours on embellishment so far.
The above photo shows part of the top of the dress, at the back where the shoulder strap attaches. Along the bottom of the photo you can see the seams of the pleats. Sewing is all done with line thread pulled from the selvage of the fabric. Embroidery is done with Londonderry linen thread. The top and bottom tablet woven bands were created by my friend Amy, and the middle band Diana received in an informal SCA art exchange. The tablet woven bands are applied using linen thread pulled from the selvage.
Van dyke stitch can be used to create a beautiful braid-like appearance by using close stitches. In this case I worked two threads, catching the loop of each stitch under the intersection of the same color’s previous stitch. Because the stitches across the seam all go down and left, the down stitch pulls down the right side, and the up stitch pulls up the left. If you don’t adjust the tension at every single stitch, the left side trends to travel up and the right travels down, resulting in misalignment. Basting the two sides together would probable reduce the problem a lot if you don’t like fiddling with the tension constantly.
