viking

As you all know, early period really isn't my area of expertise. So I'm going about this with what little information I have based on what little sources that are available to us to this day.

At first I was aiming for somewhere around the 8th century, but I could only find male garments dated between the 5th & 7th centuries as refrence and then a jump straight to the 10th century. There seems to be a gap in history when it comes to accurate sources. So all I can currently do is make an educated extrapolation on what I have and based on what other reenactors have done so far given the same sources that I had to work with.

The Tunic's construction is based on a study of the one found at Birka. The construction is pretty basic and consists in a single rectangle folded in two to create both front & back of the garment, a key-hole serves as neckline, 2 long sleeves not too fitted are cut in the form a plain rectangles, 2 gussets add to the fullness of the breast-line, 2 big gores are added on each side of the skirt. Everything is handsewn and all seams are couched with small hem-stitches. The tunic is made of medium weight wool and is trimmed with tablet-weaved bands at the neck & cuffs.

Nobody's exactly sure of how these over-garments would have looked like over all since very little of the extant pieces have survived. The apron form is hypothetical from everything that I've read. All we know is that *some* form of garment was supported by small straps and big Fibulas brooches. There is however strong evidence that suggest that one of those had been worn with a belt. (Please visit this page for more details)

Since the cut of my tunic was very basic, I've decided to go with the most basic construction possible for the apron as well. It's made of linen and consists in two rectangles of half the measure of my bust each by about a meter long and two generous triangular side gores that start at the waist-down. There's a huge debate going on on various forums as to the composition of the shoulder straps, however, I chose to go with the most popular choice, which is the double-folded spagetti string. Some evidence seem to support that theory and I think that it makes sense. Though this is highly debated as well, I've decided to add some tablet woven trim to the top *and* bottom. Up 'til now, it seems that no lower garment pieces have survived, so no one can prove me wrong on this one. Here's a close-up of the neck trim and shoulder strap while only pinned-on, along with a close-up of one of the inside seams. All seams are opened, double-folded and then hem-stitched in place.

I didn't really have the budget to invest into this so, I've made the cascade necklace out of whatever beads I could find around the house. Some of those are pretty expensive too! I'm quite happy with it, it falls really nicely :)

It was made of made of Ivory, glass, steel, wood & acrylic beads. The fibulas and Penannular brooche (seen on pictures below) were casted out of pewter by my friend Kes Smith at http://fetteredcockpewters.com