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Danish Viking Womans Smokkr

Grazia Morgano 1 February AS XLVIII


Abstract This smokkr, or hangerock, is based on fragments found in the harbor at Hedeby, in Denmark. Hedeby was a Viking village that existed from the 8th century until it was sacked in 1066. I chose the Danish style because of the advanced tailoring techniques shown in the fragments that have been found, comparable to the Greenland garments which are several hundred years newer (H agg and Schweppe, 1985, p. 212). The only rst-hand account of these fragments is in a combination of Swedish and German, by Inga H agg. I read neither of these languages, so my research has relied on a combination of machine translation (Google), asking a German friend for help with unknown terms, and reading others translations. The shoulder straps, not in-tact on the Hedeby nd, were copied from a nd in Kstrup, Denmark. The goal for this project was to make myself a Viking outt I could be proud to wear, as a guest at a Viking-themed wedding. This means I wanted something I could document in terms of materials and techniques. For that which is not denitively knownthat is, the exact patterns usedI compared the competing theories and chose the ones that seemed most internally consistent: patterns which take into account and take advantage of the advanced tailoring techniques shown. I tried to match the stitching (both type and length of stitch) found in the original artifacts.

Contents
List of Figures 1 Reconstruction 1.1 Materials . . . . . . 1.2 Pattern . . . . . . . 1.2.1 Construction 1.3 Darts . . . . . . . . . 1.4 Decoration . . . . . . 2 Conclusions A Archaeology A.1 Fragments A.2 Shaping . A.3 Decoration A.4 Loops . . A.5 Dyes . . . Bibliography 3 4 4 5 6 6 6 8 9 9 11 12 13 14 15

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List of Figures
1.2 Comparison of commercial blue dye and indigo on wool . . . a Fragment 14A, from H agg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b The nished dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a Example of linen (left) and wool (right) dyed with indigo (Lagerquist, 2013) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b Blue wool used in this reconstruction . . . . . . . . . Wool braid for decoration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5 5 5 5 7 8 10 10 10 10 11 12 13 13

1.3 2.1

The completed smokkr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A.1 Comparison of the fragments hem to the Osenstich it is documented as . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a Top hem of Fragment 14A, from H agg . . . . . . . . b Osenstich diagram (Geijer, 1938) . . . . . . . . . . . A.2 Stitch interval on herringbone stitch on ege . . . . . . . . . . A.3 Diagram of Fragments 14A and 14B, from H agg . . . . . . . A.4 Detail of the dart, with braid in place, from H agg . . . . . . A.5 Diagrams of decorative braid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a H aggs braid diagram with highlight incongruity . . . b Diagram recolored so all the strands in the drawing line up, clearly showing 6 strands . . . . . . . . . . . A.6 Diagram of cross-section of loops, from Thunem . . . . . . .

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1. Reconstruction

(a) Fragment 14A, from H agg

(b) The nished dress

1.1

Materials

For the smokkr, a blue wool twill was chosen. The fabric is commercially dyed, but it is a shade that looks attainable with indigotin such as woad or indigo (see Figure 1.2)). All sewing was done using a 2-ply (z-twist, s-spun) matching blue wool thread, except as otherwise noted. This is both because the hem stitches mentioned earlier were sewn in wool and because the threads used to sew seams are usually the same type of ber as the fabric (Ewing, 4

Grazia Morgano 2006, p. 158).

(a) Example of linen (left) and wool (right) dyed with indigo (Lagerquist, 2013)

(b) Blue wool used in this reconstruction

Figure 1.2: Comparison of commercial blue dye and indigo on wool

1.2

Pattern

The pattern used for the smokkr is one suggested by Beatson and Ferguson. It is one of several competing theories on the construction of the Hedeby smokkr, and it is notably in contradiction to H aggs reconstruction. H aggs reconstruction mirrors the large fragment across the wearers spine, making vertical lines down the back where the darts and braid are. Since the top edge is only 16cm (about 6 inches), four pieces of this size would allow only a 24 inch bustreasonable only if the owner was a child. Beatson and Fergusons pattern places the curved pieces along the sides of the body. This places the darts in what seems like a more useful place in terms of shaping. H aggs interpration requires four pieces, but their shape is inconvenient to lay out on the fabric for cutting. Monica Cellios version is easy to lay out the cuts on fabric, but it requires many more pieces and cuts (Cellio, 1995). This does not make it unreasonable, but in a time of handsewing, making more work for oneself is counterintuitive. I have a 35 bust. Dividing this by three and allowing some room for seam allowances, four pieces were cut, each 12 wide. Two of these had curves cut from them to remove half their selvage edge (6) from the bust. The removed curves were used as gores for the skirt. Many measurements were made to ensure the gores would align properly to are over the hips suciently. The smokkr is meant to be relatively form-tting. Shelagh Lewins translation of

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H agg notes Falk suggests the word smokkr, from the Old Norse smjga, to cling (Lewins).

1.2.1

Construction

Seams were worked in running stitch, because this is a simple and common stitch and already seen on the originals dart (see A.2). Because other garments in the nd had whipstitch seam nishing, each seam was whipstitched after sewing. The seams have a stitch interval of 56 mm, the same as in the original (see A.1). 1cm of the top selvage was folded down and herringbone stitched with the same 2-ply wool. The bottom edge was evened out and nished the same as the top.

1.3

Darts

Before sewing the darts, a length of the blue wool thread was unplied, twisted tighter, and waxed so that only a single ply of z-spun thread was used to sew it down, as in the original (see A.2). The stitches are not long (just across the braid) but on my reconstruction they are spaced out so as not to hide the pattern of the braid.

1.4

Decoration

The fragment has a decorative 6-strand braid of red and yellow wool (see Figure A.3). A 6-strand braid was made from 2-ply (z-spun, s-plied) wool in shades of red and yellow that looked appropriate for madder and a pale yellow since my experience with yellow natural dyes is that pale shades are common. The starting position of the threads had the red and yellow alternating, resulting in the zig-zag pattern seen on the nal item. The resulting braid from the commercial thread used varies between 2 and 3 mm in width. A narrower thread may have been used in the original (which measured as 12mm, see A.3), or it may have been compacted while used as caulking. Crewel thread is what was commercially available for wool thread, however.

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Figure 1.3: Wool braid for decoration

2. Conclusions
I do not ordinarily wear Viking garb. I had several surprises in this project. I did not previously know that darts were known in the Viking Age. I also did not know that the shoulder straps that have been found have been loops, rather than straps as exist on modern jumpers. This was also my rst time working with a six-strand braid. I learned that Viking clothing is far more complex than I had been previously led to believe.

Figure 2.1: The completed smokkr

A. Archaeology
A.1 Fragments

Two of the fragments found are believed to be from the same garment, a smokkr or hangerock. This is because they are of the same fabric and have a matching dart. They are a tabby wool, about 1mm thick, dyed brown with walnuts. However, Thunems English reporting of H aggs analysis of the fragments found in the harbor shows only about 25% are tabby versus twill (Thunem, 2011). The larger piece (Fragment 14A, see Figure 1.1a on page 4) includes the selvage folded under by 1cm and stitched down. H agg reports that it is stitched using Osenstich (see Figure A.1b), but photos show it more likely to be herringbone stitched (such that the dashed lines show on the outside, see Figure A.1a) with a 2-ply wool thread (z-spun, s-plied). There is no suggestion of a lining. The herringbone stitch is 78mm tall, with 35mm for the stitch interval (which I interpret as in Figure A.2) (H agg and Schweppe, 1985). Perpendicular to this are two edges that have regularly-spaced stitch holes, showing they are both seam lines (H agg and Schweppe, 1985, p. 38). The stitches have an interval of 56mm (H agg and Schweppe, 1985, p. 254). The type of stitch used on the seam is unknown, but Beatson and Ferguson note that whipstitching is the most common seam nishing in Hedeby (Beatson and Ferguson, 2008). One of these seams is curved, with the distance between seams being 16cm at the hemmed edge and 23cm at the torn edge (see Figure A.3) (H agg and Schweppe, 1985, p. 38). There is a worn area running across the large fragment, possibly from a belt, however it is only 15cm from the top edge (H agg and Schweppe, 1985, p. 38). Looking at my own physiology, this would suggest a slight empire waist. Given the necessity of a wider area for walking and the wear pattern, it is probable that 9

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(a) Top hem of Fragment 14A, from H agg

(b) Osenstich diagram (Geijer, 1938)

Figure A.1: Comparison of the fragments hem to the Osenstich it is documented as

Figure A.2: Stitch interval on herringbone stitch on ege

this hemmed edge is the top of the garment. The smaller fragment (Fragment 14B) does not provide much information, except that it is wider between the dart and curved seam than the larger fragment is.

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Figure A.3: Diagram of Fragments 14A and 14B, from H agg

A.2

Shaping

Parallel to the straight edge, there is a dart starting 7cm from the hemmed edge and continuing past the torn edge, reappearing on the second fragment. It is unknown whether this dart reaches the bottom hem. The dart has a maximum depth of only 5mm, removing 1cm of circumference on each such piece (H agg and Schweppe, 1985, p. 38). This deepest part matches up with the worn area. The dart is running stitched with a single z-spun wool string. The stitches are 3mm long (H agg and Schweppe, 1985, p. 254). This may not create a form-tting garment, which would necessitate an opening to dress or undress if there is signicant bust, but it would be enough to create some slight shaping. Based on the presence of a decorative braid on the ridge of the dart, it is believed that the darts ridge faced outward.

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Figure A.4: Detail of the dart, with braid in place, from H agg

A.3

Decoration

The braid is 12mm wide, of 6 strands of wool. Each strand is 2-ply (z-spun, s-plied). Three of the strands are red, and three are yellow. H agg provided a drawing (Figure A.5a) of the braid, but the highlighting in the report does not visually create continuous lines. The result of this error is the diagram looking like it only has 5 strands. See Figure A.5b for the braid pattern lled in so all 6 strands are visible. The braid is stitched to the ridge. H agg does not note what order the colors of thread were in when braided.

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(a) H aggs braid diagram with highlight incongruity

(b) Diagram recolored so all the strands in the drawing line up, clearly showing 6 strands

Figure A.5: Diagrams of decorative braid

A.4

Loops

Fragment 14A does not include any loops for the top of the smokkr. Analysis of loops from other Danish smokkrs is available, however. The loops on a smokkr in Kstrup in Denmark were wool, folded as for double-fold tape, and whipstitched to close the folded edge. See Figure A.6. They are 1.01.3cm in width. There are other loop congurations in that same nd, but they appear to be what happens when the fabric runs out before the clothings done. Two loops are done as depicted. One looks like all-wool on the outside but is stued with linen to give the same thickness as the all-wool, and a linen loop makes up the last one (Thunem, 2013).

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Figure A.6: Diagram of cross-section of loops, from Thunem

A.5

Dyes

According to Roscoes thesis on the use of color in Icelandic sagas, blue and red are the most commonly referenced colors of dyed clothing (Roscoe, 1992, p. 25). Additionally, Penelope Waltons 1989 chart of the results of dyestu analysis (reproduced in Ewings Viking Clothing) shows indigotin (whether indigo or woad) as the most common dyestu found in Denmarks archaeological nds. The red dye shown in Waltons chart as being common in Denmark is madder (Ewing, 2006, p. 155). This is in contrast to Roscoes assertion regarding kermes being much more common than madder in the Viking period and regions (Roscoe, 1992, p. 20). This could be due to Denmarks location on the European continent. According to Waltons chart, the yellow dye known to exist on Danish textiles is Yellow-X, an unidentied dyestu (Ewing, 2006, p. 155).

Bibliography
Peter Beatson and Christobel Ferguson. Viking hanging dress from haithabu. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/ hangerock/hangerock.htm, 2008. [Online; accessed 06-August-2013]. Monica Cellio. The viking apron-dress: A new reconstruction. http:// sca.uwaterloo.ca/mjc/sca/aprond.html, 1995. [Online; accessed 14August-2013]. Thor Ewing. Viking clothing. 9780752435879. Tempus, 2006. ISBN 0752435876

Agnes Geijer. Birka: III. Die Textilfunde aus den Gr abern, von Agnes Geijer... Almqvist och Wiksells boktryck., 1938. Inga H agg and Helmut Schweppe. Die Textilfunde aus dem Hafen von Haithabu. Berichte u ber die Ausgrabungen in Haithabu, Bericht 20. K. Wachholtz, 1985. ISBN 0352919208. Emil Lagerquist. Plant dyeing fabric yellow, blue and green. http://battleofwisby1361.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/ plant-dyeing-yellow-blue-and-green/, 2013. [Online, accessed 29-December-2013]. Shelagh Lewins. A viking pinafore. http://www.shelaghlewins.com/ reenactment/hedeby_apron/hedeby_apron.htm. [Abridged translation of Die Textilfunde aus dem Hafen von Haithabu]. Jane Christine Roscoe. The literary signicance of clothing in the icelandic family sagas. Masters thesis, University of Durham, 1992.

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Hilde Thunem. Viking women: Clothing: Underdress (serk). http://urd. priv.no/viking/serk.html, 2011. [Online, accessed 6-August-2013]. Hilde Thunem. Viking women: Clothing: Aprondress (smokkr). http: //urd.priv.no/viking/smokkr.html, 2013. [Online, accessed 6-August2013].

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