Narrow Wares

My latest distraction is the group of accessories commonly called 'Narrow Wares'. I didn't really consider just how medieval people tied their fitted gowns together, held up their stockings, drew together their purses or decorated their necklines until I got into trying authentic research (thank you Kass McGann). Then I had to think of just how all those little bits and pieces that finish the garments were made. Luckily, there are many people just as strange as me! I have collected a few links together on the links page which will take you to the websites I used as starting points for my own fun, ahem, research and I hope you enjoy them. Below, you will find photographs of the rigid heddle looms I saw in Denmark, at the Frilandsmuseet near Copenhagen. It is, I think, my architectural home, and one day I'll work out a way to live in the museum full time... I will also add a few images of the bands I have woven on the tiny heddle loom I bought from Mary at Sweetness and Light - again, see the links page for their website. It is surprisingly effective and more than adequate for weaving most of the bands you could need. Although the holes are small, I found that 'rolling' the ends of the length of wool I wanted to use on a little block of beeswax made it pointed enough to go through an incredibly small hole. It is wonderful, cheap and quick. Go weaving!

Erik of Pomerania Belt This is a blurry photo of a silk tablet woven belt of the 15th Century from Denmark. I'm not skilled enough to know how the weave is formed but it is very long and would have taken quite a while. The belt decorations and purse mount (the triangle) are all silver, as is the buckle which is probably later. The decorative stones of the belt are mostly missing or of indeterminate colour. All the same, it shows what a tablet weaver can accomplish with enough time and practice. If you want to see it in person, it is in the National Museum in Copenhagen.

This next blurry image is to show my very first experiments in heddle weaving. The two lines on the far right are a band I made from two strands of six-strand embroidery floss, alternating red with an occasional bit of blue. It is impossible for my camera to take a photo that shows the fine detail one can achieve. The overal width is about 1cm but it is a bit wavy partly because I couldn't get the hang of tensioning it on my belt. The band on the left is my second attempt, this time using tapestry wool. It is a little less ridged than it appears and combines rust and green to make an incredibly sturdy band of weaving - it is so strong! It is much less flexible and less decorative than the first one but the tension is more even and wool weaves much faster... I will try very hard to make a better photograph of the finer band - or maybe just make another one - because although tablet weaving gives you a fancy pattern, I think heddle weaving (with a single warp) is also very effective and fast.