Tools of fibre processing and cloth finishing in Anglo-Scandinavian York. Textile making was a common domestic activity throughout the 5th to 10th century in Europe, so it’s not unusual for archaeologists to find a loom weight or a spindle whorl in Early Medieval sites. The Coppergate site in York has been extraordinary, however, for the …
Continue reading Archaeology of Textile Making at Coppergate – 2
Tools for spinning and weaving in Anglo Scandinavian York. The archaeological site of Coppergate is an exceptional source of textile working materials over an evolving period of many centuries. This extraordinary site is located within the city of York, in the north of England. Enclosed between two rivers, the Ouse and the Foss, it borders …
Continue reading Archaeology of Textile Making at Coppergate – 1
As archaeologists uncovered bog bodies in Northern Europe dating to the Bronze Age and Iron Age, there was quite a variety of clothing found on the bodies, often very well preserved. Evidence of woolen garments was widespread, along with animal hides and plant fibres such as linen. The acidic bog environment presents a preservation bias …
My second bog coat this month has not been made with my own weaving. I travelled to India and the Himalayan region a couple of years ago, and while I was in Gangtok, Sikkim I saw a beautiful Tibetan Yak wool blanket in a market. It was very soft and lightweight, but warm, and my …
I have been looking forward to making a bog coat for a long time! It feels like the ultimate combination of archaeology and weaving, and in the aim of making a useful piece of clothing. In fact I think I may make another different bog coat next month - I have a couple of blankets …
Weaving is an ancient craft, and an early solution to countless practical needs. In Iraq and Turkey, archaeologists have discovered clay fragments with the impression of woven cloth pressed into them, dating from the Neolithic period as early as 7000 BCE (Barber, 1994). And long before that, humans were intertwining grasses, reeds and branches to …
I am working on a new weaving gallery for this site which will be much more useful and accessible. I will make all the samples in a high contrast warp and weft, and include a draft of each weave. Inspired by recently re-reading Elizabeth Barber's Prehistoric Textiles, I am excited about going deeper into …
The word Sprang is originally from the Swedish language (meaning to spring or jump) and it refers to a unique kind of textile. It’s neither weaving nor netting - it’s more like a type of braid. Sprang is created when warp threads are systematically twisted around one another, and as a result looks a bit …
In Danish the word means ‘needle-binding’. And judging by some of the photos that you can find on Pinterest, there’s been quite a rediscovery of this technique by modern crafters. Nålbinding predates our modern knitting and crochet by more than a thousand years. It’s a method which requires the yarn to be threaded through the …
Continue reading Nålbinding – learning to knit like a Viking
Anthropologists and archaeologists are often interested in how research from a related field can bring new insight, especially on the level of theory. And this has come home to me in the past few weeks while I’ve been attending a series of lectures about the art and literature of the English Renaissance. The reason I’m …
Continue reading The ancient (and modern) practice of sharing yourself through craft
Celtic Weaving 