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I will be posting my research, links and progress here for my interpretation(s) of the Viking 'Apron' Dress (VAD).
My First VAD Interpretation
My first 2 Apron Dresses are very simple in design, but they ended up taking a very long time to complete. They were my first hand sewing projects ever so I had (and have) a great deal to learn. While making them I learned so much...hindsight and learning the hard way are both important ways to remind you each time what to do or not do, and why.
The two pieces of woven wool that I used
were small pieces even before I washed them and then they shrank EVEN more, *sigh*. LESSON always start with 10-50% more wool (length and width) then what you think you need for your patterns due to shrinkage. Depending on the fiber, the warp and weft can shrink at different percentages.
At the start both of my pieces of wool fabric looked to be barely enough material to make fitted Apron Dresses. When they finally shark due to washing, they were too small for anything other then wrap style dresses, which they ended up becoming. I don't think you can get much simpler in design other then making a plain tube.
Both pieces of fabric are rectangles about 60 inches wide and 36 inches long. I can hold each upper corner of the width in my hands while the main body of the rectangular material is streatched behind me. The middle of the width is centered at my back and both upper corners cross over one another on my chest when I pin the loops.
This interpretation requires 6 loops and falls within the range of theories for loop placement:
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2 long loops that start at the back over each shoulder blade and go over each shoulder to meet at the front and ending just above the front loops
- 2 loops on each flap so each set spoons together and looks like a single loop (a total of 4 loops in the front)
The overlapping Apron Dress design I'm using looks best with an added rectangular panel that hangs from the front loops. This makes the total number of front lower loops to be 6 loops and 2 loops on the top.
The front panel also adds a cleaner look to the front of the dress by hidding the overlapping sections of the Apron Dress and as a 'modesty' panel.
During the hot and humid summer months in IDD it is far too hot to wear all the needed layers. This summer I only wore a thin cotton Overdress and the Apron Dress with a panel. The panel prevents anyone seeing through my
thin Overdress where it shows below my hips. I will be making a medium weight linen Overdress in the coming months to solve this problem.
Lessons Learnt
When hand stitching the 4 sides of the wool Apron Dress with ANYTHING other then Whip Stitch or Banket Stitch then USE:
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a contrasting colored thread or yarn
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large stitches
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stitch everything so that you see all of your stitches from the front
- use stitches as decorative elements
When spending 2-20 hours hand stitching one might as well use decorative stitches so that only a few extra hand stitched decorative elements need to be added at the end.
My mistakes started with folding over the fabric's 4 edges so that the hem was on the inside and not visible from the front. I used Herringbone Stitches, BUT with a dark sewing thread very similar to the fabric's color and in small, tight stitches. This was nearly invisible from the front...so NO ONEcan see any of my nice little Herringbone Stitches from the front. So no decorative elements even though it turns out that I used a decorative stitch. *SIGH*
FABRIC LOOPS
I used similar fabric loop construction as in the Birka grave 835 (fig 835:3a and fig 835:3b).
"The loops from grave 835 were stitched along the side (fig 835:3b)"
"in grave 835 which were sewn closed, except for a couple of cm at the end (fig. 835:2 and 3a)
Viking Women: Aprondress *****
by Hilde Thunem
- Go down to the sections, 'Fabric loops', 'Loop construction', and 'The construction and use of the loops'.
NOTE
Please see my Sewing Tips, Stitches and Seams, and Textile Decorations pages for tips, suggestions and links.
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