Cloth Colours & Patterns

Cloth Colours & Patterns
Textiles
► Weaving Images   Braiding, Naalbinding & Sprang   Cloth Colours & Patterns   Cloth Weaving Patterns   Clothing Decoration   Clothing Materials   Fur & Feathers

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This article's completion rating is 1 out of 5. Article planned for future work. No real progress to date.

Viking Age Compendium articles on Textiles:

Clothing

Cloth Colours & Patterns

Clothing Decoration

Cloth Weaving Patterns

Braiding, Naalbinding & Sprang

Clothing Materials

Fur & Feathers

Viking Age Compendium articles on Textiles:

Clothing

Cloth Colours & Patterns

Clothing Decoration

Cloth Weaving Patterns

Braiding, Naalbinding & Sprang

Clothing Materials

Fur & Feathers

Cloth Colours

Natural colours

Art
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Literature

• The term sauðalitir, derived from old norse for sheep, referes to natural sheep colours ranging from white, red-brown to anthracite. The rare mention of these in the sagas indicates that these were the norm.
• Valla-Ljót refers to a brúnan kyrtil, a natural brown coat.

Archaeology
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Discussion
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Blue (Woad)

Art
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Literature

• In the sagas the most commonly refered to artificially dyed colour is blár, blue.
• Blue clothes were worn in the sagas by those taking revenge, as a way of showing status and of distinguishing between a legal killing and murder.

Archaeology
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Discussion
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Red (Madder)

Art
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Literature
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Archaeology
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Discussion
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Green

Art
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Literature

• In the sagas green is refered to 6 times, mostely with negative or mystic conotations. [TOPLAL 2011: p.99]

Archaeology
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Discussion
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Multicoloured

Art
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Literature

• Occasionally garments called tviskipt klæði are mentioned which are made up of two textiles of different colours.

Archaeology

• Hedeby: The fragments of a pair of baggy trousers (fragment 72Aa-g) were red on the front and a yellow-green on the back. Though no chemical analysis has taken place yet, the difference is still visible to the naked eye.

Discussion
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Cloth Patterns

Different coloured warp & weft threads

Having a different coloured thread in warp and weft will result in a visible paatern, especially in chevron and diamond weaves. Art
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Literature
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Archaeology

• Elisenhof, Germany (8thC): 22 examples of cloth where the warp and weft threads were of different natural coloured threads. In most one thread is black/brown-black and the other thread a lighter brown or in a few cases a reddish brown.
• Netherlands: 6 of 28 analysed fabrics showed a naturally dark thread in one system and a lighter thread in the other thread system.

Discussion
It would appear that using different natural coloured threads to create a pattern in the cloth was, though rare, a known technique. Some few examples shows that this cloth was dyed after having been woven. However, so far, there is no evidence for the use of dyed threads in the warp or weft of twill.

Stripes

Art
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Literature
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Archaeology

• Skjoldehamn, Norway (~1075): The decorative square and collar on the shirt were of striped 2/1 twill. The base colour is red with narrow strips of green and yellow next to each other.
• London, Milk Street and Watling Court (late C9th - early C12th): Three of the nine tabby woven fragments had weft stripes of paired threads. In one case the stripes may well have been dyed with madder to accentuate the pattern.
• London, Milk Street and Watling Court (late C9th - late C10th): A 2/2 twill was found which had a thicker thread in every third weft, which was dyed red with madder the other weft threads were dyed blue (woad), creating a textile which would have been blue with red stripes.
• Hedeby-Settlement: Fragment S 27A is a 2/2 diamond twill which has two darker warp threads (ca. 1mm) after every ten light warp threads (ca 10mm). All the weft threads are dark. Under magnification the light threads are a reddish-yellow-brown, the darker threads are a reddish-brownblack, indicating a fabric woven from natural lighter and darker threads which was dyed red.
• Birka, Sweden: A woollen tabby weave fragment was found in Grave 1090 with 5mm wide stripes in alternating blue and redish-brown coloured threads.
• Netherlands: Different coloured threads were used to create stripes or blocks in the fabric. Macroscopally this has been observed in 5 textiles, but thread analysis suggests it might have been done more often.

Discussion
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Checks

Pattern of the Birka checked linen from Grave 757. One line is one thread in the original

Art
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Literature
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Archaeology

• Hedeby - Graves: Three graves (159/1960, 182-185, 27/1963) contained fragments of very fine blue linen with, in two cases red threads, in one case white threads creating small checks. The blue/ red cloth from grave 159/1960 was from a shirt, as was probably the blue/white cloth in grave 27/1963. The blue/red cloth in grave 182-185 was from a decorative band.

Multiple fragments of the same cloth in four layers was found in grave VI/1930. This cloth is a fine woollen chevron twill with a checker pattern formed by two light, probably linen, threads in the warp and weft.

• Birka, Sweden: 1 example of a linen tabby fragment was found in Grave 757 where both in the warp and the weft a white then red thread followed every 5-6 blue threads.The cloth had about 20 threads per cm, so the checks were quite small.
• Skjoldehamn, Norway: The blanket the body was wrapped in was checked. It was a 2/2 twill with stripes in both the warp and weft of various widths, creating a checkered pattern. The pattern was achieved by using natrual white wool and natural brown wool.
• Elisenhof, Germany (8thC): One example (E-76) of a plain 2/2 twill had black stripes of different widths in warp and weft giving it a "scottish" look. The other threads were brown. The pattern is as follows, in the warp: from the edge 13 black, 24 brown, 8 black, 8 brown, 8 black, 18 brown, ripped edge. In the weft: ripped edge 17 brown, 14, black, 18 brown, 14 black, 14 brown, 6 black, 6 brown, 4 black, 14 brown, 4 black, 4 brown, 4 black, 13 brown, ripped edge. 10 threads per cm
  • Fragment E-414a is a tabby of red-brown (dyed) and black wool forming stripes in warp and weft. In the warp the npattern is as follows: 27 red, 4 black, 4 red, 4 black, atleast 25 red, 4 black, 4 red, 4 black, 4 red, 4 black atleast 23 red till where the cloth is ripped. In the weft there are red threads the 4 black, 4 red, 4 black, 4 red, 4 black then red till where the fragment ends. There are 10 threads per cm.

Discussion
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Damast style patterning

Art
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Literature
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Archaeology
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Discussion
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References

Brandenburgh, Chrystel R. (2009) 'Early medieval textile remains from settlements in the Netherlands. An evaluation of textile production'. Journal of Archaeology in the Low Countries 2-1(May 2010). *

Geijer, Agnes (1938) Birka III - Die Textilfunde Aus den Grabern. [The Textile finds from the Graves] Birka, Kungliga Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien *

Hagg, Inga (1984) Die Textilfunde aus dem Hafen von Haithabu. [The Textile Finds from the Port of Hedeby]. Hedeby-Ausgrabungen in Haithabu *

Hagg, Inga (1991) Textilfunde aus der Siedlung und aus den Grabern von Haithabu. [Textile Finds from the Settlement and from the Graves of Hedeby]. Hedeby-Ausgrabungen in Haithabu *

Hundt, Hans-Jurgen (1981) Die Textil-und Schnurreste. Elisenhof.. [The Textile Cord and Residues. Elisenhof]. Elisenhof Band 4 *

Lovlid, D. H. Nye tanker om Skjoldehamnfunnet (MA). 2009. *

Pritchard, Frances A. (1984) Late Saxon textiles from the City of London (wool, goat hair, silk, flax: production processes; 11th century new technology). pp.46-74. (Available Online) Medieval Archaeology: Vol.28 *

Toplak, Matthias (2011) Kleidung und Tracht in der altnordischen Sagaliteratur und im archaeologischen Fundkontext. [Clothing and dress in the Norse sagas and archaeological sites in context]. *