Two Tablet Woven Bands from Orkney
By Lady Dagný Sveinsdóttir
The Orkney Hood features two very different, tablet woven bands; a simple narrow band with a plain woven selvedge and a wide band boasting a large twined fringe. Compared to textiles recovered from similar locations and historical dates, this garment is singularly unusual in design. As an amateur fibre artist and a tablet weaving fanatic, I was filled with intrigue when I stumbled upon the Orkney Hood in my research. Who could believe it? Not one but two peculiar tablet weaving examples! I just had to reconstruct them for myself.
Historical Context
The Orkney Hood was discovered in a peat bog in 1867 in St Andrew’s Parish, on Mainland, the largest of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. Often confused as a hood from the Viking Age, radiocarbon dating suggests that it may predate the Norwegian settlement of Orkney from 875 AD, and was likely to have been worn during an earlier period from 250 to 615 AD (Woods, 2002). This likely Iron Age garment is often attributed to Pictish culture and is currently on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Due to the oxygen deficient environment of the peat bog, the woolen hood is in great condition for an 1800 year old garment. The circumference of the shoulder cape suggests it was designed to be worn by a child, or a teenager of slight build. No human remains were identified with the find, leading researchers to suggest that it was discarded or lost, rather than worn, when discovered (Coatsworth and Owen-Crocker, 2018).
Alongside a fairly in-depth textual analysis, Audrey Hensall included a number of detailed illustrations to describe the various ornamentation of the hood in her 1952 analysis (Hensall, 1952, p.11). Hensall describes the bands as having a “ribbed effect” achieved through the variation of yarn weights and a variation of two and four holed tablets (Hensall, 1952, p.7). This is a prominent design feature of both bands. No reversal in turning direction is visible in the construction of either band.
Inspired by these illustrations, as well as contemporary photographs of the hood on display at the National Museums of Scotland, I began developing and testing my own weaving patterns to recreate the bands.
The Narrow Band
The upper, or narrow, band was made using with six tablets and three singular selvedges threads that were not threaded through a tablet (Hensall, 1952; Woods, 2002). It is approximately 2 cm wide and wraps the circumference of the shoulder cape once. The warp threads varied in thickness (singles, thick and fine 2 ply) and colour (light brown, mid brown and black). The weft thread was a loosely spun, thick 2 ply wool yarn (Hensall, 1952).
Woods’ (2002) stipulates the use of two weft threads in the creation of the narrow band, entering the shed created by the tablets from opposing directions. I do not believe this to be the way the original band was constructed. Juggling two shuttles loaded with weft whilst you navigate selvedge threads, and wrestle with two and four hole threaded tablets just isn’t a manageable task. Especially, if you are weaving using the widely accessible and historically popular back strap method. To solve this issue, I devised a pattern and method to simplify this process and recreate a pleasing band with a plain weave (tabby) selvage.
My Recreation of the Narrow Band
Placement
The narrow band is attached to hood with a whip stitch on the upper edge of the band. It is attached around the edge of the shoulder cape and terminates at the lowest point of the face opening. The lower edge of the narrow band is attached to the upper edge of the wide band.
Threading Diagram
Six tablets are required to complete this pattern. Two selvedge threads form the plain woven selvedge on the upper edge of the narrow band. A single selvedge thread forms the lower edge of the narrow band.
- All tablets turn forward. No reversal of turning direction is evident to manage twisted warp.
- The 2 holed tablets rotate in ½ turns (turned twice per pick).
- The 4 holed tablets rotate in ¼ turns (turned once per pick).
- To produce a plain weave selvedge, the weft must pass through the shed created by the tablets, around the single selvedge thread and back through the shed before turning the tablets. For example:
Weft passes over the first selvedge thread.
Weft passes under the second selvedge thread.
Weft passes through the shed created by the tablets.
Weft passess over and behind the single selvedge thread.
Weft passes back through the shed created by the tablets.
Weft passes over the second selvedge thread.
Weft passes under the first selvedge thread.
Substitutions
- Original length of the band was approximately 95 cm. The reproduction length is approximately 135 cm to accommodate the change in scale. The widths remain similar (2 cm)
- For the warp threads, a 4 ply wool yarn was used instead of 2 ply wool yarn and singles, as per the original. This allowed for a quick completion time, reduced cost of materials, and a focus on technique and design. The uniformity of yarn produced a smooth band, dissimilar to the original band.
- As observed in the original find, a thicker yarn was used for the weft thread. As a 4 ply yarn was used as warp in the reproduction, an 8 ply yarn was used as a weft thread. This selection maintained a comparative difference in warp and weft yarns to reproduce the turning behaviour seen in the original find.
- A naturally light, undyed wool yarn and a naturally dark, undyed wool yarn was used in the construction of the band. I did not replicate this in my reconstruction. I chose to dye my light yarn with weld to produce tones of yellow. My dark yarn was dyed brown to produce a visible contrast as seen in the original hood.
The Wide Band
The wide band features a long, twined fringe created from an extension of the weft threads (Hensall, 1952). The tablet woven portion of the band is approximately 7 cm wide, created with 50 tablets and two singular selvedge threads. 26 tablets were warped with two threads per tablet and 24 tablets were warped with four threads per tablet. This variety creates a very visible, “ribbed” effect (as seen in Figure 4). The weft was identified as the same yarn used in the two selvedge threads at the top of the wide band. The wide band is affixed with a whip stitch to the lower edge of the narrow band, and wraps around the circumference of the hood approximately 1.5 times.
As noted by Woods (2002) and Hensall (1952), the fringe is an “integral” part of the wide band. The fringe measures to 28 cm long at the front and gradually increases to 33 cm towards the back of the hood. The management of this fringe, as well as 50 alternatively threaded two and four holed tablets, is a lesson in patience, repetition and ritual.
As noted by Woods (2002) and Hensall (1952), the fringe is an “integral” part of the wide band. The fringe measures to 28 cm long at the front and gradually increases to 33 cm towards the back of the hood. The management of this fringe, as well as 50 alternatively threaded two and four holed tablets, is a lesson in patience, repetition and ritual.
My Recreation of the Wide Band
Placement
The upper edge of the wide band is attached to the lower edge of the narrow band and the hemmed edge of the hood with a whip stitch.
Threading Diagram
50 tablets are required to complete this pattern. Two selvedge threads form the plain woven selvedge create the upper edge of the narrow band. You may use a temporary selvedge thread placed approximately 30 cm from the lower edge of the band to create the extended weft for the fringe.
Notes on Weaving Procedure
- All tablets turn forward. No reversal of turning direction is evident to manage twisted warp.
- The 2 holed tablets rotate in ½ turns (turned twice per pick).
- The 4 holed tablets rotate in ¼ turns (turned once per pick).
- To produce a plain weave selvedge, the weft must pass through the shed created by the tablets, around the temporary selvedge thread (forming the fringe) and back through the shed before turning the tablets.
Fringe Construction
Substitutions
- Original length of the band was approximately 172 cm and wrapped around the shoulder cape 1.5 times. The reproduction length is approximately 135 cm to accommodate the change in scale. and wraps around the shoulder cape once. The widths remain similar (6-7 cm).
- For the warp threads, a 4 ply wool yarn was used instead of 2 ply wool yarn and singles, as per the original. This allowed for a quick completion time, reduced cost of materials, and a focus on technique and design. The uniformity of yarn produced a smooth band, dissimilar to the original band.
- As observed in the original find, a thicker yarn was used for the weft thread. As a 4 ply yarn was used as warp in the reproduction, an 8 ply yarn was used as a weft thread. This selection maintained a comparative difference in warp and weft yarns to reproduce the turning behaviour seen in the original find.
- A naturally light, undyed wool yarn and a naturally dark, undyed wool yarn was used in the construction of the band. I did not replicate this in my reconstruction. I chose to dye my light yarn with weld to produce tones of yellow. My dark yarn was dyed brown to produce a visible contrast as seen in the original hood.
Sewing the Hood
In Jacqui Woods’ 2002 reproduction, great care was taken to ensure the accuracy of fibers used, down to the lineage of the sheep and the spinning of the yarn. Woods suggests the original hood was constructed with undyed, worsted wool harvested from dark brown Shetland fleece with Black Shetland fleece stripes (Woods, 2002, p.3). As my primary focus was on the tablet woven bands, the construction of the hood was completed to the general specifications of related research. I did not source heritage fiber or weave the fabric in my reconstruction.
I aimed to maintain the core construction methods visible in the original garment, including the double, outward turned seam at the crown and the face opening. As seen in the extant example, the lower edge of the hood is turned outward and hemmed to the lower edge of the narrow band with a whip stitch. The basic and visible stitching is deliberately present within my reconstruction. The wide band is also applied to the hood at this position to conceal the raw edge of the cloth (Hensall, 1952).
Conclusion
In order to reproduce the two bands featured on the hood, I gathered contemporary and historical research, analysed high definition photographs of the original find and formulated my own method supported by my research, reference material and my prior experience with tablet weaving.
This project was a labour of love; love for tablet weaving and love for my Husband. I dyed the yarn, designed, wove, unwove and re-wove the bands, hand twined every cord in the fringe and stitched every painfully obvious stitch. The next time I attempt the Orkney Hood tablet weaving, I hope to hand spin the wool to the specifications of the original.
I found the most peculiar feature of the Orkney bands was the use of singular selvedge threads in combination with warp managed with tablets. I have not encountered this set up in any other historical example. I believe this peculiarity may be an artifact from the original weaver having greater experience in weaving of fabric, rather than tablet weaving of decorative bands. Using singular warp threads in this manner may have assisted the original weaver to pass the weft thread through the shed created by tablets twice, rather than a single pass per pick. This also ensures an efficient use of yarn, e.g. three lengths of selvedge rather than 16 lengths required to thread an additional four four-holed selvedge tablets. I believe this is a much more manageable and historically plausible method than the dual wefts used in Woods’ (2002) reproduction. I wove both bands without the need for a tablet specific weft, which also increased the speed of the project.
Unlike Woods’ method of reproduction (2002), I wove the wide band on a warp weighted standing loom. This method is historically accurate, ergonomic and eliminated many of the issues before they were encountered. Instead of measuring and cutting hundreds of weft threads into equal lengths, I used a temporary selvedge thread, warped at the appropriate distance from the band, to create a fringe from a continuous weft. My make-shift vertical set up, rather than the horizontal set up seen in Woods’ (2002) and Verberg (2019), worked beautifully. As the band was oriented vertically, gravity assisted to minimise turning errors and tension issues.
References
| Coatsworth, E. & Owen-Crocker, G. R. (2018). Headgear: Hat, Cap, Hood, Mitre. In Clothing the Past: Surviving Garments from Early Medieval to Early Modern Western Europe (pp. 32-35). Boston: Brill. Retrieved from here. |
| Hensall, A. (1952). Early textiles found in Scotland: Part one, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 86, 1-29. Retrieved from here. |
| Kath. [Orkat3]. (2018, December 11). Decided I am going to stay here @NtlMuseumsScot forever… [Photo]. Retrieved from here. |
| National Museums of Scotland (NMS). (n.d.). Hood [Photo]. Retrieved from here. |
| Verberg, R. (2019). Reconstructing the Orkney Hood. Retrieved from here. |
| Woods, J. (2002). The Orkney Hood an Ancient Re-cycled Textile. Retrieved from here. |
Dagný Sveinsdóttir is an artisan from the Barony of Mordenvale. Her primary focus at this time is weaving, with a wider scope of interest that includes many textile related fields.
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| Dagný Sveinsdóttir |