straw-crafts-msg - 5/4/98
Medieval straw crafts. Plaiting straw. Sources of info.
NOTE: See also the files: basketweaving-msg, headgear-msg, bees-msg, Beekeeping-AS-art, drinkng-strws-msg.
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Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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Subject: Re: BG - knitting
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 98 07:42:55 MST
From: clward at mmm.com
To: bryn-gwlad at Ansteorra.ORG
Annette asked:
>Another [class] is on straw plaiting, is this appropriate for SCA time periods?
I have a wonderful book on medieval straw-plaiting in Sweden, "Skapa med
Halm" (of course, the text is Swedish). Folks made shoes, hats, children's
toys, rugs and mats, Jul-bucks (and other holiday ornaments), courting
gifts, and many other items out of straw in period. In many later period
paintings you can see straw items in rural scenes showing peasant life, and
I'd guess that even the upper classes used certain straw items as well.
::GUNNORA::
Subject: Re: BG -straw weaving
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 98 12:02:25 MST
From: Aceia <Aceia at aol.com>
To: bryn-gwlad at Ansteorra.ORG
I have a whole bunch of plain colored Raffia that I was using to make baskets
and hats following the instructions in a book I have. It is very easy but
time consuming and hard on the hands. I would be interested in any new
material you learn as well as teaching what I know. (Conner would be very
pleased if the raffia found its way to somewhere other than our garage)
According the the book, when you make hats, you have to coil the braid in a
careful manner and then iron it with a wet cloth on it (steam it) in order to
flatten and set it as you go. You can also dye the material for various
effects. She says the dyes come out different than on cloth, but that natural
dyes as well as Rit work well. Raffia is available pre-dyed though...
Subject: BG - Straw and Wheat Weaving
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 98 10:08:01 MST
From: clward at mmm.com
To: bryn-gwlad at Ansteorra.ORG
Stefan li Rous asked:
>What is straw plaiting? What is it used for?
>Is this the braided strands that you often
>see wrapped in spirals to make a straw hat?
Gunnora replies:
Straw plaiting is exactly what it sounds like. You take hay, straw, wheat
stalks, rye stalks -- any type of grass stalks. These are soaked and
usually cut to uniform lengths. Then you braid them in any of a number of
ways, from a two strand twist, to the familiar three-strand braid all the
way to a sixteen strand complex flat plait. Usually the strand of braid is
then sewed or laced to other braids to form flat or even three dimensional
items. This is a hand-craft, as far as I am aware no one ever used any
type of loom with straw weaving.
Today you can see any number of straw plaited items just by going to Pier
One, including place mats, sun hats and the like. Near Christmas time Pier
One imports Swedish Jule ornaments, tiny straw buck-goats (Julbucks) and
pigs and swans and gnome-like straw men and women (Tompte). The Ojos de
Dios that you often see in bright-colored yarns can also be done in straw
plaiting. I once saw a gorgeous wheat-weaving of the Virgin de Guadalupe
where the heads of the wheat were used to make the full-body corona-halo
around the Virgin, and the entire figure was done in the wheat stalks.
I've also seen examples from both Mexico and from Ireland of elaborate
crosses done in wheat or straw weaving.
There are many items that can be made using these simple materials and
techniques. In the medieval period in some places summer shoes were made
this way - they resembled the Dutch wooden shoe in shape, and were used to
walk in boggy areas -- the water runs in when you step in the bog, and the
water runs out when you get out of the water and you still have padding and
a protective wrapping around your foot.
At times plaited straw "boots" were placed on horses' hooves to muffle
them, especially when you were attacking by night.
People used straw weaving to make mats and rugs - different types of
grass/stalks have different characteristics - those wiht lots of pith are
softer and make a softer mat that's more comfortable to stand or sit on,
while sedge or other tough stems will make a tough, rough mat that can be
used to wipe mud off your feet on.
Straw hats of many shapes can be made in this technique - the type of braid
determines the "texture" of the surface, and the shape is determined by how
the loops of braid are coiled and sewn. I have a tall, peaked "Witch Hat"
of straw, and I've seen Phrygian caps done in straw as well. The easiest
way to control the shape of a hat or basket etc. is to use a rigid form to
help guide the construction.
The Norse used staw and wheat weaving to create the Bridal Crown in many
places, especially rural areas (for more info on bridal crowns, see my
article on Viking Weddings at http://www.realtime.com/~gunnora/ -- I have a
picture of a bride wearing one of these crowns, made of wheat and
interlaced with summer flowers).
In pagan societies, rituals were sometimes performed sacrificing straw men
or straw animals rather than using the real thing -- the intent was shown
to the gods, supposedly, and you still had Grandma and your herds when it
was done. I am uncertain of the exact reference, but I believe that I've
seen accounts of the Celts doing this, and I strongly suspect that the
Norse customs of using straw pigs, goats, Tompte-figures etc. probably
originated as a sacrifical substitute.
I know that in the orient rice stalks were used to make everything from
shoes to hats to tatami mats to simple insulated coats for peasants.
The technique is simple, versatile, and best of all, cheap. The materials
can be gathered in any field, though you will get better results if you get
better materials. I especially like weaving with wheat or rye which has
the grain heads present, as the grain can be worked into the design (for
instance, the beard on a Jul-buck, the mane on a straw horse).
::GUNNORA::
<the end>