Liripipe-Hood-art - 12/18/10

"A Liripipe Hood" by Lady AElfgifu of the Glen.

NOTE: See also the files: hds-liripipes-msg, headgear-msg, snoods-cauls-msg, turbans-msg, wool-clean-msg, wool-combing-msg, Stick-Weaving-art.

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NOTICE -

This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium. 

These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author or translator.

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

Thank you,
Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous
stefan at florilegium.org
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This is a copy of the documentation that Lady AElfgifu submitted to the Aethelmearc Kingdom Arts and Sciences Competition, Ice Dragon in 2009.

A Liripipe Hood
by Lady AElfgifu of the Glen                          

Introduction:

       Presented for your consideration is a modified replica of a documented extant Greenland Liripipe Hood dated to approximately 11th-12th C.  The project garment is hand sewn and hand stitched using a modern metal needle.  The tablet woven trim was also created by the submitter.  The fabrics and threads were chosen to be as close to period as possible.  The stitches used are documentable. (See Construction Summary)  The threads selected are as close to period as was available to the submitter.  The linen thread is purchased.  The wool thread is a single ply; hand spun by submitter from wool garnered from the submitters sheep.  The wool was harvested by hand shear, hand washed, Viking combed, and drop spun (S-wise), on a top whorl wooden spindle made by submitters' Lord and spouse. See Appendix A for additional details.
       

       
        The colors were chosen as being generally known and accepted to be available and used during Period.  The green is specifically noted in the Rogart shirt. (Hershall).
       
1. Archaeological vs. Mundane: 
       
       The existence and use of the Liripipe in 11th to 12th Century Greenland is established by the main resource noted in this paragraph.  The particular extant example used for the basis of this project is Norland #67, currently housed in the National Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark.  Its particulars are available to the submitter through the auspices of the book "Woven into the Earth", by Else Ostergard, copyright 2004.  The museum number is D10598 and it may be viewed on page 205.  A tracing is appended as part of this documentation with citations and particulars noted on its reverse.  The dimensional adjustments made to the piece presented are noted on the same documents' reverse as there is a tracing/copy of submitter's original sketch below the Ostergard tracing.  It is noted that the original garment and the current project are both constructed of medium weight wool.  The mundane fabric is not a 2/2 twill like the original.  This option was not available to the submitter at the time.  The lining is 100% linen.
       
2. Construction Element Summary:
	
	Construction was achieved using a running stitch of approximately 2 mm in length.  This is based on archaeological evidence, (Ostergard, Pps 97 & 214) also (Crowfoot).  The edge is finished with a blanket stitch as is commonly found in several examples throughout Period. [Inga Hagg, 1984(Hedeby) as cited by Priest-Dorman].  The linen lining construction was taken one step further as a snug, closely spaced whip stitch was applied to the external surface of the seams to guard against wear and tear; [Hallstadt, (Hundt, 1987©)] also, (Hershall).  The shell was stitched with the hand spun wool thread described in the Construction Summary.

	Decorative stitching is limited to two (2) rows of stab stitching around the face opening. (Ostergard, Pps 97, 203, 206, and 214).

	Tablet woven trim was created by submitter as a typical border treatment, (Ostergard, p104), and applied with a closely spaced whip stitch which also joined the shell and lining at the same time, thus conserving thread and minimizing bulk. (Ostergard, P 214).  Tablet weaving was chosen as opposed to slynging (foot weaving) as both are archaeologically sound and slynging is a skill submitter has yet to master.

	The liripipe piece itself is a separate piece attached with small, closely spaced stitches as extant piece Norland #78 (Ostergard, p 214) indicates as representative and possible at the time.

3. Construction Process:
	
	The first step was to decide on an extant piece on which to base the project.  The criteria for this were authenticity and personal preference.  Having chosen the piece, I next tried on an existing hood belonging to a friend, determined personal size adjustments, and noted measurements on a sketch of the main pieces.  I cut a template from muslin using these measurements and used the template as a pattern piece to cut two (2) lining pieces of linen and two (2) shell pieces of wool.  The gusset was cut by drawing directly on the wool with chalk and a straight edge. The height of the gusset was determined by measurement of the hood pieces.  The width of the gusset was determined by submitters' desired fullness. All pieces were cut out except the liripipe as I was unsure how long I wanted it. There are several examples cited in the attached Resources.  I'm not sure what the function of the Liripipe was, or what determined its dimensions.  The cited examples seem to be inconsistent with each other as to size to the extent that I believe the dimensions had much to do with fabric availability. 

       The lining long seams were sewn first and then the gusset was inserted. The entire lining was sewn with the running stitch previously described in the Construction Summary, and the blanket stitching accomplished along the edge.  The linen lining construction was accomplished with the 2 ply linen thread. (See example 1)       
       
       
       
       
       I then turned the garment right side out and did the external whip stitching with the same 2 ply linen thread. 
       




        The face and bottom edges were left raw as they were scheduled to be finished during final construction.  
       
       The shell was then sewn together in the same manner, using the hand spun wool thread described in the Introduction. The outer seams of the shell were not whip stitched, the running stitches being closely spaced and small enough to preclude the extra step. (See example 2)
       
       
       




 	At this point I decided on the length of the liripipe based on several extant pieces as noted in "Extant Examples Used from Ostergard", as well as personal preference.  The liripipe was then cut, the long seams stitched in the same manner as the shell, the raw edge at the end turned under to approximately 5 mm, and attached to the hood at the upper rear point using small whip stitches and a 2 ply green linen thread.    






       The lining and shell were placed with wrong sides together, the face opening edges were turned under to approximately 7 mm and whip stitched together appropriately using a single ply of  green linen thread.  I chose linen thread for this process as being less likely to pull on the lining. 
       

       
        Stab stitches were added in linen thread the same color as the tablet weaving around the face edge in a manner consistent with archaeology.  (Ostergard; page 213, Norland#77)
       







4. Trim
   
   The origins of Tablet Weaving are still debated however Collingwood lists extant pieces dated prior to AD 1000 (p13-19). Ostergard indicates the discovery of weaving tablets in Norse Greenland although she does state that no actual complete weaving has been registered.  There is however, a 2 mm wide "cord" which "appears to be the outer edge of a larger tablet-weaving as there are remains of weft thread along the edge of the cord." (Pp.113-114).
   
   The trim for the bottom edge, which measures approximately 218.4 cm, was threaded onto 6 four-hole cards (24 threads), and warped on an inkle loom.  A chart is appended below:
   

Card 1   \
Card 2   \
Card 3   \
Card 4   /
Card 5   /
Card 6   /
A
RED
RED
RED
RED
RED
RED
B
RED
GOLD
GOLD
GOLD
GOLD
RED
C
RED
GOLD
GOLD
GOLD
GOLD
RED
D
RED
RED
RED
RED
RED
RED
\ = S threaded cards
/ = Z threaded cards

  	In the interest of experimentally archaeology, there are four (4) patterns in the trim.  Pattern #4 sits at the center front of the lower edge and patterns 3, 2, and 1 flow away in descending order on either side so that pattern #1 meets itself in the back at the ends of the trim piece (See Appendix C). I decided to change up the pattern because I wanted to see what different turns of the cards would do to the piece.  I didn't want the same pattern all the way around. The thread is linen and the colors of yellow and red can be found in a 3rd to 4th century piece from a royal grave found at Polgramsdorf, Nidzica, Poland [Collingwood p14 (Fuhrmann 1949/50, Hald, 1950)]   I believe these colors would still have been used during  11th-12th  century Greenland as indeed they are still used today. The piece of trim was then applied to the lower edges of the hood and lining, these edges having been folded under to approximately 7 mm.  A slightly thicker, (3 ply) linen thread was used to whip stitch all three layers together simultaneously  so as to conserve thread and limit bulk as previously noted.  I then used a single ply of the dark red which matched the border of the woven trim to blind stitch the upper free edge of the trim loosely to the hood. I wanted to encourage it to lie more or less smoothly against the hood and therefore be less likely to catch on anything. I was unable to find archaeological documentation of this last step, but it seemed common sense to me as the top edge of the trim tended to stand away from the hood body.










	

5. Conclusion
       The resulting garment awaits your inspection.



I picked the Liripipe because our local shire had decided to do them for an A & S Project, and as I was cutting it out, I thought how interesting it would be to try and recreate, to some extent, the example we used for a model.  I learned that Tablet Weaving is not my favorite, which means I need more practice.  I learned a lot about stitch placement, and understanding the need for closely spaced, tiny little stitches.  I learned that there is a different kind of satisfaction in constructing a garment entirely by hand.  I believe this will be of value to me in future projects.  I had fun, there were no major complications, and it was a wonderful experience.

Works Cited: 

Ostergard, Else - Woven into the Earth – Aarhus University Press - 2004
Collingwood, Peter - The Techniques of Tablet Weaving – Faber and Faber Limited - 1982
Crowfoot, E - The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial – Vol III – 1983 - The British Museum Publications Ltd, London (Online resource)
Crowfoot, E - The Textiles – 1983 - The British Museum Publications Ltd, London (Online resource)
Hagg, Inga - Textilfunde aus dem Hafen von Haithabu – Wachholtz, Neumünster, 1984,   (as referenced by C Priest-Dorman: Viking Embroidery Stitches and Motifs © 1993, 1994, 1997) (Online resource)
Hald, Margarethe - Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs and Burials –– 1980 (excerpt online at Google Books) 
Henshall, Audrey S - Early Textiles Found in Scotland – (Described by) – Online resource: www.scotwars.com)
Viking World by James Graham-Campbell. Copyright © Frances Lincoln 2001












Extant Examples Used from Ostergard: (Pictures used by permission from publisher; see Appendix B
Norland #65 – P203 – Museum No. D10596	


Norland #67 – P205 – Museum No. D10598	




Norland #68 – P 206 – Museum No. D10599

Norland #74 – P210 – Museum No. D10604

Norland #77 – P213 – Museum No. D10605


Norland #78 – P214 – Museum No. D10606

Appendix A:
The fleece was shorn using mundane metal hand shears similar to those known or believed to be used during the Viking Age. (Campbell p 120)   It was then hand "scoured" which is a spinning term for washing the wool.  This was done by carefully placing pieces approximately 10" by 12" one at a time in two successive soap baths using a mild shampoo and then moving them carefully to two successive rinse baths.  Once clean, the fleece was carefully rolled in a towel to absorb excess moisture, unrolled, and left to air dry.  I then picked through the fleece to remove any remaining vegetable matter and separated the locks.  The locks were lashed onto a pair of Viking style combs (Campbell, P120) to align the fibers, and combed through until the fibers were lying more or less smoothly.  I pulled the fibers through a ditz, which is a small tool with a hole in the center designed to pre draft the fibers.  Spinning was then accomplished.  The thread was wound off the spindle into a skein. The twist was set by a repeat of the scouring process with less soap and hung to dry.  The thread was then wound into a ball ready for use.















Appendix B:
Dear Gretchen Falkenburg,
Please fell free to use the pictures. It might interest you to know that Else Østergård is soon to publish a Norse pattern book with us.
Best wishes,
Sanne Lind Hansen, editor
Aarhus University Press
Langelandsgade 177
8200 Aarhus N
Tlf.: +45 8942 53 76

Dear Gretchen,
That is no problem at all. Please use the following credit line: 
Viking World by James Graham-Campbell. Copyright © Frances Lincoln 2001
With Best Wishes,
Jessica Halliwell
Permissions Assistant
Dear Gretchen Falkenberg,
according to German law it is no problem to cite a book. Please mention author, title, publisher (Wachholtz, Neumünster) and year. 
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Henner Wachholtz
Wachholtz Verlag GmbH
Rungestr. 4
24537 Neumünster
 
Dear Gretchen
"…..
If you just wish to use the author's name and book title as a point of reference for further reading in a paper on a Liripie Hood or as a academic point of reference or footnote, there is no problem in doing so. In fact , there is no need to ask permission for use, unless you wish to directly reproduce specific text or a specific image from a publication.    …"
Reception and Permissions
The British Museum Company Limited
38 Russell Square
London
WC1B 3QQ
Great Britain
Tel 0207 323 1234
email reception at britishmuseum.co.uk






Appendix C:
The cards for this piece were set up as follows:
Card #1			left upright		Card #2		       1/4 turn forward

Card #3  			1/2 turn forward	Card #4   		        1/2 turn forward

Card #5			1/4 turn forward         	Card #6		        left upright


Pattern #1
       3 sets of 4 forward turns
       3 sets of 4 backward turns
Pattern #2
       10 sets of 5 forward turns
       10 sets of 5 backward turns
Pattern #3
       5 sets of; 3 left hand cards forward: 3 right hand cards backward
       5 sets of; 3 right hand cards forward; 3 left hand cards backwards
The above was accomplished in the order described, twice.
Pattern #4
       10 sets of; full pack forward 4 times: full pack backward 4 times
 I wove the patterns in order through Pattern 4. I then proceeded back down through Patterns 3, 2, and 1 in that order to produce the piece.
------
Copyright 2009 by Gretchen Falkenburg, 26118 Smith Heath Road, Cochranton, PA 16314. <l_elfgiva at yahoo.com>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited.  Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.

<the end>

Edited by Mark S. Harris	Liripipe-Hood-art	2 of 18