FAQs from the Lists

I am on many of the Viking Age Scandinavian weblists, fb groups, yahoo groups, etc. Some questions come up on a regular basis. 

For each of these questions, I am including the common variants of the question, the "short answer", and the "long answer". There are also lots of links.   

This is a work in progress, please have patience with me as I get the common answers compiled. 

The FAQ of VA Scandinavia :P

Q: How do I make pants? (variants, pants for: fighting in, a baby, a tall guy, a guy who rides horses)

The SHORT ANSWER: Dunno, you'll have to guess, here's the evidence: http://urd.priv.no/viking/bukser.html

Longer answer: there are at least three silhouettes of pants: the pajama, the tight-tights, and the Russian baggy pants.

The crotch appears to have been fairly complexly pieced, so if you are up for rectangular construction, YAY! If you are not, then cover up the top, and copy some old pajamas and be done. Also, use belt loops :)

http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/clothing.shtml

(many patterns available of you google "viking age pants")

Q: Embroidery? (where placed on clothing? what patterns/symbols/images to use) 

Short answer: nope. 

Long answer. The consensus is that embroidery was fairly rare in a VA Scandinavian context, and the isolated examples we have do not appear to reflect the local style. VA Scandinavians had richly decorated clothing, but they mostly used patterns woven into the fabric, the trim, or imported silk. There is seam embellishment, but no big zoomorphic or knotwork embroideries. There are tiny appliques of silk, and small decorations made from silver wire. Now, that said, it is possible that the parts of clothing not preserved near metal were embroidered, but there isn't evidence to show that yet. Keep your fingers crossed for new finds. 

http://heatherrosejones.com/mammen/

https://ciarsstitchintime.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/viking-age-embroidery-from-oseberg/

http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikembroid.html

Q: Where do I buy apron pins? 

Short answer: depends on your budget, how authentic you need them to be, and how specific your persona is. 

Long answer. For a small budget, Raymond's is the only place I know with cheap ones. 

https://www.quietpress.com/vikingbrooch.html 

For a moderately large budget, there are several nice choices, but you still don't have a lot of options of time period/place.

If you need them to be specific, then go for quality, but realize it is going to be expensive (please read next section). 

People I personally know to be awesome, and their pins are great: 

Torfin: https://www.etsy.com/listing/228035796/viking-era-oval-brooch-v2-set-of-2?ref=shop_home_active_20

Feed the Ravens: https://www.etsy.com/shop/feedtheravens

Other sellers that have reliable apron pins:

Jelling Dragon: http://www.jelldragon.com/tortoise_brooches.htm

Urweg: http://www.urweg.com/list/broaches.html#Oval_Brooches_

There are MANY more options here, but I do NOT vet the merchants on this list, so shop at your own peril: https://www.pinterest.com/gargoyal2/shopping-for-viking-age-accessories/

Related Q.

Q. How can I get a cheap fake for X item that I really want? 

Short answer. Don't, be medieval poor too :) 

Long answer. This question usually concerns jewelry. VA clothing pins and buckles are like our zippers and buttons, cheap fakes = your clothes fall off in public. People were poor then too. If you can't afford a buckle, wear a fabric belt and knot it. If you can't afford apron pins, you can't afford an apron. Many graves, including almost all of those of low income levels, did not have pins. Wear layers of tunics until you save up enough for pins.

There ARE perfectly reasonable and documentable cheap alternatives for the really essential pins. Cloaks/shawls can be held on with very simple pins made from wood, for example.

This also applies to fabric. Can't afford it? Then neither could you-in-the-Viking-Age! Go find some old blankets at the thrift store and wear that. Save up your money for some decent linen to wear against your skin.

Are there cheap places to buy wool and linen? Of course! But, as in the past, be careful of adulterated materials, shoddy workmanship, and deals that seem too good to be true. Also, don't give your credit card number to shady dealers from odd countries, be sensible. Here is where I buy linen (they have daily sales): http://www.fabrics-store.com/

This seller is also good, watch for clearance fabric: https://www.fabric.com/

If you MUST buy a cheap knockoff, then buy the same kind of cheap knockoff that they had then. It is far more likely to hold up to actual use (pewter clothing pins, for example, fimo will not work for this). 

This goes for beads too. The average number of beads in a single woman's grave is 8.  That is total, over her lifetime.  So, buy them one at a time, get good ones, no need to wear 300 plastic beads from India. 

The other option is to MAKE cool things.  If you make any kind of cool thing, someone will trade you for what you want.  Or learn to make the medieval knock-off versions :) Most of their technology can be replicated in your garage...

Q. I'm cold. 

Short answer: blanket. Wear it. Then sew it into a coat and wear that.

Long answer: VA Scandinavians had LOTS of layers of clothing to keep warm and dry! Hooray!

From the floor up: naalbound wool socks, wool legbindings, wool pants, wool tunic (and wool aprondress for women), wool coat, cloak/shawl, hat/hood, and naalbound mittens!

So, if you are cold at events, then the first thing to get is a nice blanket. If you are female, fold it up (see article here: http://medieval-baltic.us/vendelshawl.html)

If male, pin it on your shoulder and done. 

Next, make yourself a COAT. Coats are delightful, because you get to DO things, AND be warm! Amazing technology! Coats are just a tunic cut up the front. For women, below the knee to ground length, for men, about knee length.

Then comes the fancy stuff, like socks. Having warm feet makes all the difference at a cold, wet event. A hood will also make you a much happier camper, though you can always hold your blanket over your head.

Beyond that, if it, say, snowing, you'll need multiple layers, and a fair amount of preparation. I will say that the first real adventure in the snow is totally worth it, as is going to be WARM at night ;)

Q. How do I make an apron dress? 

Short answer: There is NO "one true pattern". Pick a pattern, any pattern, and try it. If you are just starting out, think of a tunic with the top cut off, on straps (so, a tube the size of your largest measurement, add gores to make skirt, done). 

Long answer. There are many reconstructions of how apron dresses were constructed. Some match the evidence much more closely than others.

The evidence is here: http://urd.priv.no/viking/smokkr.html

Apron dress patterns that include the following are generally not considered to be highly supported: only sewn down the sides of the body, the skirt is two long panels not sewn together. A "tea towel" in the front and back, not sewn together at all. A "wrap around" where the apron is not a tube, but rather wraps around the body.

Apron dress forms that ARE supported by the archeological evidence have the following characteristics: are a complete tube, like a tunic with the top cut off. May or may not have a small section of pleating in the center front. Have gores to make the apron fit to the body and also have a skirt large enough to step in easily. The location of seams and gores varies widely.

In addition, there is another layer, the "ceremonial panel" that resembles the front of the old tea-towel concept. This IS supported by archeological evidence, but over a closed tube apron dress.

Q. I'm female, but I participate in combat. What do I wear? 

Short answer: depends on the situation. Likely men's clothing while fighting, women's clothing the rest of the time (unless you are passing as male in the long term). 

Long answer. There are two instances when we have literary evidence of women participating in combat.  First I call the "big emergency", and it is the most common in the literature. This is an unexpected attack by foes who do not count women as non-combatants.  In this situation, women would fight in whatever they had been wearing when the fight started.  (see Freydis' actions, here: http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en, and various here: http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/society/text/women.htm)

The second is women doing a man's job.  See Aud, taking her own revenge: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ice/lax/lax35.htm

However, this is noted that it is alleged cross-dressing (wearing pants with a gore in the crotch like a man's) that causes the trouble to begin with. Dressing as the opposite sex was grounds for divorce, and gender rules were fairly inflexible for most roles in society. 

In mythology, we also have Skadthi, who took up arms (and pants) for revenge: http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/mythology/myths/text/njord.htm