What are my assumptions?

• Without evidence of visual or written drafting, it is likely that a master tablet weaver did not require a draft for new work.

• The act of weaving is inherently slow and meditative - allowing ample time to anticipate and plan future symbols whilst weaving.

• If a basic drawing was used to help draft a pattern, this notation was not considered a valuable item, was likely drawn with cheap and perishable material, and would not have been interred into the burial mound (this is also assuming that the wearer of such fine tablet weaving was also the weaver = unlikely).

• A skilled tablet weaver may have draw reference from regionally significant symbols or designs, as seen in other ornate crafts like wood/bone/stone carving, pottery, jewellery, embroidery, tapestry.

What do I know?

• Tablet weaving lends itself to geometric symbolism, rather than organic shape building.

• Multiple techniques may also be used to increase complexity and variety of pattern (missed hole, brocade, plain weave)

• A greater number of tablets are required to achieve complexity without loosing pattern definition.

• Previously woven or acquired bands may have been referenced in the creation of new work (Ovre Berge and Snartemo V).

• Most complex bands required a minimum of 3 - 4 different coloured yarns for warp and supplemental wefts. Red, blue and yellow were favoured.

• Repetition of small patterns (diamonds, crosses, diagonals) are often used to frame larger motifs.

Things that worked:

• My early handspun is strong! Only 2 warp threads broke whilst weaving.

• I warped this band around two trees whilst on a living history camp. This worked surprisingly well!

• My backstrap setup was portable, easy to work with and I was able to easily lock the tablets with yarn, rather than a modern pin.

• Bilateral symmetry is much easier than radial symmetry. The most successful symbols I was able to create were variations of diamonds (♢) and crosses (X).

• The segmentation of the symbols with the ornate borders is really effective!

Things that didn’t work:

• I ran out of yarn for my two outermost border tablets… as expected, this made it difficult to unweave and troubleshoot as they fell out of rotation often.

• Asymmetrical symbols require much more concentration and experience than I currently have.

• I can’t really say that I’ve created a unique symbol - they are very common, basic symbols.

• The plain fields of colour surrounding my designs do not look like those from Viking Age Vestfold. They are closer to Baltic or Hochdorf examples.

Things that worked:

• I really liked the increased width of the band.

• The 3/1 broken twill created a great texture and ground weave.

• From my understanding, this is not the typical missed hole set up. I deliberately assigned the thread position to be orange-orange-yellow, rather than the typical orange-yellow-orange threading of common 3/1 broken twill. This allowed me to transfer my new found understanding of two hole pattern design to this band.

Things that didn’t work:

• I thought 20 pattern tablets (5 packs of 4 tablets) would make it easier to design balanced symbols, but it was counterintuitive.

• I was able to add additional elements to the basic symbols I created in Band 1 - although, it was difficult to work 1:1 with my two hole band.

Things that worked:

• Practice has improved my weaving! I was able to weave some more complex motifs

• 24 pattern tablets is optimal for design - well balanced and robust enough for complex symbols

• I was finally able to include areas of woollen brocade!

Things that didn’t work:

• I'm not happy with the pebble weave ground texture. It's pretty but it's not typical of the region. Towards the end of the band I started to "block out" the undesired colour by passing my weft over these warp threads.

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