ArnÞor Hestofði

My goal was to make a lightweight summer hood that maintained all of the pertinent features from the original that were frequently missing from reproductions and tutorials I had found. Making the hood from a single layer of linen meant structural deviations were required. Rather than making the hole in the middle of the main panel and binding the edges, I had to make a long strip and fold it over.

It was important that I maintained the seam for the "comb" on top, which works reasonably well as a stiffener even in linen. The ties on the original were a simple four-strand braid, but I took the chance to experiment with my weaving and made a mixed two and four hole set of woven ties with an integral loop on one side. Couching is my addition to give the plain linen some texture, as well as spicing up the hem whipping with multiple colors.

If I were to do this project again, I would scale the head portion of the hood down for a more snug fit and reduce the height of the comb, but otherwise, the project turned out very well.

My inspiration was this fragment from Swedish pinterest, showing a fuzzy trim of fulled wool dyed with madder - fake fur, in essence. While I didn't have quality enough wool fabric to comb to the point of fuffiness, I did have a pound or two of roving, some recycled coat scraps for a base, felting needles, and hubris.

My construction is much different than historical examples due to a materials budget of zero, a lack of other wool clothing, and the last Oerthan winter event being -20 degrees. The shell is two dyed army blankets, the inside is linen blend, and the insulation is moving blanket. Fleece was considered, but static was a concern. The neckline was left straight to ease trim construction. The teal cuffs are once again recycled coats, with the edges bound in herringbone stitch. The lining includes a cell phone pocket in the breast for ease of access.

First step on the faux flokatti was to dye the wool. Sources online indicated madder, so I tried a couple of reds and rolled the dice since I was dyeing over brown. The difference ended up being extremely subtle, so I just blended the two. Even with minimal agitation, the loose roving felted to itself, and which necessitated loosening it up with a slicker brush before use. The static generated got out of hand quickly, so sprinkling some water in the middle of the pack of fibers mitigated that.

To create the trim, I assembled some base wool into the correct shape and felted onto that, leaving some space at the edge to fold over the raw edges from the main garment. To attach the roving, I went section by section, first felting in the middle of a pack of aligned and sorted fibers, then folding them back over into the correct direction and felting that down as well. Once complete, I turned the piece over and lightly punched the back side to lock everything in. For security, I stitched over the outer edge of the fur. I pecked away at this stage by itself for most of a year. It's as boring as it sounds...

But the results are worth it. When this picture was taken (and presently as well) the dense two-color herringbone binding the raw edges on the teal trim was not yet complete. Next stages are finishing that and weaving a less reddish belt to match.

Bicolor herringbone on the cuffs. This stitch on the hem is in progress.

Large-scale trim for a renfaire hood

Pants cuffs, installed during aftermath of 2018 earthquake

Tunic sleeve trim, quarter for scale

Bog chairs are a reenactorism, I know, but this turned out rather well. Especially considering I had never used a wood chisel before.

Birka pouch, dyed with local berries and cabbage of indeterminate origin

Viking chest. This was produced in one weekend, with a CNC router, no time, and nearly no money for materials or hardware.