(Metal tubes on, and as hoped, taking care of the fraying issue.) These were fun to figure out, and not time consuming to do.  Here's some photos of the extant tubes: I just sort of guessed that a nice size would be an inch long, and the pieces I cut to make the tubes are 1/4" wide.  If I had gauge measurements for the Egtved skirt (or actual measurements of the tubes) each would have informed the other, and I'd have a much more precise idea of how far I'm off.  I like making things in sizes of an inch … Continue reading String Skirt 7 – Metal bits on

Here's how the skirt looks now.  It's 144 cm by 38 cm, fringed area, with ties of 27 cm and 40 cm. Here's the Egtved original again, for comparison. (hey look!  the original ties are very different in length, too!  Hmmm…must think about this, in the backstrap vs. extended weaving configuration issue.) I took the skirt off the loom and despite having used a jig to get the fringes all the same length, the deviation from the mean was more than I expected.  However, the fringes all have to be connected still, and loops constructed, and that will change the … Continue reading String Skirt 6 – Weaving done.

(the skirt progresses.  I've got overtwisted doubleplied weft on the spindles, and am extending the weft beyond the tabletwoven waistband by passing the spindle around the dowel on the right.  Periodically I pull the loops off the dowel and allow them to twist up, creating the fringe of the skirt.) One of the things about weaving that I really enjoy is the ebb and flow of the creative work.  There's a crazy dense bit of planning at the beginning – much of the structure has to be figured out just to get started. Then the repetitive work begins, and a … Continue reading String Skirt 5 – Weaving, and deep thoughts

This is a continuation of these preceding posts:

String Skirt 1 – Thinking about various accessories, the books to read

String Skirt 2 – The metal bits

String Skirt 3 – The size of the thing

Continue reading “String Skirt 4 – Those darn loops”

More gratitude to the Danish National Museum, and their citizens who pay more than 50% in taxes to provide hobbyists like me with cool eye candy, among other good things. So, this page and lots of other places describe the arrangement of Egtved Girl's string skirt thus: The Egtved Girl was dressed in a striking cord skirt. It went down to her knees, was wound twice around her waist and was 38 cm long. This kind of skirt was in use throughout the Bronze Age. Some small female figures of bronze from Grevensvænge, Zealand, are also dressed in cord skirts. … Continue reading String Skirt 3 – The size of the thing

I do love the internet.  We get wrapped up in "academic quality comes from peer-reviewed books" and then a wonderful museum posts good photos of some of their most popular exhibits. (photo from the National Museum, Denmark.) Here's the fragments of the Hagendrup skirt that I wanted yesterday, with both cord remains and metal embellishment.  The metal is much longer than I expected, but the tubes are located in a different place, too. Re: what the metal is: I've found descriptions saying both copper and bronze.  I don't know what bronze was, in more detail than "copper + tin", but … Continue reading String Skirt 2 – The metal bits

I find it interesting that nearly all of my European interests center around one little bit of geography.  There's something about the southern North Sea shores that draws me.  My name is from 15thc Zeeland, I'm enchanted by the 5thc brooch-closed Kentish dresses (heavily influenced by the Franks, who occupied Zeeland), I like the tablet-woven edges particular to the Jutes who lived in that peninsula, and my current favorite summer event wear is this outfit, which our extant pieces document to Bronze Age Denmark.  (Same place.)  (I won't talk about my love for Danish modern furniture just now.) Concept: Zealand … Continue reading Bronze Age String Skirt