"Any man who must say, 'I am the king,' is no true king. I'll make sure you understand that when I've won your war for you..." George RR Martin, Game of Thrones
Haithabu, Current-Day Germany ; Latter half of the 10th Century. Approaching the town. Some old habits die hard...
Near Current-Day Pays de Caux, France ; First half of the 11th Century. Photo courtesy Ivana Desančić. "The pine stays green in winter... wisdom in hardship." - Norman Douglas
Haithabu, Current-Day Germany ; Latter half of the 10th Century. This article will look at the step-by-step instructions on the process used to make the type II trousers from Haithabu. Note, some steps may have been simplified in the photos for ease of reading, so one's own due diligence and research should be done before making their own reproduction of these trousers! The Process- Step 1: As with any project, the first step is to get all one's pieces cut out. For measurements, each leg is approximately 2 meters of fabric, with a length that stretches from the true waist to just above the ankle, and is made from a fine madder-dyed plain-weave wool. In addition to the legs, a center front crotch gusset is also made from the same wool. The lower half of the crotch gusset and rear gusset are made from a green plain weave wool, and the layout of these pieces is akin to that of the Thorsberg trousers. The waist band and belt loops are made from handwoven linen and should amply fit over the hips and buttocks when being put on. The "ankle" bands are also from the same linen and should only be slightly larger in circumference than one's calf. Step 2: The first step in sewing the trousers is to assemble the front gusset. This means sewing and seam treating the red and green components to form a single long band. Step 3: Once the band has been completed, it is sewn into the front of the legs. In staying with the original stitching pattern of the extant example, the piece is running stitched in place, and then the seam allowances are folded over once and overcast-stitched down. This form of stitching will be used on most all of the components in this project. Step 4: Now we go to the back, where the rear gusset is sewn in between the legs, using the same running and overcast stitching technique. Step 5: Once the rear gusset has been sewn at the edges, it is then connected to the bottom of the green crotch piece, so that now we have a continuous gusset that stretches from the front of the waistband through to the back. This allows for the inner leg seams to continue and be sewn together down to the bottoms, making the tubes for the legs completely connected and ready for pleating. Step 6: Now we focus on the waist; each of the four or five linen belt loops need to be made. These are rectangular in shape and are best made by sewing them at one side into a tube-shaped piece, turning them right-side-out, and then ironing them flat. No need to hem the ends, as these will be tucked into the waistband seams shortly. Step 7: Now comes the fun part; with the belt loops complete, we now begin to pleat and pin the folds of the wool legs into the two pieces of the linen waist band. While conjectural, I have found the easiest way to do this is to have the waist in two separate pieces, and once the legs are pleated, "sandwich" them in between the two waist bands. Be sure to remember to properly measure, space out, and insert your belt loops as you go around! Once you do your running stitch, it will be difficult to undo to put in missing belt loops! Once all this is properly pleated, pinned, and measured, you can begin sewing. Step 8: For the waistband, I used a heavy hand-spun linen thread. This will ensure a good amount of durability in holding all this together, as pleating this much wool into a linen band will cause some degree of stress on the seams - even with the lightweight wool, these trousers are heavy! Your seam will run through the inner side of the waistband, through the pleated wool, through the lower half of the belt loop, and then through the outer half of the waistband. Step 9: Once the lower half is complete, you can do the upper half. I did this by tucking the two upper halves together in on themselves, being sure to get the upper halves of the belt loops as well, and then secured them with a single row running stitch. Since not much pressure is being put on this seam, I decided only a single row stitch will suffice. One thing of note: Be sure to make sure all of your pleats are properly in place when you sew the lower part of the waistband! It wasn't until after I had completed all of this that I noticed one of my outer pleats had come loose as it wasn't properly secured when sewing! No matter, a quick mend at the end of the project should fix it... Step 10: Now, a similar process is done for the lower halves. These can prove a little more challenging, mostly in part due to the fact that there is the same amount of wool as earlier being gathered into a far smaller space. But just take your time and go slow and it'll work out! Sandwich your pleats in between the two halves of linen, double running stitch them together, then close up the upper halves like you did the top of the waistband earlier and you're done! Step 11: Once all of this is done, you can complete your final steps and finishing touches. Here you can age the piece to make it look more worn, add repairs, etc. In my case, I needed to close up that front pleat that came loose during the sewing process! Now you're all done! My own personal sewing time, doing everything by-hand, took about seven to eight hours total, with the most time-consuming part being pleating and pinning the waist and ankles. Most of the seams are basic stitches that can be done at a beginner level, however, the addition of the pleats certainly makes this a more advanced-level project.
For more information on the complete trousers, and how they were likely worn and used in their original form, be sure to check out the other article at projectbroadaxe.weebly.com/viking-age-nordic-history/viking-age-fashion-baggy-type-ii-trousers-from-10th-century-haithabu-hedeby Ready to pass through yet another winter - and if all goes well - emerge intact on the other side.
Haithabu, Current-Day Germany ; Latter half of the 10th Century. |
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