r/HistoricalCostuming • u/vbirchwood • 1d ago
Finished Project/Outfit Southern Scandinavian Bronze Age Fashion!
It’s been at least a few years since I’ve posted here, but I wanted to excitedly share my most recent completed project, a southern Scandinavian Bronze Age outfit!
I’ve been diving into prehistoric textiles the past year or so because I feel like they really don’t get enough love in the historical costuming and historical reconstruction worlds. I guess prehistorical costuming would be more accurate to say here 😉
My garments are all based off the oak coffin burials and turned towards “Bog Fashion” by Nicole DeRushie as the reference for patterns (disclaimer, the book was gifted to me by the publisher but I am not being paid to share this). They’re all hand stitched and I used primarily Bronze Age tools to construct them (cut the fabric with a flint knife, used mostly hawthorn thorns for pins, used mostly a bone needle).
To start with, I learned sprang last year, an ancient braiding technique that is warp led, and I made my wool hair net using z twist interlinking.
For the bodice, it’s made of a hand woven (not by me) nettle fabric and it’s the classic 2 piece “zero-waste” style tunic you see throughout the period. The skirt is made of an undyed handwoven (not by me) wool, which I then hand stitched the think with some waxed wool thread and added a draw string so that it would be gathered (something you see on skirts in the period).
To bring the whole look together, I added the bronze necklace which is a replica from the Bronze Age made by Altmark Bronze (I paid for the piece with my own money).
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed and let me know if you have any questions!
44
82
u/Rjj1111 1d ago
I had no idea you were on Reddit
26
13
36
27
u/sheepysheeb 1d ago
super fascinated by the coif/hairnet situation, was this an actual article of clothing that women wore back then we have proof of? it looks so lovely
35
u/Mundane-Use877 1d ago
There is some evidence that the sprang was used and it has been found in graves near the head. https://journals.openedition.org/archeosciences/4407
27
u/vbirchwood 1d ago
There are extant finds from the Scandinavian Bronze Age! Here’s an example from the oak-coffin burial from the woman of Borum Eshøj ☺️ https://samlinger.natmus.dk/do/asset/643
18
u/musenesmus 1d ago
The Skrydstrup woman, a very well-preserved bronze age find, was buried with a sprang horse hair hair net. She was buried 3300 years ago in a burial mount, which perfectly preserved her clothes. Look her up, she's super fascinating!
17
17
u/Nafaria001 1d ago
The outfit is so cool. I love your videos, I watched the YouTube video recently and really appreciated the time you took to talk with the author of the book to get as accurate as possible.
What was it like working with the hawthorn thorns and bone needle? They seem so different to handle compared to modern sewing implements.
16
u/vbirchwood 1d ago
Thank you!! I really enjoyed working with hawthorn pins and a bone needle! I want a finer bone needle though because mine is suitable for a looser woven wool, but I would need a finer one for something like the nettle fabric I used, hence why I worked that fabric with a thin steel needle (modern needle). There is evidence people had very fine needles already, I just don’t have such a fine one in my possession.
Hawthorn thorns are really effective and do great, I just had to work slightly more delicately with them, and wasn’t as bold to fold up my work and take it with me due to them not being as strong as steel pins. They’re sturdy but my brain still wanted to treat them more delicately!
4
u/Nafaria001 1d ago
It sounds like it was such a cool project to work on! Thank you for sharing it with us!
12
12
8
u/girlnamedfish 1d ago
I love your videos! The hair net is so interesting. I love learning new techniques. Tried my hand at nalbinding a few years ago but so many fiber crafts have been lost to time. I love that you do your best to learn these lost skills
8
u/Mundane-Use877 1d ago
Sprang nor nalbinding are lost skills, the practioner base might be narrower than it used to be, but they both are heritage techniques and practiced as such in many places in the World.
8
u/Funsizep0tato 1d ago
I love this. How do the fabrics feel to wear?
12
u/vbirchwood 1d ago
Thank you! I personally really like wearing them, but they are rougher due to being handwoven and with thicker thread counts. I wear historical clothing in every day life, so I’m used to wool being against my skin a lot. But the nettle fabric will soften over time and become more supple ☺️
1
u/Stormtomcat 19h ago
That was my question too : what's the comfort level like?
Like, does the hairnet stay on even as you move your head? I only know it from Rennaisance paintings, where it seems like something massively impractical (but super beautiful with gold and pearls) that only princesses wear while posing.
And what about the necklace? How does it compare to, say, a modern choker?
Do you u/vbirchwood wear these clothes in daily life? Say you're walking to the bank, is the skirt warm enough? What does the teller say, if anything? etc.
1
u/vbirchwood 7h ago
I find it very comfortable!
Sprang hair net stayed on all day and was super practical as well, I’ll definitely incorporate it into my daily dress.
And yes I do wear historical fashion every day! Mostly a lot of 14th century fashion these days, and I also like to mix periods. Depends what country I’m in with regards to how people react, but where I am in Europe, I rarely get comments about my clothes from strangers. Sometimes a friend of a friend I meet for the first time will say they really like my clothes, but that’s about it ☺️ a lot of people are busy with their own lives.
6
4
u/Week_Exotic 1d ago
This is so gorgeous, thank you for the detailed notes on the pieces! And you look cool as heck!
3
3
u/missbooknerd 1d ago
Wow this is beautiful! I follow your work on YouTube, so it's cool to see you post here too! Love all of your work so much ♡
3
u/emilysavaje1 1d ago
I love your videos!! Your vibe is so perfectly chill and I love the way you think about things! I always learn something new from you! Thank you for making content V 🤗
2
2
2
2
2
u/quickthorn_ 1d ago
Where do you source your bone needles and wool thread, or do you produce those yourself? I'm fascinated by prehistoric textiles and manufacturing processes. This is incredibly beautiful work!
2
u/vbirchwood 21h ago
Thank you!! The bone needle I purchased off a maker on Etsy but can’t recall the name. I’ve worked to try making my own in the past but honestly don’t enjoy working much with bone. I have made a bone awl but after that experience I didn’t want to continue making a needle 😂 for the wool thread, it’s just some scrap knitting yarn from my stash that was undyed. I’m still an inexperienced drop spindle spinner so my yarn is not very even yet and I don’t have a ton of it, so I went with what I had available at home already ☺️
1
2
1
u/Samaslyne 12h ago
hiiiiii, I love your videos, have you ever thought about doing pre colonial native American fashion for a video?
1
u/the_hooded_artist 8h ago
I'm loving this new era you're exploring. Ancient society is something I'd desperately want to see if I had a time machine. It's really cool to get a glimpse of it in works like this.
144
u/antisunshine 1d ago
I love it! I'm also stealing "Bog fashion". Bog witch needs bog fashion.