TABLET WEAVING
FOR HISTORICAL REENACTMENT
Tablet weaving has been our passion and our work for over 15 years now.
We offer custom and ready-made tablet woven trims and belts for reenactors of Early Middle Ages. You can buy them in our online shop (soon) or though our store on Etsy platform. These bands will make perfect embellishment for your historical garment.
Some of these card woven braids are based on archaeological finds, some are possible interpretations of barely visible pattern on a piece of textile that miraculously survived till our times. Others are just our fantasy yet as probable as anything else.
We are still mastering the craft of card weaving and learning new techniques. It turns out that tablet weaving is more intersting and complex than we used to think when we started this adventure;)
This website is currently undergoing some changes as we are planning to add new categories for historical patterns in the upcoming months. You are welcome to follow us on Facebook and drop by here whenever you think of Viking craftsmanship and Dark Ages.
Tablet weaving is an ancient technique (about 3000 years old) of making decorative clothes borders from wool, linen, silk, horsehair, silver and gold threads or whatever other material they had access to at the time. Tablet woven bands were used in the past as trims, belts, headbands or leg wraps. Compared to metal finds not many tablet woven pieces have survived to our times but those which have and can now be seen in museums all over Europe show variety of patterns, from simple geometric to very complex heraldic.
Tablet woven bands based on archaeological finds in Europe
Some of our work
THE NORTHMAN (2022)
In 2020 we were asked by „The Northman” production to make over 20 different tablet woven bands for the movie. The film was directed by Robert Eggers and released in cinemas in April 2022. We are still so proud and happy to be part of this magnificent historical drama. You can see our weavings on many characters’ clothes:
Gudrùn (portrayed by Nicole Kidman) – linen trim along the neckline of her gold wool dress, King Aurvandil – tunic front embellishment and cloak trimming, Gunnar’s tunic with embellished neckline and wrists, Thórir the Proud – leg wrap trims, Captain Volodymyr – cloak trim, Eastern European seeress (Björk )- linen trim wrapped around the wrists, Ashildr Hofgythja (high priestess in Fjolnïr’s Freysdalur temple ) – tablet woven trim at neck and sleeve, and some others.
Linda Muir – a costume designer for „The Northman” posted several pics from the film and her back office on Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/lindamuircostumedesign . Worth seeing 🙂