Ready to Transform Into a Viking? A Wool Apron Dress Tutorial

This Week's vlog is the follow up to my Viking Age Tunic dress which I posted last week. When discussing the clothing of Birka and other Norse cultures, a woolen dress is an iconic look which is functional while tending a fire or many other activities.

My apron dress is inspired by the finds out of Birka. The wool I used was a light weight suiting with a 2:2 twill weave. The long seams of this dress were finished with a machine for speed, and all of the seam finishings were hand sewn. I used a woolen finishing technique I learned about while flipping through Woven into the Earth by Else Ostergard. The technique involves using wool yarn and a couching stich of sorts to encase the raw edges of the wool. The end result is a low profile and durable seam around the neck and hem of my apron dress. I love that all of the hand sewn elements of this dress start to create a decorative finish on the outside of the dress and the only extra embellishment I added was a herringbone stitch over the top of my initial seam which should help it lay more flat with wear rather than bubbling between the finished edges.

While I am still a novice when it comes to Viking age clothing, this was a really fun and I think a good beginner project. I know in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) we are always looking for ways to let folks get started and having made more of these outfits I can see why so many new folks love them. Hopefully this little dress diary on what Viking Woman wore was helpful. Thank you so much for watching.

My other videos on Viking Age Clothing:
   • I Sewed a Viking Tunic for April Fool...  

#sewingvlog #sewingtutoarial #vikingageclothing

I also referenced these books for some of the techniques and information I used (links are affiliate links):
Woven into the Earth by Else Ostergard https://amzn.to/3o0kVb2
Medieval Garments Reconstructed: Norse Clothing Patterns by Lilli Fransen, Anna Norgaard and Else Ostergard https://amzn.to/3nV3MiS
Viking Clothing by Thor Ewing https://amzn.to/3GuIBKP

Sewing tools you might find handy for this project
worsted wool yarn to couch down: https://amzn.to/3KF6S2b
embroidery needles: https://amzn.to/3MQcbhU

For mor information on the Pink Tax and examples of where I purchased my metal rulers please check out this video:
   • Uncovering the Unexpected Tax on Sewi...  

Social Media and other Places to Find me:
Instagram: @maridith.smith
Blog: https://www.tudorrevolution.blogspot.com
Pinterest:   / tudorrevolution  
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/maridithsmith

All Music was Provided by the YouTube creator studio.
Video edited with DaVinci Resolve 17.
Filmed with Cannon M50 https://amzn.to/43jBL4H