Costumes

General

Historical Costuming FAQ

Clothing and Costume

By the Ministry of Arts and Sciences for the Kingdom of Atlantia... many links for costumers.

The Costumer's Manifesto

A great resource for costume links.

An Anachronist's Encyclopedia - Clothes

Numerous links to clothing sites, everything from kilts and 12th century garb to Elizabethan.

Calafia: Costumers Guild

Costumes and Clothing

Patterns of Time Link Page

Simplicity Patterns

Simplicity has come out with some amazing Medieval and Renaissance costume patterns. With slight alteration, you can have an authentic looking outfit.

Needle Arts

Sewing and Costume links... plus a bit more than you probably wanted to know, but interesting.

Ravensguard Costuming and Textiles Page

Duct Tape Double

Tired of asking your significant other to get out of his comfy chair to help you fit your costumes? Think that custom-made dressmaker forms are expensive? Try this! Yes, duct-tape binds the universe together, and can make you a satisfactory dummy.

Clone Yourself a Fitting Assistant

Four ways to make a dressmaker form. Includes some extra pictures on the duct tape double method.

Sewing Central

Historic Patterns and Fabric

Grannd Garb Costuming Supplies

Lots of notions for costumers.

Reconstructing History

Essays about early period garb.

When Do You Want to Wear Today?

Medieval Clothing

Strutt's Dress & Habits of England

A nineteenth century book on historical costume. Interesting pictures. Not certain that it would make a very good source, but neat to look at...

The Zen of Spiral Lacing

Period Pleats

I often wondered what the differences were. Ask no more and check here!

Poison Pen Press Costume Books

Grannd Garb

Historic, Reenactment and Renaissance Fair Clothing Supplies and Accessories.

Sumptuary Laws in the SCA

What new and old alike should know is off-limits in accessories, so they don't offend anyone. :)

Costume Museums in Europe

How to Make Self-Supporting Bodices

Keradwc's Medieval Page

Fabulous place to look at pictures of other people's garb! This guy does professional photography, and you can see portraits of people who attend events in the West Kingdom.

Straw Search - Seeking Straw Hats in Medieval and Renaissance Works of Art

Clothing of the Ancient Celts

The Tailor's Book of Enns (c. 1590, German)

Building Bodices

The Peculiar Lacings of Maddalena Doni

Sumptuary Practices of the West Kingdom

Creating a Simple Tunic for SCA wear

Period Costumes

Absolutely gorgeous costumes, instructions on how to starch a ruff.

Roman

Hair and the Artifice of Roman Female Adornment

The Roman Makeover

Roman clothing

Nova Roma

Tunica

Nova Roma Reanactments

Cold-Weather Clothing

Tunics

Civilian Clothing

Iron Age

Iron Ages Society

Page has a bit on Finnish dress with some smallish pictures.

Viking

The Ten-Gore Dress: Cotehardies from Herjolfsnes

The Viking Experience

Lots of information about basic viking costume.

Female Viking Dress

I thought that this was one of the more complete pages about viking textile and dress. The link is flaky, as I have found it doesn't always work, however when it does it is a good source of information.

Viking Age Clothing

By Hrefna in heppna Thorgrimsdottir and Leifr Hjalmsson. Good bibliography to work from.

10th Century Viking Outfit

Kostymekompendium

Cool viking costume site (in Norwegian), rough patterns for stockings, headgear, tunics, et al.

Viking Cap and Women's Dress in General

Hangerok

Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon Dress for Men and Women

A nice essay on dress in the 9th century. It has pictures and describes the differences in clothing between social ranks. Not a "how-to", but it has the necessary background information that any costumer would need in making truly authentic garb.

An Anglo-Saxon Cyrtel

Handwoven gown and docutmention... well done!

Finnish Dress

In Finnish, and I have no idea what they are saying. A few really cool pictures. Tuukkalan nalbinding fragments!

Vikingatida kvinna

Nice pictures of viking costume... click on pictures to get details. I think they are actually selling patterns, but this is still nice.

Re-Enactor's Dark Age Kit

Good examples of viking garb and accoutrements.

An Archaeological Guide to Viking Men's Clothing

Norse Woman's Head Dress

Middle-Eastern

Dar Anahita

Site devoted to SCA period Near/Middle Eastern costume and resources.

Far-Eastern I realize this is very general, but it isn't something I have a lot of call for personally. Mainly this info was collected for a themed event.

Buryat Traditional Costume

The Mongolian Nationality

National Costumes of the Mongolian People's Republic

Mongolia Today: Traditional Clothes

Picture of a Wealthy Buryat Man and Wife

Korean Traditional Dress

Interesting explanation of change in dress due to Korea becoming a vasal state of Mongolia.

Chinese Knotting Home Page

Medieval European

These apply to many different areas, not just a specific region.

Metallic Trims

Metal trims and early period personae.

Some Clothing of the Middle Ages

Misperceptions about Medieval Clothing

Mistress Cori on Kirtles

Medieval Costume Do's and Dont's

Medieval Wedding Album and Costume Guide

She has ideas for all levels of sewing skill. Worth a look.

An Illustration of an English Woman's Clothing from the late 14th Century

La Couturiere Parisienne: Medieval & Renaissance

A lot of pictures.

Circa 1296 braies information

De Liebaart - The Braies

Nice pictures, if light on text. Other things than braies too.

Medieval Clothing Pages

Articles of interest to costumers... lots and lots.

Early Medieval Clothing Patterns

Leine

Frankish Costume

Medieval Women's Hose

Author believes hose pattern is good for 13th through 15th centuries.

The Tunic of St. Louis

Very simple tunic pattern with very little waste of fabric. Super period for 13th century!

Late 13th- Early 14th Century Drawstring Pouch

Practical Worksheet for Tunic Construction

Drafting a Houppelande Pattern

Le Costume de Jeanne d'Arc

Okay, my first foray into French webpages.

Medieval Costume

A paper about 11c and 12c gowns.

Medieval Women's Hose

A Bliaut?

Clothing of Norman Women in the Late 11th and Early 12th Centuries

Italian

The Milanese Tailor's Handbook

Pictures of late-period European garb.

Italian Renaissance Costume Construction

Italian Renaissance Links

Late Italian Ren

Mid-Italian Ren

Italian Renaissance Hair Taping

Clothing in 16th Century Venice

Renaissance

Renaissance Costume Page

Links to 16th century Northern European Renaissance costume references.

Landsknecht and Costume Site

Women's Roll Hats

The Renaissance Tailor: Recreating 16th and 17th Century Clothing

A fine site. Regular articles, tips, and ideas.

Eleonora of Toledo and Her Son

Some nice, up close pictures of details from the painting.

Tudor & Elizabethan

The Elizabethan Corset Page

An informative page, with paterns and rules of thumb.

The Elizabethan Costuming Page

This is the actual home page for the corset page. It has additional links that are very useful.

Wasp Creations

This lady sells corsets, and has many pages about tight-lacing and tips. This is not essentially a medieval page, but it does have some good points about wearing corsets.

Boning for Costume, Evening and Bridal Wear

Corsetry at waisted.com

Sewing Tips and Techniques for 17th Century Costume

Tudor Gable: Illustrated Step by Step Instructions

French Hoods

Sempstress.com

Costume site featuring articles and the interesting "Ye Olde Dial-A-Dress" where you can try out different cuts and see what dress you like best.

Tudor dress: portfolio of images

Wonderful resource for deciding on your next gown.

Farthingales Fabrics By Mail

Steel Stays and such if you aren't inclined to make your own.

Margo Anderson's Historic Costume Patterns

Fabulous Elizabethan patterns, worth every penny.

Elizabethan Costume: History and Technique

Site by Margo Anderson, of Margo's Patterns.

Upper Middle Class and Noble Women

Info on dressing in Elizabethan times.

Elizabethan Smock Pattern Generator

A Festive Attyre: Renaissance and Elizabethan Costuming

Men's Shirts in Elizabethan England

How to Starch an Elizabethan Ruff

Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe

Cauls, Hairnets, and Snoods

16th Century Cauls, Hairnets and Snoods

Footwear

History of Footwear

Leatherwork and Footwear

Footwear of the Middle Ages

Viking Shoe Patterns

Shoe Making

Leatherworking in the Middle Ages

Poor People's Poulaines

Footwear of the Middle Ages

Ghillies Pattern

Make Irish shoes for re-enactment.

Medieval and Postmedieval Turnshoes from Kempten (Allgäu), Germany

Demonstrations: Felt Boots

Gloves

Notes on Gloves and Glovemaking in the 16th Century

Duello Gloves (rapier/fencing gloves)

There are lots of stuff on the main site, www.glove.org.

Fabrics

Phoenix Textiles

Excellent customer service and other perks. Wonderful prices on linen and wool.

Clearance and Bargain Fabric Sources

Cloth 4 Less

Inexpensive fabric discount wholesale and retail cheap.

Denver Fabrics

Possible source of silk brocade.

Online Costume Resources

GBACG page with online shopping resources for fabrics, trim, and more.

Cheeptrims.com

Super cheap bulk trim site.

TrimFabric.com

Fashon Fabrics Club

Fabric Club: Wholesale Mail Order Fabrics

Dharma Trading Co.

Sellers of silk, dyes, etc.

SilkConnection.com

MILIEUX: Online Costume Sources/Supplies

Jacinth's Recommended Costume Books:

Medieval Costume in England and France: The 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries, by Mary G. Houston

Good all-around book if you want to focus on costume of this period. There are also portions dealing with priestly robes of the era.

Tudor Costume and Fashion, by Herbert Norris

I didn't have high expectations in this book, but when I received it I instantly appreciated it's detail, pictures, and the sheer amount of information. Excellent book for anyone studying Tudor costume.

Racinet's Full Color Pictorial History of Western Costume, by Auguste Racinet

Lots of pictures to get ideas on styling costumes, in fact the above picture is one of them.

Embroidery and Needlework

Elizabethan Blackwork Embroidery Archives

A very fine site, offering a variety of reversible patterns.

Medieval/Renaissance Embroidery Page

The Entire Bayeux Tapestry

Fair pictures of the panels comprising the tapestry; not close enough for great detail.

The Bayeux Tapestry

Sketches of each of the panels give an idea of details.

A Stitch Out of Time

Master Richard Wymarc's Medieval Embroidery Webpage.

Needlepoint/Needlework Links

West Kingdom Needleworkers Guild

American Needlepoint Guild: Stitch of the Month

Page with a lot of examples of different types of needlepoint stitches.

Fill-in Patterns from Sixteenth Century Blackwork Embroiderers

Nice patterns, also has a brief bibliography and some book sources that you might find useful.

Blackwork designs from 16th Century Sources

Bronwen's Blackwork Library

Blackwork Stitches: Double Running Stitch

Italian Band Blackwork Patterns

Assisi Handout: Class Overview

Long-Armed Cross Stitch Embroidery

A most excellent example, period pattern and all.

Interweaving Stitches

Stitch Online

From the Skinner Sisters, an online magazine about embroidery and other needlecrafts.

Free Blackwork and Assisi Patterns

Kiara's Historical Embroidery Page

Counted Thread Work

Works in SCA period. Decent picture of an extant piece from the V&A Museum (a blackwork coif).

Viking Embroidery Stiches and Motifs

Tent Stitch Applique'

Jacinth's Recommended Embroidery Books:

Blackwork Embroidery, by Elisabeth Geddes, Moyra McNeill

Blackwork, by Mary Gostelow

Weaving

Tablet Weaving

Tablet Weaving Archive

An SCAer's delight.

The Weaver's Hand

TurnStyler

Hey! Here's some software to keep the twists in line. Distributed by Weaver's Hand site.

Homepage Kurt Laitenberger

Nice samples of woven bands... some in English, but he's working on it.

Tablet Weaving Information

Adventures in Tablet Weaving

Birka-Style Tablet Weaving Recipe

I keep looking for documentable period patterns. This is a nice one.

1998 Tablet Weaving Adventure in England and Holland

Brocaded Tablet Weaving

Three Recipes for Fourteens- and Fifteenth-Century Tablet Weaving

Tablet Weaving

Tablet Weaving Simulator

A Java-based applet. I haven't actually tried this one, but it looks interesting.

Tablet Weaving, Continuous Warp

Tablet Weaving Theory

A Saxon Threaded-In Tablet Weave

Eachna's Tablet or Card Weaving Page

Card Weaving

Card Weaving Study Material

Brocaded Tablet Weaving

Intermediate Tablet Weaving: Figured Double Weave

Card Weaving

Good pictures. Geared towards primitive skills... although I would consider TW to be a rather sophisticated art.

Brocaded Tablet Weaving

Bibliography of Sources for Information on Period Tablet Weaves

Basic Tablet Weaving Patterns

Tablet Weavings

Good, up-close pictures of tablet weaving. I wasn't sure I was doing double-turn correctly until I saw this.

Brettchenweben

Cool museum page in German about tablet weaving.

Brettchenweben

Virginia Corman's and Phiala's pages translated into German.

Handwerk

Another German page on tablet weaving.

Metallic Trims

Metal trims and early period personae.

The Loomy Bin

Card and regular weaving stuff. Really cool java-based tabletweaving simulator.

Continuous Warping on a TWinkle Loom

The Rediscovery of Tablet Weaving

Brettchenweben

In German, but still a nice site; links, patterns, pictures. A work in progess, but I think it has a lot of potential.

Guntram's Tablet Weaving Samples and Patterns

I really like this guy! He had patterns and a program for designing patterns. Nice examples.

Guntram's Tablet Weaving Articles

Card Weaving by Bart & Robin Blankenship

Tissage aux Cartons

Canadian/French cardweaving site.

13th Century Brocaded Tablet Woven Band

Inkle Weaving

Inkleweaving.com

A resource portal for those who enjoy inkle weaving.

Looms

Stefan's Florilegium: Medieval Looms

Loom Types by Joanne Hall

Actually an article on using Jack looms. Some good tricks of the trade.

Leclerc Looms

High-quality Canadian-made looms.

10 Steps to Warping a Loom

Loom Construction References

Stefan's Florilegium: Looms

How to use the sample record card

A way to record your patterns and samples.

Build a Warp Weighted Loom

Mistress Barbara atte Dragon's web page. This lady is really sweet! Great pictures of her loom and tools. Super tips, if you have not used a WWL (some I had not read before!) There are also some good plans for a WWL, although you need to download the image to see it properly (sized too small on the page) -- it isn't too challenging for a novice, and it wouldn't require special tools other than a saw and drill to make. She even incorporates tablet weaving in the selvage, if you haven't seen good pictures of that. Glad to see her page return after hiatus... even better than it was in 2001!

The Warp-Weighted Loom: Some Sources

Recreating period fabric production

Great ongoing record of replicating medieval fabric on a warp weighted loom.

13th Century Spanish Loom

Warping and weaving on a warp-weighted loom

Warp Weighted Loom

In German, but still nice pictures.

A Weaver's View of the Catal Huyuk Controversy, by Marla Mallett

Backstrap Weaving

Backstrap Looms

BACKSTRAP WEAVING IN JACALTENANGO

Constructing a Warp-Weighted Loom

Warping your Loom

Warping your warp-weighted loom...

Glossary of Loom and Equipment Terms

Organizations

Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.

Medieval Textiles Study Group

Complex Weavers Website

Tablet Weavers' International Studies & Techniques

An Tir Spinners Guild

Spun, Warped, and Twisted: Atlantia's Fiber Arts Guild

Contemporary Handweavers of Houston

Textile Museum of Canada

Equipment and Fiber Vendors

White Wolf and the Phoenix

I bought a loom from him. I was very pleased with the result.

Weaving Links

Robin and Russ Handweavers

Got my 6-hole hexagonal cards here. Tons of books and weaving supplies. If you want to buy from them, just give them a call. Do not rely on email, it doesn't get the same response.

Halcyon Yarn

Got tired of looking through the junk at Joann's and Wal-mart. They have really classy stuff! Online shopping is very easy.

Lacis Online Catalog

Nice online store; good selection of supplies. I got my laminated tablet weaving cards here.

Paradise Fibers

Raw fibers (flax, silk, wool), natural dyes, yarns and spinning equipment. Very easy to do business with.

Frelsi Farm

Icelandic sheep wool. I have not personally done business with them, but I include this link so you can check it out for yourself.

The Mannings Knitting, Weaving & Spinning Supply

General Weaving Links

Textiles and Weaving Links from Atlantia

Weaving Mailing List Archive

Clothing and Fabric Production

Double Hole Rigid Heddle Weaving

Faena: Past into Present

Nancy McKenna's site.

Ashenhurst's Formula

A better way to arrive at the sett for weaving.

Anglo-Saxon and Viking Crafts - Textiles

Digital Archive of Weaving Documents

Fabulous collection of weaving books online.

Basic Weave Structures

Viking Textiles

Tablet Weaving

Herveus' 3/1 twill patterns

Jacinth's Recommended Weaving Books:

The Techniques of Tablet Weaving, by Peter Collingwood

This book comes highly recommended as THE book to get on tablet weaving. It is out of print currently, but I hear it may reprint soon!

Ecclesiastical Pomp & Aristocratic Circumstance : A Thousand Years of Brocaded Tablewoven Bands, by Nancy Spies

THE book on brocaded tablet weaving. Excellent reference of historical finds as well.

Card Weaving , by Candace Crockett

A good beginners book on tablet weaving. It has been getting scarce in recent years, even though I have heard they are reprinting.

Card Weaving or Tablet Weaving, by Russel Groff

A good beginners book on threaded patterns.

Weaving Inkle Bands, by Harriet Tidball

One of the pioneers of rediscovering narrowwares as a craft. Inkle weaving is a great way for beginning weavers to learn about woven structure without a big outlay of dough.

Inkle Weaving, by Helene Bress

Considered THE book on inkle woven narrowware. A good "how-to" book.

Learning to Weave, Revised Edition, by Deborah Chandler

A good book for the beginning weaver. Goes into detail on instructions and has good pictures on warping, reading and designing drafts, and the basics of weave structures.

Nålbinding

Naalbinding Basics

Stefan's Florilegium: Naalbinding

Practical Naalbinding

Good explanation how to start with a "Josephine Knot".

Anglo-Saxon and Viking Crafts - Nalebinding

Often used as a reference for nålbinding, this article gives a good overview of the craft.

Basic Naalbinding

Phiala has done this a bit... I see that her pictures of naalbinding use cording, much like Margrethe Hald's book, Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs and Burials, and that made things easier to learn.

Nålbinding Techniques of the Viking Age

Basic Kit Guide - Socks

Examples of nålbinding socks. Specific mention of the York sock.

Neulakinnas

It's in Finnish, I think, but it has an examples of nålebinding in mittens, and in one place a sock. Instructions are included, starting work from the fingers. Not sure of the loop origin, but from the knots it looks like UUOO/UUOOO.

Nålbinding 101: Introduction to the "Åsle" stitch

I rather liked this one. Good pictures of how to do stitches, although they could be a little closer up.

Nalbinding: How I was taught to do it

Nålbinding

In Norwegian, I believe. Nalbinding used for stockings.

Textiles

A page on textiles mentioning nalebining (in Norwegian).

Viking York

Has a picture of 10th century naalbinding sock.

Viking Sock

Picture of a nalebinding sock. Looks like Coppergate variety.

Making Rugs with Old Toothbrushes

Naalbinding, essentially.

Nålbinding Samples from Excavations

Nålbinding

Sigrid's page.

St. Birgitta's Hairshirt

Not sure if this is really nålbinding, but it is something to consider.

Nalbinding Article

Toothbrush Rugs

Kiara's Naalbinding Page

Knitting

Knitting Period Stockings

Hand Knit Hose

A focus on the Gunnister stockings. Yes, these are post-SCA-period, but they are done in a style that was used in Elizabeth I's time.

Medieval Egyptian Cotton Sock

Documented replica. Well done!

Levantia - Textile Crafts

Some examples of egyptian knit socks and brocaded tablet weaving.

Free Sock Pattern

Denise's Toe-Up Sock

Acorn Caps

Fifteenth Century Men's Hats and how to knit one.

The Carnamoyle Stockings

Irish Wool Stockings from the 16th Century

Hand Knitting Links

Multiple useful links, calculators, hints, etc.

Socks 101

Knitting Bibliography

Sock Heel Summary

The different ways of doing heels (or not).

A Medieval Egyptian Sock

A knit sock from between 11th and 14th centuries.

Medieval Muslim Knitting

Nice basic paper, with mention of nålebinding.

wiseNeedle.com Tools

References for knitters, including a searchable multi-lingual glossary.

Free Mitten Pattern

Traditional Scandinavian-style (Lovikka) mitten pattern. There are even fulling instructions.

Wool Works: teaching kids to knit

Common Threads Fiber Art Store

Beginning knitting streaming video. Patterns, yarns, help.

Handmade Wooden Knitting Needles

Free Knitting Patterns

Learn to Knit and Crochet

Better Homes and Gardens Knitting Basics

Knitter's Review Web Links

Yes You Can Learn to Knit!

Knitting About.com

How to Make Socks With Any Weight Yarn

Basic Crew Socks

How to Calculate Your Own Personal Socks

An example of Andean Cross Knit Looping

From between 100-300 CE.

Kitchener Stitch

Knitted Hood Pattern

Stocking Museum

Gunnister Man

Knit Your Own Bonnet

Pattern taken from the 17th c. Plymouth Plantations knitting patterns. Writer identifies it as a cow-pat (I only know of one "cow-pat", and I certainly wouldn't wear it on my head)... maybe a flat hat?

Donna Kenton's Stocking Pattern

Yarnfwd Thrummed Mittens

Knit mittens pattern using thrums (for two needles).

Thrummed Mittens

Another knit mittens pattern using thrums (for two needles).

Thrum hat

Definition - thrum hat is actually cloth, while thrum cap refers to knit variety. Thrumming in knits produces a fleece on the inside, similar to rya.

The Witch of Brentford

An OOP (c. 1877) example of a thrummed hat. Mentioned in Shakespeare, "Merry Wives of Winsor": quoth Mistres Page -- "On my word it will serue him: shee's as big as he is: and there's her thrum'd hat, and her muffler too" (Act 4, Scene 2)

Thrum Cap

Modern approach, has pictures of inside of hat with long ends...

Scottish Knitting Sheaths

Fulled Socks

Monmouth Caps

Knitting a Split-Toe Sock

Mary Rose Knitted Items

Irish Knitted Stocking

Gunnister Stocking

I think you need to be a member to see this, but there are lots of things in the files that are useful if you join.

Socknitters Homepage

Lacemaking

A Brief History of Lace in the 1500's

Period Lace Styles

Lacemaking Links

Needle Lace Annotated Bibliography

Useful for finding lace references, not only needle lace.

Lace

An overview of the different types of historical lace (not all SCA period).

Christine England's Bobbin Lace Links

The Costumer's Manifesto: Lace and Needlework Links

Bobbin Lace

Cool site, has a program for generating grids for lace making and many links. Discussion of different types of lace. Very useful.

Lace Reference Links

Needle Lace

Reticella Handout

Color in Period Lace

A handout by Branwen Scholastica.

Leisa's Tape Lace Page

A lot of lace resources here, and examples of the different types of laces.

Bobbin Lace Patterns

Even without ordering the book, there are really good pictures of lace on the site.

Les Singvliers Et Novveaux Povtraicts

A period lace manual.

Bobbin Lace Lessons

Lace Identifcation

A First Lesson in Bobbin Lace

Lace Fairy

This is a really nice site; she even has instructions on how to make different kinds of pillows!

Maeve's Block Pillow

Lace Pillows

Building a Lace Pillow Stand

Lacemaking Bobbins - Tools of the Trade

Reticella and "Punto in Aria" Lace

Needlelace

Helpful guide to two period styles of Renaissance lace, reticella and punto in aria.

The Lefkara Lace Home Page

Jo Edkins' Lace School

A site with lessons on bobbin lace. Pretty neat! Where was this when I was having problems with footsides?

Van Sciver Bobbin Lace

Great folks to do business with... fast and friendly. I can't say enough good stuff... and oh, the book list!!

16th Century Bobbin Lace

Making the Laces of Le Pompe

Picture Gallery of Laces, Tools, and Terms

Choosing Lace for SCA Garb (1500-1600)

Jacinth's Recommended Lace Books:

The Technique of Bobbin Lace, by Pamela Nottingham

A book for beginners and experts; it has instructions on doing a variety of different laces and is relatively concise.

The Bobbin Lace Manual, by Geraldine Stott

Good beginners book with excellent diagrams and prickings. Ideas for rigging equipment.

Italian Lace Designs : 243 Classic Examples (Dover Pictorial Archive Series), by Elisa Ricci

This book is inspirational only. While it has many historical examples of lace (in many different types), it has no prickings or diagrams whatsoever.

Renaissance Patterns for Lace and Embroidery; An Unabridged Facsimile of the 'Singuliers Et Nouveaux Pourtraicts' of 1587. , by Frederico Vincolo

Historically accurate patterns for the reenactor. It is non-instructional, but useful for making reticella or filet lace.

Pictorial Archive of Lace Designs : 325 Historic Examples (Dover Pictorial Archive Series) , by Carol Belanger Grafton

Just a picture book of different types of lace. There are no prickings or diagrams here, either. One thing that did dissapoint me was there is no frame of reference for the pictures (era, country of origin, etc), but nice to look through.

Tapestry

European Tapestry Production, 1400-1600 A.D.

Lots of great pictures.

Centre de Tapis Delclaux - Technique

Discussion of the steps of settting a very large tapestry loom. Interesting process.

A Look at Tapestry

The Oseberg Tapestry/horned Helmet

The History of French Tapestry

Wiehler Gobelin Tapestry

Soumak and Kelim Weaving of the Caucasus

Tapestry

History of tapestry weaving. PDF of a Powerpoint presentation.

Coptic Style Tapestry

The Överhogdal tapestry

Discussion on the dyes/colours used in the tapestry.

Tapestry Weaving

Norse Tapestry

Reproduction Norse items... other things are there that might be of interest to a re-enactor.

An Archive of Tapestries and Tapestry Histories Homepage

A clumsy page, but has a few nice pictures.

The Weaving Technique and Production of the Baldishol Tapestry

Tapestry Weaving on a WWL

Tapestry Weaving Techniques

Spinning and Dyeing

General

Tips for Preparing and Hand Spinning Fibers

Books on Spinning, Felting & Raising Fiber Animals

Spin-Off Magazine

Apart from being a neat magazine, there is also information about their back issues, in case you want to bid for one on eBay.

Aurora Silk

Site with silk threads and natural dyestuffs, as well as silkworm eggs. Lots of additional information, including raising your own silkworms (will have to try sometime); an interesting browse! Vegan silk supplier.

Woolgatherers Home Page

Interesting stuff on spinning, weaving, and dyeing. Also the home of the wonderful "FlaxCam"!

Fibers

Judging Wool

The Role of Crimp in Textiles

Breeds of Livestock - Sheep Breeds

Sheep Breeds Swap

Info about the different types of sheep and their wool characteristics.

Silk

This is a vendor page. I have not done business with them (yet), but they do have undyed 60/2 silk! Imagine coloring your own silk for projects.

Chinese Silk and the Silk Road

Thai Silk Village: How Silk is Produced

The Inside Out of Silk

Linenweb.com

Linen resource page.

Hamilton Dry Goods

Reasonably priced linen and wool cloth.

Fabric Identification - The Burn Test

Spinning Straw into Gold

Flax Spinning

Ancient Egypt: Flax and Linen

Flax and Linen

Flax and Textile Photo Album

Cool pictures of folks preparing flax and spinning.

How to Raise Silk Worms

Silkworm information, also lots of stuff on natural dyes (and supplies).

Rearing Silk worms

Interesting site with lots of info besides silkworms. It is the contents of a book published in 1881.

Ancient Sheep Breeds

Horsehair as a Textile

by Kerstin Fröberg. Nice background on the uses of horsehair.

Fiber Preparation

Instructions for wool combs and hackles

Preparing wool for spinning; an ancient art.

Fiber Preparation Tools

Various pictures of tools available from The Woolery.

Fleece and Fiber Preparation

Free Online Information Sheets

Information about the cleaning and skirting of wool.

Silk Reeling and Testing Manual

Not period, but really interesting!

Sheepwashing

A timehonored tradition.

Urine, Fleece & Natural Dyes

Before you say "eeuugh!!", check this interesting article about cleaning fleece with urine.

Skirting a Fleece for Carding

Handling and Marketing Wool

Producing and Marketing Wool

Dyeing

Dye Recipes from the Innesbruck Manuscript

From Caveman to Chemist: Dye

Natural dyeing with recipes.

Fröjel Gotlandica Viking Re-enactment Society

Lots of viking information. In the documents area, there is an article on dyes and dyeing.

Den virtuella floran

Cool page on flora (in Swedish).

Liber Herbarum II

This and the above link are meant to help you identify possible dye plants; i.e. they have good pictures; multilingual site.

Color in Lowerclass Elizabethan Clothing

Kathryn of the Hills' Dye Book

Covers instructions for dyeing, mordanting, and making dyes.

The Woad Page

I heard that this plant may be considered a pest in my area... and therefore illegal to propagate? Be responsible and check on it before you grow it.

Medieval Gardens

They kept many types of plants in their gardens, and some were used in dyeing cloth...

History of Dyes from 2600BC to 20th Century

Viking Age Dyestuffs

Noxious Weeds in the US and Canada

A listing of all blacklisted plants that you might consider for dyeing.

Plant Database with Pictures

You might find this helpful, if you are looking for plants for dying.

Textorics Colors

A page for dyeing... they do the dyeing, but at least you get an idea of what the various natural dyes can do.

Dye Supplies and Recipes

Lesson plans, recipes, etc.... All Fiber Arts comes through again.

The Överhogdal tapestry

Discussion on the dyes/colours used in the tapestry.

Orchil, the Poor Person's Purple

Index of Dye Recipes

From a book by William Partridge published in 1823.

Woad

Dark Age Colours

Brief article about Viking age dyes and a color picture with samples. Mentions cochineal, which is, of course, very late period. Has reds, yellows, couple of blues but no greens. No description of what dyes comprise the picture, so take with a grain of salt.

An Historical Overview of Dyes, Dying, and Fabric Colors in the Renaissance

To make a Beautiful Colour

Period Trade Dyes in the 16th century.

Spinning

Handspinning with a Drop Spindle

Serves as a short introduction. Has a couple of books listed.

Spindlitis help page

How-tos on using a drop spindle.

Let's Ask Stefie!

A "Dear Abbey" style format for fiber arts such as spinning and dyeing fibers.

Spindles

How to use a drop spindle, plus some more information about spinning and dyeing.

Introduction to Spinning

Yarn Thickness and Counts

Ball winding with a Nostepinde

An easy and cheap way of making yarn balls.

AnneLiese's Fibers and Stuff

Info on spinning linen and dressing distaffs.

Icelandic Wool Article

Discusses spinning lopi.

Nostpinne Instructions

Nostpinde Instructions

Spinning with an In-the-Hand Spindle

How to use the Drop Spindle

High-whorl instructions.

Spinning with a Drop Spindle

Low-whorl instructions.

Kingdom of Ealdormere: Spindle Spinning

Spinning with Simple Tools

Spindle Spinning Instructions from Grafton Fibers

Has some good info, also talks a bit about plying. I was interested to learn a little about using a looped leader in starting out; maybe that is why I have so much trouble beginning. Nice tip!

Jacinth's Recommended Spinning & Dyeing Books:

Wild Color , by Jenny Dean

This book I a fabulous book on natural dyes and dying. I was pleasantly surprised by the many photos of plants (large enough that you can tell what you are looking for if you are wildcrafting), and pictures of the actual dye process. I heartily recommend this book!

A Weaver's Garden, by Rita Buchannan

A good read. Lots of information on growing your own garden of natural dye plants.

The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing : Traditional Recipes for Modern Use, by J. N. Liles

Just like it says, lots of recipes and full of factual information.

The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning, by Alden Amos

The most complete book about spinning that I have found to date.

The Weaving, Spinning, and Dyeing Book, by Rachel Brown

A lot of good information about different weaving techniques, including tablet weaving, too.

Braiding and Kumihimo

A Few Medieval Braids

Anglo_Saxon and Viking Crafts - Braid Weaving

Really nice background on this aspect of decoration. Actually part of a larger site detailing all aspects of a viking village... all living. You might like to check it out for yourself.

Fifteenth-Century Fingerlooped Braid Reproductions

Kumihimo

Kumihimo Glossary

Kumihimo - Seite der Kloeppelkiste

German kumihimo site.

Miscellaneous

Textile Resources for the Re-enactor

Ravensgard Costuming and Textiles Page

Gavvin's Keep: Ladies' Solar

Lotherne Experimental Archaeology: Sprang

Sprang

Texas Cultural and Arts Network: Crafts - Weaving and Needle Craft

Turkish Kilim Symbols

Bet you didn't know that the Ram's Horn pattern symbolized male fertility, heroism, power and masculinity.

Feltmaker's List FAQ

Textile Conservation

Conservation Articles

Fabulous page of links on museum conservation; well worth browsing.

Abegg Stiftung

Swiss Textile Museum outside of Bern; I visited it in 2002. All I can say... for a textile addict it was like going to Church! Simply wonderful!!

Soumak Weaving for the Beginner

Gutman Library Internet Textile Links (History of Textiles)

Coptic Textiles

A really good site with pictures on coptic textiles, and the archeological aspect of them.

The Medieval Beadwork Page

Useful docs for using beadwork on garb.

Yahoo! Groups: SCA-Bead

Calontir Fiber and Needle Guild Textile Links

Internet Resources for Fibre Arts

Free Charts

Medieval Period: Industry

Good description of fulling, among other things.

Historical Quilting

Norsk Folkemusemus filmautomat

Super cool films of old Norse handcrafts. Especially interesting to me: films of warp-weighted looms and warping them in use!! Greneveving! A must SEE! To use: click on the film you want to see, then when the page refreshes choose a speed from the lower right corner, that should bring up the movie you want. Have fun!

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