Needle and Sewing

278 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

CHAPTER IX NEEDLE AND SEWING

The earliest needles among Danish finds are those of bone from the Mesolithic Period. A grave in Borrebyl) from the Neolithic Period contained a needle barely 7 em long, and about 1;2 em thick at the middle, which is pierced by an eye. This specimen gives the impression of being a sewing needle. Fig. 281 shows a number of bone and bronze needles all dating to the late Bronze Age2), but although one or two are relatively fine, there seems to be none which would meet the standard of sewing found among our prehistoric material. For example, not one of the needles is suf- ficiently fine to have executed the embroidery at the neck opening of the Skrydstrup poncho. I reached this conclusion after having to use the finest obtainable tapestry needle in order to copy this embroidery. We may therefore assume that already in the early Bronze Age sewing was accomplished with needles finer than the late Bronze Age finds would lead us to suppose. Evidence of sewing needles among Iron Age finds is sparse in Denmark. Needles, both long and short and mostly bronze, with oblong eyes near one end, are known from the Roman Iron Age. They resemble coarse darning needles3), but as they are found in burials in the same position as hairpins and pin ornaments, it cannot be absolutely certain that they were used for sewing. Bone needle cases, five in all, containing one or two needles of iron or bronze, and with an eye, have been recovered from Roman Iron Age sites4). But again, these specimens are only suitable for coarse sewing, and to date none of the needles found correspond in fineness to the examples of sewing that surviveS). Finds from Birka, however, give us indirect information about sewing needles in the Viking Period, in that needle cases have survived whose size shows that the needles for these must have been fairly small. Agnes Geijer is in no doubtthat a certain amourrtof the'Birkaproducts could not have been made without the help ofa sewing needle, but in other cases she considers it likely that the stiff metal thread was worked with a tweezer-like instrument often recovered from women's graves6). Another special type of needle should be mentioned. Fig. 282 shows this kind of bone needle7) which has evidently been widespread both in time and place. Apart from being a bodkin and netting needle, it could also be used for a special sewing technique known as "looped needle-netting", naalebinding, described in greater detail in the following pages. But the fact that this kind of needle has been recovered from the ground is not conclusive evidence that this special technique was practised in the vicinity. Bone needles from Stone Age finds in Denmark closely resemble those shown here, and needles found at Trelleborg, the Viking fortress near Slagelse8) are likewise similar. A Norse settlement in Greenland has also yielded a needle of this type9). One of the Viking needles illustrated in Agnes Geijer's book on the Birka finds looks as CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 279

Fig. 281. Late Bronze Age needles of bone and bronze. N~le af ben og bronze fra yngre bronzealder. though it would have been suitable for looped needle-netting, it is about 6 cm long. Likewise, a couple of needles from the Viking settlement at Hedeby were perhaps used for the same technique'O). Large, broad needles are not unusual among folk handicrafts; they are usually of bone, but specimens of wood, metal and horn also occur. There are two types, one where the eye is near one end, and the other where the eye is a little distance from the end II). A bone needle kindly given me by Miss Sigrid Smidtl2) when teaching me looped needle netting is 10.5 cm long and barely I cm broad at the eye, the diameter is about ~ cm at the thickest place. It is very alike the needle to the left in Fig. 282. An unusual needle (Fig. 283) has definitely been used for looped needle-netting because it was acquired with a half-finished shoe in looped needle netting from the Lures in Persia by Dr. C. G. Feilberg in 1935.Instead of being a short flat needle it is round and about 15cm long, and except for its length it closely resembles a modern darning needle.

SEWING AND EMBROIDERY Prehistoric sewing can be divided into two main categories: that which is purely practical, for example the seams of a garment, and that which is solely decorative and therefore embroidery. In some cases the sewing serves both purposes. Among Danish Bronze Age skins and textiles we find overcast stitch (Fig. 284), buttonhole stitch both free and as a filling (Figs. 297, 299), pile sewing13) and cord sewing (Figs. 285, 286). The two first-mentioned stitches are commonly regarded to be utility stitches, nevertheless 280 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 282. Bone needles suitable for making looped needle-netting, perhaps also used as bodkins. NflIe af ben, anvendelige for nAlebinding, men de kan ogsA have vreret benyttede som trrekke- eller netnAle. there are examples of buttonhole stitch used in a variety of ways as decoration, e.g. the Skryd- strup poncho. Pile sewing and cord sewing can also be dual purpose. The skin capes recovered from bogs are stitched in primary techniques such as overcast stitch and running stitch (Fig. 287), and hemstitch (Fig. 288). Apart from simple seams and ordinary edging, there are a few examples of more complicated methods, for example the Huldremose cape has a narrow strip of leather along the outer edge, while behind it is a cord· like sewing carried out with two strips of skin (Fig. 289, C 3471). The seams of the same cape are also sewn in a similar way but more intricately (Fig. 290). Another skin cape from Huldre- mose (C 3472) has similar sewing along the bottom edge, Fig. 291 gives the position of the stitches if the edge were to be flattened out. Bog textiles reveal comparatively little about sewing methods. The seam of one of the Arden pieces is shown in Fig. 292 (flattened out). It is an ordinary running stitch through two layers offabric. A seam in the checkered Huldremose skirt is sewn in herringbone stitch (Fig. 439, C 3473), and in a fragment of fabric from 0sterb¢lle the seams are joined in twisted buttonhole stitch. The Viking Period find from Mammen has some really good specimens of embroidery. The richly decorated piece (C 135a), probably once decorated with gold paillettes, has the first

'~·.::-.l.C__"'.~:../~,"I!Il_••.•"IIlI.IJI,•••_••.•• ~_~•.•IIII_-!l, __IIlI!. IIII~._.

Fig. 283. Persian bodkin for looped needle-netting, (Museum no. E 267b), used for the shoe shown in Fig. 357. Persisk redskab til nAlebinding, hl<'rersammen med skoen Fig. 357. CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 281

Fig. 285. Three-ply twine held down by cord sewing, early Bronze Age ornament on the upper garment from Skrydstrup. Snoresyning bundet med forsting. Eksemplet stammer fra rermebordeneme p~ tr~jen fra Skrydstrup, reldre bronzealder.

Fig. 286. Cord sewing on buttonhole stitch on Fig. 284. aman'scapfrom Trindhl1Jj, early Bronze Age. Fig. 287. Fig. 288. Over-cast stitch. Snoresyning med tungesting som underlag Running stitch. Hem stitch. Kastesting. p~ mandshue fra Trindh~j, reldre bronzeaIder. Forsting. S~mmesting.

Fig. 289. Over-cast stitch and twinned running stitch on the Fig. 290. Twinned stitch with Fig. 291. Twinned oversewingalong edge of a skin cape from two needles over the edges of C. the lower edge of a skin cape from Huldremose (C 3471). 3471. Huldremose (C 3472). Kastesting og snoede forsting over Sammensyning p~ kant af skindslag Oversyning p~ underkanten af slag fra kant p~ skindslag fra Huldremose. fra Huldremose. Huldremose.

~C0~{A){i:0 II II II II II II II II II II ~2 c!J\::::!J~~~ ~:::;:::::=:::::' ?=;::) Fig. 292. Running stitch used for seaming the two lengths of cloth of the piece (B) from Arden Mose (cf. Figs. 12 & 13. Fig. 293. Forsting anvendt til sammensyning Stem stitch or outline stitch. p~ det lange t~jstykke fra Arden Kontursting. Mose. Fig. 12 & 13. 282 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

stemstitch known in Denmark. It is usually sewn in close parallel rows as a stemstitch filling so that the motifs - twined foliage etc. - are clearly defined against their background (Figs. 293, 294). A cushion cover from the Mammen burial has a cord-like edging over the actual seams, the edging appears to be decorative in that it accentuates the contours of the piece (Fig. 295), while at the same time hiding the seam. The diagram of the stitch (Fig. 296) shows that it is raised fishbone stitch. However, the most interesting specimens from the Mammen textile finds are undoubtedly the two pennants, each has a middle panel with a filling of gold netting executed with a needle (Fig. 346). A technique which appears to have been widespread, it is described in the present chapter under the heading looped needle-netting. It has evolved from buttonhole stitch, the various forms of which are discussed below.

BUTTONHOLE STITCH Nowadays buttonhole stitch is primarily used over cut edges to prevent fraying, but in former times this type of stitch formed the basis for various embroidery techniques. The terms buttonhole stitch and twisted buttonhole stitch have been used at random, often with little distinc- tion between them. Buttonhole stitch (diagram Fig. 297) for cut edges, sewn from left to right into the face of the fabric with the edging formed by the stitches facing the seamstress; often the excess fabric is cut away after buttonholing is completed. Twisted buttonhole stitch is sewn from left to right in two stages (Fig. 298a). The thread is given an extra twist. Helmi Kurrik14) has illustrated the method used in Estonia (Fig. 298b-c) from which it can be seen that the seamstress works towards herself and each stitch is completed in one stage. Free buttonhole stitch may be used on fabric or as a filling, cf. Fig. 300 over a cut edge; Fig. 299 open buttonhole filling, which has a net-like effect. The embroidery round the neck opening of the woman's poncho from Skrydstrup is made like this, and likewise an inside seam in one of the man's caps from the Bronze Age; in both cases the netting forms the base to which a cord-like oversewing has been added (Fig. 286). However, there are also examples among prehistoric fabrics of buttonhole stitches sewn into the material, such as the sleeve embroidery on the Skrydstrup poncho which comprises a number of transverse rows of stitches of intricate appearance, although the analysis (Fig. 301) shows that the rows are simply in buttonhole stitch worked in a special way. That the thread passes as a drawn-ground stitch through the fabric does not prevent the stitches from following the same course as the thread of buttonhole stitch filling, i.e. mesh. A comparison between the diagrams (Figs. 297 and 299 for example) shows that the stitches can either be sewn from the left or the right. We cannot conclude that the different methods date from different periods, that one is prehistoric and the other modern. For example, a Swiss Stone Age findl5) contained a scrap of netting with an analysis corresponding to Fig. 299, but with plain and purl stitches, and in products of the same kind from recent times both Z and S stitchesl6) occur, sometimes both in the same piece of work. R. D'Harcourt gives examples in his book on textiles from PeruI7). He also mentions that open buttonhole filling "point de tulle simple" has been widely applied, for example to make something as unusual as a cotton cap for keeping hair up beneath a wig, as decorative panels on garments, and - of great interest to us in the present context - as a base for embroidery, as exemplified by the border round the neck opening of the Skrydstrup poncho. CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 283

- - ~-- ~ MH Fig. 294. Fragment of embroidery from Mammen. Viking Period. The Fig. 295. Oversewing along seam Fig. 296. embroidery is in stem stitch. (C 135a). of cushion cover from Mammen Diagram of the Fragment afetbroderi fra Mammen, vikingetid. (C 135a). Ornamenterne udfyldt med (C 144). oversewing in rrekker af tretliggende kontursting. Oversyning af s\1lmpl\ pudevl\r fra Fig. 295. Raised Mammen (C 144). fishbone stitch. Analyse til · db h L . h d f b k' . . S d' . d" d' syningen pl\ Fig. Twiste utton 0 e sflfe was use ar ac In time In can lnavIa, an It IS represente In 295, fjersyning. the oldest piece of textile ever to have been recovered in Denmark: a little scrap of bast netting (Fig. 118)18) recovered from Ordrup Mose and dated to the Neolithic Period. The analysis is S- stitch. MESH STITCH Apart from variations of buttonhole stitch producing different effects, there is another type of stitch of similar scope - all according to the way the meshes are twisted (Figs. 303-305). We see here that new effects are achieved by colour changes. The product is the tassel of a cap (Fig. 355), the cap was found together with late antique Egyptian textiles but it is considered to 284 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 297. Buttonhole stitch. Fig. 298a. Twisted buttonhole stitch. Tungesting. Knaphulssting.

Figs. 298b-c. Twisted buttonhole stitch. Estonian Fig. 299. Open buttonhole stitch or free buttonhole method (after H. Kurrik). stitch. Cap from Trindh~j. Knaphulssting. Estnisk metode (e. H. Kurrik). Tungesting uden underlag. Hue fra Trindh~j.

::~,.C;:::=::Y<;::=~:~~.~"C;:::=:Y\ ',', :;', ;~'I ;..~ ,;~; ,:~~ ::~ :~ Fig. 300. Buttonhole stitching over a cut edge. Kirtle from Muldbjerg. Tungesting syet over afskllret grrense. Kofte fra Muldbjerg. Fig. 301. Buttonhole stitch used as drawn-ground stitch. Skrydstrup jacket. Tungesting anvendt som sammentrrekssyning.

Fig. 303. Mesh stitch in one colour. Maskesting i een farve.

Fig. 302. Diagram of milk strainer from North Sweden •••••• (recent). Nordiska Museet, 162, 184. Fig. 304. Mesh stitch in three colours. Analyse til mrelkesi fra Nordsverige fra nyere tid. Maskesyning i Ire farver.

Fig. 305. Mesh stitch in three colours. Maskesyning i tre farver. Figs. 303-305. Analyses of a cap in Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin, (Mus. no. 9318). Analyser til hue i Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin, (no. 9318). CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 285

be of Arab origin and dated to the 9th-10th centuries A.D.19). The technique is very widespread, for example the National Museum's ethnographical collections contain textiles from New Guinea and East Nigeria made with this stitch. Peru likewise has examples of mesh stitch20). A stitch like this has not so far been found in Denmark, but the above-mentioned cap (described in greater detail later in the present chapter) is interesting because of a theoretical link with Scandinavian material. Metal thread work recovered from Birka described and analysed by Agnes Geijer bears a striking likeness to the cap:!l). Passementerie from the same find of the Viking Period in Sweden contains examples of work carried out in a related tech- nique22). Agnes Geijer has adopted the term "osenstich" for this kind of stitch, and in Danish we talk of "maskesyning"23) and "maskesting".

LOOPED NEEDLE-NETTING Looped needle-netting is a kind of sewing based on loops or meshes which can be combined in various ways. A hair milk strainer of recent date from Lapland (Figs. 306, 307)24)represents one of the simplest forms. Here a stitch comprises three loops. This method will be called Type I. The thread is looped round the four fingers of the left hand and held lightly in position against the index finger by the thumb (Fig. 308). The needle passes into the loop and first stitch from the right (Fig. 309); as the thread passes through, it is caught in a loop over the tip of the thumb of the left hand (Fig. 310). Here the thread is pulled lightly to the width of the thumb, whereupon the thumb is pulled out again. The needle is then passed in from the right into the loop and stitch (Fig. 311). The thread is pulled tightly round the needle a little in front of the eye, the thickness of the needle gives the tension of the mesh. Finally the needle is pulled right through and a new stitch is started by looping the thread round the thumb. After enough stitches have been made in this manner in a circle, they are pulled together at the end of the starting thread which has then fulfilled its mission. A new row is begun. This is done by sticking the needle into the outermost meshes of the first row in the left edge, but otherwise worked as before. The product grows row by row in a spiral or like a snailshell. If the article to be made is round and flat the number of stitches has to be increased, i.e. the needle is passed through each of the preceding stitches twice: first twice each, but later less frequently all according to requirements. To decrease the width of a loop needle-netting product the needle is passed through two stitches to make one. Type IIa. The next phase of development is represented by the only example of loop needle- netting technique to survive as a living tradition in Denmark. Here each stitch comprises four loops (Fig. 312 gives the diagram of a sample done with modern thread, Fig. 313). A loop needle-netting product can be begun in a number of ways, for example as already described by casting on stitches ina ring round the thread or - as in the attempt below - withou t an auxiliary thread but by sewing forwards loop by loop. To begin with thread a is looped as in the diagram and photograph in Fig. 314, 1-2. The thread is held in a single loop with the thumb and index finger of the left hand. The needle passes through the loop to produce one more loop (Fig. 315, 1-2). The loop is again held in position by the thumb and index finger. The needle then passes through the top loop b from behind and through loop c from the front (Fig. 316, 1-2), but before the needle is entirely pulled through, the thread is tightened slightly giving the stitch the tension corresponding to the needle at its thickest part. As the needle passes the thread is looped over the thumb and lightly 286 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 306. Hair strainer from Lapland. Fig. 307. Diagram of hair strainer HArsi fra Lapland. from Lapland. Type la. (Nordiska Museet 70,526). Analyse til hArsi fra Lapland. Type Ia.

Fig. 310. The loop is caught by the thumb. Ll'lkken fanges pA tommelfingeren.

Fig. 308. Starting loop for Fig. 309. First stitch of looped looped needle-netting. Type la. needle-netting type la. Begyndelse til nAlebinding, Fl'lrste sting af nAlebinding type Ia. omll'lbende i ring. Type Ia.

tightened. Loop b is then round the tip of the thumb and loop c behind the tip of the thumb (Fig. 317,1-2). The next stitch is begun (Fig. 318, 1-2) by passing the needle into loop c from the front, twisting it half a turn and pulling it through loop b along the inner side of the thumb, as shown by the arrow. The thumb is then pulled out of the stitch and the thread is tautened to keep the stitch round the needle just in front of the eye (Fig. 319, 1-2). The tension of the stitch corresponds to the thickness of the needle. As the Fig. 311. Stitches round the starting thread is pulled through the stitch it must be caught over the loop. Type la. thumb and tightened. (Fig. 320, 1-2). NAlebinding fortsat i ring, type Ia. CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 287

Fig. 312. Looped needle-netting. Type IIa. Four loops to each stitch. Basic stitch for a number of the examples shown. NAlebinding. Type lIa. Hver maske omfatter tire slyng. Udgl!Jr grundlaget for en rrekke af de Fig. 313. Position of the needle in looped needle-netting. fl!Jlgende anvisninger. NAlens stilling i pAbegyndt nAlebindingsarbejde.

The next stitch is made as in the diagrams (Figs. 321, 322), notice particularly how the needle is twisted round. The sewing continues for as many stitches as are needed (Fig. 323). If a closed article is required, such as a mitten or a sock, the starting row is turned in a ring and the next row is stitched so that every stitch is worked into the left edge of the preceding row, as shown in Fig. 323a. The diagram in Fig. 323b shows the analysis for the product spread out flat. All the loops must be on the needle, and the thread tightened as described. One soon discovers that it is easier to work with a larger piece of looped needle-netting than with the first simple rows which are inclined to twist. It pays to practise the technique described above because the more complicated forms are then easier to manage. In any event, the best way to begin the difficult kind is by using the Type Ha beginning (Fig. 323), because it is easier to increase the number of stitches once a sound start has been made. Type IIb. The analysis of the technique for a milk strainer25) from Dalarne, Sweden, is given in Fig. 324a. It looks fairly intricate at first glance, but the working method closely resembles the one just described as Ha, and beginning as shown in Fig. 323. The needle is then passed 288 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 314.

Fig. 315. a

Fig. 316. Fig. 314-320. First stages of looped needle-netting type IIa. Begyndelsesstadier af nAlebinding type IIa. a CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 289

Fig. 317.

Fig. 318.

Fig. 319. 290 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 320.

Fig. 321. First stage of second stitch Fig. 322. Second stage of second Fig. 323. Product spread out (type IIa). stitch (type IIa). with needle in position (type IIa). Fl1lrstestadium afandet sting (type IIa). Andet stadium af andet sting (type IIa). Produktet ses her i udbredt tilstand (type I1a). through loop c from the front, and loop b on the thumb from the front (Fig. 324b-c). The thumb is gently pulled out to make room for the needle, wihch is turned round and pulled out beneath working thread a, which in turn is looped round the tip of the thumb. Fig. 324 c gives the two positions of the needle, i.e. all the stitches are increased twice in each of the preceding stitches. Type IlIa. (Fig. 325). Each stitch comprises 5 loops, and the difference between this type and Type IIa is that the needle passes through two loops, c and d (see Fig. 326) instead ofjust c alone. Thus two loops are on the needle before it passes over the thumb beneath loop band working thread a (Fig. 327): note how the needle turns (Fig. 328).Otherwise the method is the CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 291

Fig. 323a. Diagram of a row of looped needle-netting Fig. 323b. Second row of stitches turned into stitches worked into the a ring for the first. The numbered second row. arrows show the direction Skema visende of the needle's positions arbejdsretningen for (type IIa). n{tlebinding udf~rt i Anden stingrrekke f~jet til rrekke og derp{t b~jet f~rste. Pilene angiver • sam men iring. rrekkef~lgen i n{tlestillingerne (type lIa).

Fig. 324a. Diagram of milk strainer from Dalarna. (Nordiska Museet, 162, 199). Type lIb. Preliminary stage of the Asle mitten technique. Analyse til mrelkesi fra Dalarna. Nordiska Museet 162, 199(type lIb). Forstadium til Asle-vantens teknik.

Fig. 324b. First stitch of type rIb, basic loop like lIa. Fig. 324c. Second stitch type lIb. F~rste maske til lIb og Anden maske til type lIb. arbejdsgrundlag som Ila. 292 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 325. Two rows of meshes with five Fig. 326. Example of work Fig. 327. Position of stitch over loops to a stitch. Type lIla. started as for type lIa, the left thumb for type lIla. Sammenf13jning af to stingrrekker med fern transition to type IlIa is Maskens stilling over venstre slyng pro maske (type IlIa). suggested by the position of the tommelfinger ved nlliebinding af needle. Product spread out. type IlIa. Oplregning til nlHebundet arbejde. Begyndelsen svarer til type lIa. Overgangen til type lIla antydes ved nlliens stilling. Arbejdet trenkes a udbredt.

Fig. 328. Second stage for type Ilia stitch. The needle is pushed forward on the finger and the thread pulled Fig. 329. Position of tight. stitch over left thumb Anden nlliestilling til et sting i in type lIlb. Fig. 330. Position of needle for stitch of nlliebinding af type Ilia. Nlllen skydes Maskens stilling over type IIlb. Product spread out. derpll frem pll fingeren, og trllden venstre tommelfinger ved Nlliens stilling i masken ved nlllebinding af strammes til. nlliebinding af type lllb. type Illb. Arbejdet trenkes udbredt. CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 293

Fig. 331. Position of needle when linking two Fig. 332. Diagram of the looped needle-netting variation rows of stitches, type IITb. found in the A.sle mitten, type HIe. Positions of Nl!Ilens stilling ved sammenf\2ljningafto maskera:kkeraf needle for the first loops. nl!llebinding, type Illb. Analyse til den variation af nl!llebinding, som forekommer i Asle-vanten, type I1Ie. Nl!Ilestiliinger for f\2lrste greb. same. An excellent example of this variation of looped needle-netting is the Mammen pennants (Fig. 346). Type [lIb is similar to lIla in that each stitch comprises 5 loops, but the direction of the thread differs. The working method is given in Figs. 329, 3302f». The needle is passed in front of c, from behind in d and behind in c. The work is held in the left hand as usual and loop b must be over the thumb. The stitch is finished by turning the needle and passing it beneath band a. The loop is pulled tightly round the needle in front of the eye. Fig. 330 shows what the product would be like spread out at the transitional stage from Type lIa (Fig. 323) to IlIb (Fig. 330). Fig. 331 shows how the second row of stitches is added to the first. Type lIfe. The prehistoric mitten from Asle Mose in Vester Gotland, Sweden (Figs. 337, 347) falls into the category of looped needle-netting with 5 loops to a stitch. Fig. 332 gives a diagram of one row, and from the first and second needle positions it can be seen that the technique is closely related to Type lIb (Fig. 324a) where the loops also cross over each other. Fig. 333 gives the transitional stage to lIIc after starting as in Fig. 323: the needle passes into loop d from the front and then through loop c (Fig. 334), both diagrams give the product spread out. If 294 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 333. Casting on for type lIa, and Fig. 334. Casting on for type 1la, and transition to type IlIc. Only stitch d passes transition to type lIIc. Stitches c and dare over the needle. now over the needle. Opslagning efter type lIa og overgang til type 1I1c. Opslagning efter type IIa, og overgang til type Illc. Kun maske d sidder over nlilen. Maske c og d sidder nu over nlilen. the work is held in the left hand between the thumb and index finger the diagram in Fig. 335 gives the position of the mesh. When the needle reaches the place shown, it is turned and pulled through loop b and beneath thread a over the thumb, the stitch is then tightened as usual. The next stitch is made in the same way (Fig. 336). The reason why the Asle mitten technique seems complicated is largely due to the way the rows of stitches are meshed together, i.e. the rows are pulled so tightly in over each other that the resulting meshwork gives the impression of being double. The mitten is therefore difficult to analyse; Miss Elizabeth Stromberg27) very kindly sent me a sample of looped needle- netting executed in the same way as that of the Asle mitten, and it is on the basis of this sample that I carried out my experiments. The Asle mitten has a right side and a reverse side (Figs. 347, 348). There are fairly long obliq,ue threads on the surface of the product uppermost when being worked, this surface would appear to be best suited for the inside of mittens - being soft and warm, while the outside is firm and hardwearing. The Asle mitten has possibly been turned inside out after the needle-netting was completed. Type V, VI and VII. In the analyses of looped needle-netting discussed so far in the present chapter, two different principles for variations emerge: one being changes in the passage of the thread up and down through the stitch, while the other is based on increasing by causing each stitch to encompass a larger number of loops. And when both methods are used the possibility for variation is considerable; indeed, a wide range of stitches are to be found among looped needle-netting of folk handicrafts to this day. It would be impossible to list them all, but a few CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 295

c d

Fig. 335. Work in progress corresponding to Figs. 332-334. Stitch in position over left thumb, the needle is then twisted and passed under loop b and thread a. Fig. 336. The needle's two positions for the Igangvrerende arbejde svarende til Fig. 332-334. Maskeme ses i stilling over venstre tommelfinger. second stitch. Product spread out, type HIc. Nfllen vrides derpfl om og skydes ind under l\1lkkeb Nfllens to stillinger for anden maske. Arbejdet er og trM a. vist udbredt. Type IIIe. examples of the principal variations are given in the following. A pair of mittens from Lflnga- ryd in Scania (Fig. 339) has 7 loops to a stitch; another Swedish mitten (Fig. 340) has 8 loops to a stitch. The greatest number of loops I have ever encountered is the Finnish product published by Tyyni Vahter28) with no less than 9 loops to a stitch (Fig. 341). Theoretically speaking, the chance of increasing the size of a looped needle-netting product is unlimited, but in practice a large piece of work would be difficult to manage- thus cancelling out the advantages. It is to be hoped that forms of looped needle-netting with stitches comprising a number of loops will be recorded elsewhere in Scandinavia before the technique dies out. The complicated forms no longer survive in Denmark. Type IV. Anyone interested in looped needle-netting will enjoy making their own experiments in order to find new variations. The examples described are stitches with 3, 4,5,7,8, and 9 loops but none with 6. This is probably fortuitous. Figs. 342-344 illustrate my experiments with a variation with 6 loops per stitch which can be called Type IV.

The disadvantage of looped needle-netting is that the length of thread has to be limited, unlike crochet and knitting. Several attempts have been made to remedy the drawback by adding lengths of thread without knotting the ends. According to the Swedish writer Marta Broden the ends to bejoined are lightly frayed (not cut) and twined, after being moistened, by rubbing them together in the palm of the hands29). According to a description from Iceland by Dr. Kristjan Eldjarn, a looped needle-netting milk strainer was made from thread of cow's hair. The thread was spun and plied afterwards. The tighter the thread was spun the better the plying. A length of thread (I) is laid double with the two ends close together, plying is then carried out from one of the loops; the two ends twist together automatically as the plying tautens the thread. The next thread (2) is either passed through one of the loops of the plied thread and the process repeated, or thread (2) is looped in a half-stitch through the plied thread (1) and then plied30). 296 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURlALS

Fig. 337. Diagram of the technique for the Asle mitten, type HIc. Note the special linking where the thread of the new row is passed into two loops at the left edge of the preceding row. Each stitch made in one move. Analyse til Asle-vanten. type IIIc. Bemrerk den specielle sammenfl1ljning, hvori trflden fra den nye rrekke griber under to 111Ikkeri venstre kant af foregllende omgang. Hver inaske syes her i eet greb. CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 297

,I \ \ ", "" " - "'"

Fig. 338. Diagram of the Asle mitten technique. Working in the opposite direction to that shown in Fig. 337. A, B, and C show the three positions of the needle for making each new stitch. Analyse til Asle-vanten. Arbejdet foregl'lr her i modsat retning af den, som er anvist for Fig. 337. Yed A, B, and C anvises de tre n1\leStillinger, som krreves for hver ny maske. 298 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 339. Diagram of the Umgaryd (Smll.Iand) mitten, type Fig. 340. Technique of the 0ster V, with seven loops to the stitch. A cap from the Skolte Goinge mitten with eight loops to the Lapps belongs to the same group. (Ethnographical Dept. stitch, type VI. (Danish Folk Museum National Museum, K. 782). 35/1916). Analyse til n1l.lebundetvante fra L1l.ngarydi Sm1l.land.Syv slyngpr. Analyse til n1l.lebundet vante fra 0ster maske, type V. Hue fra Skoltelapperne hl1lrertil samme gruppe. Goinge med oUe slyng pr. maske.

HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LOOPED NEEDLE-NETTING

As already mentioned, Luise Schinnerer published a book3') in the 1890s in which she described her studies of some Egyptian textiles acquired by the Imperial Museum of Austria. One of her illustrations was of a sock considered to date from the 4th-6th centuries A.D., made in the looped needle-netting technique, the analysis of which corresponds to that shown in Fig. 345. This was the first identification of a textile technique which, like sprang, was to prove fairly widespread in both time and place. CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 299

Fig. 341. Technique of a Finnish mitten with nine loops to the stitch, type VII (after Tyyni Vahter). Analyse til finsk vante med ni slyng pro maske. Type VB.

Fig. 342. Type IVa. Fig. 343. Reconstruction with Fig. 344. Type rVb. Reconstruction with six loops to six loops to the stitch. Variation of Fig. 342 the stitch based on Fig. 323. Rekonstruktion med seks slyng pro based on Fig. 323. Type IVa. Rekonstruktion med seks maske. Type IVb. Variant af fig. slyng pro maske, opbygget pA 342, opbygget pAgrundlag af grundlag af fig. 323. fig. 323.

The Mammen pennants, each with a panel of fine looped needle-netting down the middle of the silken triangle (Fig. 346, Mus. No. C 137) are particularly interesting in the present context. The looped needle-netting panels are of gold thread, making a very exquisite mesh. There has been considerable discussion as to whether the pennants are local products or imported - the latter seems the more likely, though the technique was known elsewhere in Scandinavia at about the same time, and in Denmark both in prehistoric times and in the Middle Ages. The Asle mitten from Vastergbtland (Fig. 347) is the earliest example of looped needle- netting. Published by Holger Arbman and Elisabeth Strbmberg32) in 1934, Arbman dates it to the first centuries A.D. The mitten is offairly coarse, S-spun yarn, originally most probably a 300 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 345. Diagram of looped needle-netting with gold thread in the centre of the fillet from Mammen, Fig. 346, type IlIa. Analyse til nAlebundet gyldent felt i hovedbAndet fra Mammen, fig. 346, type IlIa. CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 301

Fig. 346. Detail of the Mammen fillet. Above, padding with traces of hooks or the like. Then follows the tablet-woven band. Below in the centre the panel with looped needle-netting. (C 137). Detaije af hovedb1\nd fra Mammen. 0verst ses polstringen med spor efter hregter e.!. Derefter fl1llgerbrikb1\ndet og nederst i midten det n1\lebundne felt. (C 137). 302 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 347. Mitten from Asle Mose. The reverse side is outermost. Historiska museet, Stockholm. Type Illc. Vante fra Asle Mose. Vrangsiden vender ud. Type lIIe.

natural shade but now discoloured by bog water. It is for the left hand and 27 cm in length. Along the wrist edge are the remains of a fringe of softer, shiny fine yarn, partly from undyed wool, and partly dyed red with madder, as well as green: proof that already at that period a decorative form of handwear was appreciated. The technical details of the mitten are discussed under Type III c (Fig. 337). Other mittens recovered in the North are two described by Margarethe Lehmann-Filhes in 189633) from Iceland: two deserted dwelling-house sites in, respectively, the Akranes peninsula north of Reykjavik (1881) and Arnei5arsta5ir, Flj6tsdalsherad (1889). There is no close description of the technique in which they were made, the first-mentioned specimen was CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 303

Fig. 348. Detail of the Asle mitten with cuff folded back showing the long stitches of the (originally) right side. Detalje af Asle-vanten. Kraven ombl'ljet, s~ de lange trnde ses, som ligger p~ den oprindelige .yderside.

Fig. 349. Medieval mitten from Lund. (Kulturhistoriska Fig. 350. Mitten in looped needle-netting from Museet). Copenhagen (D. 7403 b). Middelaldervante fra Lund. N~lebundet vante fra udgravninger under Mikkel Bryggers Gade i Kl'lbenhavn (D. 7403 b). 304 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 35Ia. Looped needle-netting mitten Fig. 35lb. Mitten in looped needle-netting from excavated from the old rampart of Copenhagen Norway. (Bygd~y 755ab-06). (D. 8935?). NlIlebundet vante era Nittedal, Nedre Romerike. NlIlebundet vante ira udgravninger i K~benhavns Volde. (0 8935?). thought to be of woven cloth, and the second to be crocheted. Palmi Palsson also mentioned the mittens in 189534), he considered them to date from the 10th century. The Icelandic Na- tional Museum (Pj6<5minjasafn Islands) sent me the Arnei<5arsta<5ir mitten to examine. It is made, as I thought, in looped needle-netting, Type IIa35). No definite dating of the mitten is possible, but nothing contradicts P. Palsson's dating. A medieval mitten in looped needle-netting found in Lund, Sweden (Fig. 349) is definitely Scandinavian. Dr. Sven Kjellberg asked me to publish the find in 1945, and informed me that it was found in a stratum pre-dating 1400 A.D.36). Thus there seems to be clear evidence that there is an unbroken tradition of looped needle-netting in Scandinavia. Four Danish specimens can be added to the group (Figs. 350, 351a), recovered during excavations of the ramparts of Copenhagen they are unfortunately undatable. Three of the mi ttens are Type IIa, the fourth is too felted to determine. They may have belonged to Swedish soldiers at the time of the siege of Copenhagen in 1659, however finds from the ditches and ramparts are obviously a miscel- lany, and it is perhaps more feasible to assume that the mittens are of Danish origin inasmuch as looped needle-netting has been done in Denmark in recent times. In 1940 the National Museum acquired a pair of mittens37) made in looped needle-netting by Miss Sigrid Smidt of Lundsmark (born 1877 in Lundsmark), south of Ribe. Miss Smidt later told me that she had learnt the technique fifteen years earlier from an old man (t 1930) and that CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 305

he, in turn, had learnt it when young from a neighbour who had been taught it on the island of Flilhr. For at one time it was the custom for men both married and single to move to one of the North Frisian islands during the winter months to work at threshing. Mads Brodersen Johan- sen, the old man who had shown Sigrid Smidt how to do looped needle-netting, passed his retirement doing this rare form of needlework, and his family have kept both mittens and slippers (Fig. 352) made by him. And one or two people, like Miss Smidt, were taught the technique by him too. The slippers are made in Type IIa with four loops per stitch- the same type as that kindly shown me by Miss Smidt. Moreover, Maria Collin, the textile specialist, found a folk tradition for making looped needle-netting in Scania, Sweden, in 1917. Her diagrams show Types IIa (P. 285) and Illb (P. 293)38). Moreover, she records that at a handicrafts exhibition in Uppsala in 1915 mittens made in this technique were well represented under such names as somvantar, sommade vantar and patade vantar. In Varmland, Sweden, they are called naLade vantar or pasvantar, and the expression "at binde med naL" is used. The Nordiska Museet in Stockholm has a large collection of items in looped needle-netting. Woollen mittens, often fulled, and colourfully embroidered, and with fringes etc. A number of things are made with yarns of hair, i.e. from a cow's tailor horsehair. Numerous milk strainers made in variations of looped needle-netting, and a kind of slipper called skosuckor worn over socks inside boots by woodsmen working in forests during the winter months. There is also a curious kind of hair mitten, unusually large and unlikely to be for warmth but rather a protec- tive mitten worn by miners and foundrymen. The National Museum, Copenhagen, has some examples of Swedish looped needle-netting in its collections, namely some white woollen mittens (Fig. 340) from Q. Goinge Herred in

Scania39), and from Vester Gotland40). A pair of privately owned mittens from L~mgaryd, 41 Smllland (Fig. 339) have also been lent me for study purposes ). Per Soderback writes in his book on Rllgo islanders42) that sewing mittens in the na/ning, patning or vantsom technique was usual in the old days. We also know that mittens were made like this in antiquity. The tradition has survived in Norway with equal persistence43). Norwegian museums have a number of items in their collections. In the present book I am forced to limit myself to a selec-

Fig. 352. Shoe in looped needle-netting made recently in Jutland, type lIa. Nlilebundet sko udf!ilrt af Mads Brodersen Johansen i Hviding, type lIa. 306 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS tion from the rich collection of looped needle-netting products In the Norwegian Folk Museum at Bygd¢y:

Mittens 763ab, one pair of mittens of coarse brown wool from Alvundeid, Nordm\2ire. 755ab-06, one pair of mittens from Nittedal, Nedre Romerike (Fig. 351b). 796ab-06, one pair of mittens from Alvundeid, Nordm\2ife. 863ab-13, one pair of mittens from Valle, Setesdal.

Stockings 454ab-26, one pair of stockings of soft brown wool from R\2id\2iy,Nordre Helgeland. 478ab-34, one pair of stockings of brown dog hair from Saltdal, Nordland. L. 10294, "Iampa" cow's tail hair, worn outside shoes, from Helleland, Dalene.

Milk strainers 100-11, horse's tail hair, pig bristle and hair from young cattle, from Voss. 668b-ll, horse's tail hair, pig bristle, unknown origin. 1468-11, hair from young cattle, from Varhaug, Ja:ren.

Conservator Mrs. Helene Engelstad writes in a letter of 13th September 1943 that "on a journey to Nordland in 1934I found this type of mitten in a crafts shop in Bod¢. They were said to be very good sea mittens, and this was understandable as they must have been very water- proof when fulled". All the mittens are so-called "lovotter" i.e. mittens with a thumb. The mittens in the collections are unlikely to be older than. the close of the 18th century. Floral embroidery on them was usually executed in green and various red shades. The cuffs are deep. Finland likewise has evidence of the age and uses of looped needle netting. Tyyni Yahter44) published a book in 1934 in which she describes a mitten recovered from a man's grave in Tuukala, Finland, dated to the 14th century. The analysis of the mitten is given in Fig. 341. The technique is comparable to that found in mittens of a later period in the Karelian region of the Savolaks. The yarn is thick two-ply wool, the mittens are decorated with yellow and green wool embroidery, apparently chain stitch. Some fragments of textile, published by Th. Schwindt45) in 1893, are mentioned by Tyyni Yahter. They come from burials near Ke- komaki, Finland, and judging from the artefacts excavated with them, the graves date from the Viking Period. They are of thick, tricoloured, cord-striped material (2489:40 and 49), made in the same technique as a sock from Egypt described by Luise Schinnerer46), i.e. a variation of looped needle-netting classified in the present chapter as Type IlIa. The Finnish fragments are thought to be of mittens, or possibly - and more likely - stockings, because stocking legs made in the same technique are known at a later period in the Karelian border country. Tyyni Yahter writes that;-in 1929, she heard stockings were made in the past with one needle and that they had broad bands in different colours below the knee where the bands would be visible, the rest of the stocking was white. The Kekomiiki fragments have been recovered from woman's graves, but there is no reason why women should not have worn stockings of the same kind. Yahter sets out to show that the strength and age of the looped needle-netting tradition is evident from the decoration of the Tuukkala mittens. She also mentions naalvanter, known in many districts about 1800, and likewise an 18th century specimen47). As in Sweden, there were looped needle-netting milk strainers of goat- and horsehair in Finland, and in the Viborg Museum, Finland, there is a pair of stockings acquired in 1893from Jiiiiski; the heels are made in the same way as the Egyptian sock mentioned earlier. In some areas ofthe Karelian penin- CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 307

Fig. 353. Diagram of a variation carried out in present day Denmark, type I1a. Fig. 352. Analysen til den nAlebindingsart, som er ud!<,vet i Danmark til yore dage, fig. 352.

sula where the religion of the population was Greek Orthodox, the men wore mittens of looped needle-netting on special occasions (e.g. in church or as bridegrooms) at the close of the 19th century. It was part of the wedding ceremony for the bride to give the leaders white sewn mittens decorated with colourful embroidery. Even the priest in some regions, for example among the Syrjans, received a similar gift in gratitude for his part in the ceremony48). The technique is said to have been known in Ingermanland and Estonia49), and I. Manninen is of the opinion that the limits of looped needle-netting mittens to the east extend in Finnish territory as far as Aunus and Russian Karelian. However, the last word has not yet been said about the distribution eastward as research is still incomplete. 308 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 354. Stocking in looped needle-netting. (Bygd\2lY Museum, Fig. 355. Cap made in looped needle-netting. 454/26). (Staat!. Museen, Berlin, 9318). Alebundet strl'lmpe. Hue udfl'lrt i nAlebinding.

If we turn southwards in Europe, a technique for making gloves and stockings during the Middle Ages would appear to be looped needle-netting, but in quite another sphere of use for the examples have been recovered from the graves of ecclesiastics50). Some gloves belonging to a bishop from St. Sernin in Toulouse are considered to be 13th century, and according to Joseph Braun some gloves said to have belonged to Louis the Holy of Anjou (t 1297) are made in a fine kind of tricot, and in St. Trinita in Florence are gloves attributed to the Holy Bernardo degli Uberti which are thought to be made with a needle. The latter are dated to the 12th- perhaps early 13th - century, and the method is described as a curious kind of stitchwork not 51 identical with knitting. A pair of stockings excavated in the parish church at Delsberg ) have been made in the same way. They are offairly coarse linen thread in some kind of looped netting which seems to indicate looped needle-netting. The stockings are 70 cm long with tapes for tying at the top, they have been dated to the 12th century. Likewise, the remains of a similar pair of gloves were excavated from the grave of a bishop in Speier Cathedral, and when the grave of Bonifacius VIII (t 1303) was opened, fragments of white silk fabric on the body's hands were thought to have been made with a needle52). It would obviously be more reas- suring to have analyses of the above-mentioned textiles for identification, but it seems very CHAPTER IX. NEEDLE AND SEWING 309 likely that the textiles are examples of looped needle-netting. It would be extremely interesting, too, if other medieval graves of the clergy were to be opened and further specimensiden- tified. Looped needle-netting is also represented outside Europe. For example the Staatlisches Museum in Berlin owns a silk cap (Fig. 355, Mus. no. 9318). The circumference of the cap is c. 48 cm and the height of the crown 17 cm, it terminates in a point at the top in another material, or possibly a covering of another material, probably silk. At the end of the point is a magni- ficent silk tassel. The cap is said to come from Antinoe, it was recovered from an excavation carried out by Professor Schweinfurther in 1897. According to the information kindly given me when I studied the cap, it is not Coptic but most likely Arabian, and probably from the 9th-10th century A.D. It is made in two types of needlework, one for the point and one for the crown. The former is mentioned in the section on mesh stitch (P. 284), the latter is of looped needle-netting Type lila, i.e. the same kind as that of the pieces from Mammen, the way the stitches are added in rows is also the same in both cases (Fig. 331).

Fig. 356. Shoe in looped needle-netting of cotton from Lurestan. (Ethnographical Dept., National Museum, E 229 a-b). N1\.lebundet sko af bomuldsgam fra Lurestan.

Fig. 357. Unfinished looped needle-netting shoe of wool from Lurestan. (Ethnographical Dept., National Museum, E 367 b). N1\.lebundet sko af uldgarn, ufuldendt. Fra Lurestan. 310 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Looped needle-netting is done to this day in Persia, and it is natural to assume that it is based on traditions that go back to the Copts and Arabs. Dr. C. G. Feilberg returned to Den- mark in 1935 from Iran with five pairs of giveh53), a kind of cloth shoe54) worn by the lower classes in Iran (Figs. 356,357). The sole is made offolded strips of cloth or leather, placed on edge and sewn together, thus giving it great thickness and strength. The top is of looped needle-netting. People living in towns usually make the shoes with cotton yarn but the Lurs use woollen yarn. The technique corresponds to Type IlIa, i.e. the same type as in Egypt. The Persian examples are sewn firmly with one tightly spun thread. Each row of stitches is about I cm deep. The firm compact mesh is the result of working with a fairly fine needle, and no full- ing has to be done. One of the Persian shoes is unfinished (Mus. no. E. 267) and the long needle (Fig. 283), resembling an ordinary darning needle, is still in the work. Looped needle-netting is also known in South America. A Peruvian bag at the Museet fUr Volkerkunde in Munich has been examined by R. D'Harcourt55), and the analysis is a mesh of four loops to a stitch. The Peruvian example, though, has a thread in the border of the row of stitches. The Ethnographical Museum in Trocadero has a bag of the same kind. Thus, on the basis of the material I have managed to trace, looped needle-netting has extended from Iceland to Finlan9, from Scandinavia to South-East Europe, Egypt and Iran. The westernmost evidence of the technique is in Peru, and the easternmost in New Guinea, mentioned earlier56). With the exception of the latter, all are regions where sprang has also been carried out.

Fig. 358. "The Monty Cap" made for Field-Marshal Montgomery's entry into Copenhagen, May 1945. It is in looped needle-netting of the same type as in the Mammen fillet. »Monty Hue« udf\2lrt til Feltmarskal Montgomerys indtog i K\2lbenhavn i Maj 1945. Teknikken er n1'llebinding ligesom i den i Mammenh\2ljen fundne hovedprydelse. CHAPTER IX: NEEDLE AND SEWING 311

Notes

I) A. P. Madsen: Afbildninger af danske Oldsager. Steenalderen, 1868, P. 18 and PI. 17, Fig. 15. 2) From left to right: No. 15449Falster; B 782 Yium, Lysgaard H; 9213 Yedbeek, Sokkelund H; B 7406 Lem- vig (Skodborg?); BliSS Haldens Bakke, Krejbjerg, R~dding. H; B 3512 Klarup, Fleskum H; 9680 Bovense, Yinding H; B 2752 Herringl~se, Hvedstrup, S~mme H; B 550 Gaarsdal, Ravnstrup, N~r1yng H; B 776 Mammen, Middelsom H; B 3511 Klarup, Fleskum H. 3) A survey of needles from the Roman Iron Age is given by H. Norling-Christensen, Acta Arch. XIII, 1942, P.354. 4) C 7436, C 15043, C 9140, C 18082, C 10701. 5) Sophus Muller: Astragal, Naalegjemme, Ornamentstempel fra den romerske Tid. Aarb~ger 1900, Pp. 184, 185and 186. Cf. E. Vedel: Den eeldre Jernalders Begravelser paa Bornholm. Aarb~ger 1872,P. 45, PI. 4. 6) Birka III, P. 106 and PI. 39. 7) Mus. nos: a) 767/1922. Ring Thorodsen's Collection, Danish Folk Mus. b) D 1551from an excavation of Copenhagen's rampart, N.M. II. c) 767/1922. Ring Thorodsen's Collection. d-e) D 12153, found near Skelsk~r. f) D 6711. Copenhagen's rampart. Listed from left to right. 8) Q 99. Trelleborg, Hejninge parish, Siageise herred. 9) Aage Roussell: "Sandnes and the Neighbouring Farms". Medd. om Gr~nland, 88,2. Pp. 135, 189, Fig. 200, U. 10) H. Jankuhn: Haithabu (2nd edition, 1938), P. 127, Fig. 112. II) Nordiska Museet, Stockholm, has a bone needle in its collections which is II cm long, I cm wide, and where the eye is 3.5 cm from one end, cf. Fig. 281 (mus. no. 132, 378b). Maria Collin (Fataburen, 1917, P. 73) writes that the needles used for looped needle netted mittens in Swedish folk handicrafts are usually bone, but sometimes of wood or metal and "fairly large". A needle said to be from a leg of pork comes from Naset, Ore, and in "Svenska Folkdrakter" by P. G. Wistrand, 1907, mittens called "skamlingvantar" are described on P. 38, a skamling is a coarse needle usually fashioned from a narrow pork bone. Tyyni Yahter mentions that in Estonia bone and wood needles were used, and likewise in Finland, where copper needles also occur. Tyyni Yahter describes two kinds of needles (Finska FornminnesfOreningens Tidskrift XL, 1934, and Fig. 6), one where the eye is through the middle and one where the eye is at the broader end (P. 236 ff.). 12) Cf. P. 304, below (Sigrid Smidt). 13) Danske Bronzealders Dragter, Figs. 3,4, 18, 19,32,38 & 42. 14) Helmi Kurrik: Eesti Rahvaroivad. 1938, P. 23, PI. 43. Fig. 5. 15) Emil Vogt: Geflechte und Gewebe der Steinzeit. P. 33, Figs. 55-56. Cf. Dutch Bronze Age net in "Costumes of the Bronze Age in Denmark", Fig. 132, P. 95. 16) The Ethnographical Dept., National Museum, Copenhagen, has a costume from Kwango in the Belgian Congo. The mesh is like modern buttonhole stitch (mus. no. G 2173). 17) Raoul D'Harcourt: Les Textiles Anciens du Perou. Figs. 55-57. 18) Costumes of the Bronze Age, P. 95. Cf. R. D'Harcourt: Op. cit., Fig. 56. 19) Belonging to Kaiser Friederich Museum, Berlin. Mus. no. 9318. 20) Many variations of mesh stitch were adopted in Peru. The stitches could be either oblique or upright, they were often used to oversew the face of the fabric entirely, and highly creative embroidery resulted. - R. D'Harcourt: Les Textiles Anciens du Perou, P. 91, Fig. 60, II a-b and P. 105, Fig. 74, and PI. XCI. 21) Birka III, P. 110, Figs. 25a-f and P. 113, Fig. 28. 22) Birka III, P. 100, Fig. 21 f. 23) Cf. Margrete Drejer in Berlingske Haandarbejdsbog II, P. 27, Figs. 1-3. 24) ordiska Museet, No. 70, 526. 25) Nordiska Museet, No. 162, 199, Dalarne. 26) Cf. Maria Collin: Sydda Vantar. Fataburen 1917, P. 75, Figs. 6-9. 27) Holger Arbman och Elisabeth Stromberg: Aslevanten, Nordiska Museets och Skansens Arsbok, 1934, Pp. 67-82. 28) Finska FornminnesfOreningens Tidskrift XL, 1934, P. 238, Fig. 2. 29) Marta Broden: Nfllbindning, 1973. 30) Kristjan Eldjarn: Ad sauma sil og sia mjolk, 1960. Translated from the Icelandic to Danish by Ragnhild Olafsdottir. 31) Luise Schinnerer: Antike Handarbeiten, Vienna, 1890s. P. 23, Figs. 28-32. It should be pointed out that Schinnerer's working method means making a stitch in two tempi. If worked in the opposite direction as found in folk traditions the stitch can be made with one manipulation. 312 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

32) Holger Arbman and Elisabeth Stromberg: Aslevanten. Nordiska Museets och Skansens Arsbok, 1934, Pp. 67-82. 33) Margarethe Lehmann-Filhes: Zwei islandische Handschuhe. Zeitschrift fUr Ethnologie: Verhandlungen der Berliner Anthropologischen Gesellschaft, 1896, P. 29. 34) Palmi Palsson in Arb6k hins Islenzka Fornlefafelags, 1895, P. 34. 35) Arb6k hins Islenzka Fornlejfafelags 1950. 36) Letter 5th May 1943. Margrethe Hald: Lundavanten, Kulturen. En Arsbok 1945, P. 80 ff. 37) Kindly sent in by Pastor Svend Zachariassen. 38) Maria Collin: Sydda VantaI', Fataburen, 1917, P. 71. Nils Lithberg mentions the technique in "Svensk Kongslojd". Rig, 1921, P. 118. Cf. E. v. Walterstorff: Textilt Bildverk, 1925, P. 93. ·P. G. Wistrand: Svenska Folkdrakter, 1907, P. 38. Levi Johansson: Dagligt Liv i det gamle Frostviken. Jamten, 1940, P. 94. Gerda Cederblom: Fataburen, 1922, P. 163. The Swedish method is slightly different to the one showed me in Denmark by Miss Sigrid Smidt, in that the thread and the loop on the thumb are pushed back over the needle, whereas Miss Smidt twisted the needle up through the loop under the working thread and pushed it forwards on the thumb so that all the loops were in front of the eye of the needle. The finished stitch, though, was the same. Details in common being a) the size of the new loop is measured over the thumb, b) all loops are on the needle before it is drawn through so that it passes through all the loops at once with a tug. 39) Mus. no. W 332a-35/1916. Acquired in Lund 1915 by the Third Dept. (Danish Folk Museum) of the National Museum. 40) The Danish Folk Museum was given these by a lady of Swedish descent, but the mittens were sewn in Den- mark. A flat horn needle had been used. . 41) With grateful thanks to Mrs. Elmquist for lending the mittens. (Mrs. Elmquist was born in U\ngaryd, Sm1l.- land, Sweden). 42) Per Soderback: R1l.goborna, P. 113. Nordiska Museets Handlingar, XIII, 1940. 43) I thank Director Hans Aal, Conservator Helene Engelstad and Director G. F. Heiberg for kindly giving me details of Norwegian articles in looped needle-netting. The Norsk Folkemuseum has a very considerable collection, and Director Heiberg tells me that the Heiberg Collection in Sogn Folkemuseum has some examples, he also mentions a 8.7 cm long needle for looped needle-netting called ahundingsstikke, it is a bone from the back leg of a pig. 44) Tyyni Vahter: Tuukkalan neulakinnas. Finska Fornminnesforeningens Tidskrift XL, 1934, P. 236, Fig. 2. My thanks to the author for information and photographs. 45) Th. Schwindt: Aus dem Eisenalter (und spatere Zeiten) Karelens. Finska FornminnesfOreningens Tid- skrift XIll, 1893, P. 193, PI. 45, Fig. 384. Dr. L. Moltesen kindly told me about Finnish looped needle- netting in 1942. 46) Luise Schinnerer: Antike Handarbeiten. 47) U. T. Sirelius: Suomen Kansanpukujen Historia, P. 245, Figs. 301 and 302, Journal de la Societe finno- ougrienne XXXI. Cf. Gerda Cederblom. Fataburen 1922, P. 163. Sirelius shows two mittens clearly made in looped needle-netting, they have embroidered cuffs and some kind of strap or tie at the top so that the mittens could be tied to the wrists. (Cf. the mittens recovered from the ramparts of Copenhagen). 48) U. T. Sirelius. Suomen Kansanomaista Kulttuuria II, P. 419, Fig. 543. In the Swedish translation II, P. 162. The mittens were either sewn or knitted, the former is the older method. Not long ago the SYljans wore these mittens of wool only. The sprang cap Fig. 279 is also a relic from the Syrjans, and curious in that the textile techniques of sprang and looped needle-netting known among the Copts should occur at such a recent date among the Syrjans. 49) I. Manninen: Eesti Rahvariiete Ajalugu. Eesti Rahva Muuseumi, Aastaraamat II I, 1927, P. 478, Fig. 482. 50) Joseph Braun: Die Liturgische Gewandung, 1907, P. 369 and Fig. 172. 5!) Joseph Braun: Op. cit., P. 401 and Fig. 191. 52) On the contrary, J. Braun is hardly right when he writes that a pair of gloves with openwork pattern in the Cluny Museum, Paris, are made in the same technique (Fig. 173, P. 370). 53) C. G. Feilberg: Contributions to the History of some Oriental Bazaar Crafts. Ethnographical Studies, 1941, P. 79 ff. In the Ethnographical Dept. of the National Museum: five pairs of giveh, E 567 a-b, of coarse white cotton yarn; E 609a-b of cotton yarn; E 267a-b of wool yarn, unfinished with needle in the work; E 266a-b of wool yarn; E 229 of cotton yarn, trimmed with leather and reaching the ankle. 54) A similar type of shoe is known from South America but the top is made in another technique, although the similarity is striking. Gosta Montell: Dress and Ornaments in Ancient Peru. 1929, P. 132, Fig. 66. 55) R. D'Harcourt: Les Textiles Anciens du Perou, Pp. 89-91, Fig. 58 and PI. 63,4. 56) D. S. Davidson: Knotless Netting in America and Oceania. American Anthropologist, n.s., 37, 1935, P. 120.