Trousers! Pants! Keks!
These are what I'm working on!
Well, actually I'm working on a jumper (knitted) a tailcoat (velvet) and some trousers (wool).
The last week or so has seen me looking at all manner of Viking websites, trying to find out how their damn trousers worked!
"They go over your legs!" I hear you cry. Well ha, flipping ha! I know that. Where to shove what is the easy bit where these things are concerned!
No, I mean what they actually looked like, how they were constructed.Think of all the pants we have now: skinny, super skinny, boot cuts, flares, culottes, chinos, jeans, shorts, pedal pushers, joggers, yoga pants. All of which have a place in modern fashion and lifestyles. Were people any different in the past? Heck no! They changed for fashion, warmth, work, war, and bedtime, just like us!
So, on to the leg-sleeves! Norse trousers are a thorny issue. We know they wore them. We know they came in different shapes and forms. Most re-enactors go for either:
Thorsbjerg trousers. These were footed pants with belt loops, fairly close fitting to the leg. Basically what most Early Medieval re-enactor type people wear.
OR
Baggies. These are my bugbear. Why? Because I'm 100% convinced most people do this wrong. Con. Blooming. Vinced.
"But Jimbo," I hear ye wail. "If they're all wrong, how did they really work?"
Well, to quote the late Prof. Chris Mee, of the University of Liverpool: We just don't know.
The evidence, most of which is beautifully presented here, points to either fairly fitted trousers, some with feet, some without; and baggy, knee- or ankle-length breeches, tucked into leg bindings or short hose. Just like we see in the Roman period, the later medieval, early modern, and Victorian periods. A pair of pants tucked into big socks. Like the tracksuit trousers and socks phenomenon common in the UK.
So, how am I going to make my Norse Baggies? Well, first off, I'm going to look at all the evidence. In particular concentrating on the niggly bit: the bottoms. The top? It's going to be a crotch, leg tops, and a seat. Boom. Done. The bottoms are where I need it to be Right. It needs to be flared/baggy, like the Gotland stones and Birka tapestries, but big enough to form a nice gathered or pleated look when tucked and rucked into hose.
Lots of people make leg tubes, then sew these to the bottoms of big balloon pants that reach the knee. I'm not convinced. I just don't see that as a viable construction method. It seems overly difficult, very complicated, and they make sitting down, according to my housemate Joe, a bit difficult because of how the fabric pulls the tubes. Well sod that. I love sitting down!
I'm going to go for the look of the gentlemen above. Looks about as 'classic Viking' as a ginger nut biscuit, with their lack of Icelandic runic tattoos, no beard rings, and a total absence of any kind of black leather lamellar armour. But you know what? Beardy chaps in swords and slacks is how they saw themselves, so that's the look I'm going to go for.
Right, so, baggy, with a crotch piece, a seat, and some gores to prevent me unseaming myself from pole to pole. OK. Doable.
The plan, such as it is, will be to get some wool, preferably quite fine to give the desired foldy/gathered/pleated look, then to make something that looks a lot like big, baggy Thorsbjerg trousers that go either to just below the knee, or (more likely) to the ankle.
In honour of its sterling service to the computer-based art world, here is a shoddy sketch of the pattern made in MS Paint. Lord love you, MS Paint!
Right, chaps! That's me away to find some wool. I have some gorgeous, hand woven diamond twill, but it's a bit heavy to achieve the right drape and folds for this project, so I'm going to look at some suiting weight stuff for a bit. Wish me luck!
 |
| One of the Gotland Stones. Note baggy trousers tucked in at the knees. |
Well, actually I'm working on a jumper (knitted) a tailcoat (velvet) and some trousers (wool).
The last week or so has seen me looking at all manner of Viking websites, trying to find out how their damn trousers worked!
"They go over your legs!" I hear you cry. Well ha, flipping ha! I know that. Where to shove what is the easy bit where these things are concerned!
No, I mean what they actually looked like, how they were constructed.Think of all the pants we have now: skinny, super skinny, boot cuts, flares, culottes, chinos, jeans, shorts, pedal pushers, joggers, yoga pants. All of which have a place in modern fashion and lifestyles. Were people any different in the past? Heck no! They changed for fashion, warmth, work, war, and bedtime, just like us!
So, on to the leg-sleeves! Norse trousers are a thorny issue. We know they wore them. We know they came in different shapes and forms. Most re-enactors go for either:
Thorsbjerg trousers. These were footed pants with belt loops, fairly close fitting to the leg. Basically what most Early Medieval re-enactor type people wear.
OR
Baggies. These are my bugbear. Why? Because I'm 100% convinced most people do this wrong. Con. Blooming. Vinced.
"But Jimbo," I hear ye wail. "If they're all wrong, how did they really work?"
Well, to quote the late Prof. Chris Mee, of the University of Liverpool: We just don't know.
The evidence, most of which is beautifully presented here, points to either fairly fitted trousers, some with feet, some without; and baggy, knee- or ankle-length breeches, tucked into leg bindings or short hose. Just like we see in the Roman period, the later medieval, early modern, and Victorian periods. A pair of pants tucked into big socks. Like the tracksuit trousers and socks phenomenon common in the UK.
So, how am I going to make my Norse Baggies? Well, first off, I'm going to look at all the evidence. In particular concentrating on the niggly bit: the bottoms. The top? It's going to be a crotch, leg tops, and a seat. Boom. Done. The bottoms are where I need it to be Right. It needs to be flared/baggy, like the Gotland stones and Birka tapestries, but big enough to form a nice gathered or pleated look when tucked and rucked into hose.
Lots of people make leg tubes, then sew these to the bottoms of big balloon pants that reach the knee. I'm not convinced. I just don't see that as a viable construction method. It seems overly difficult, very complicated, and they make sitting down, according to my housemate Joe, a bit difficult because of how the fabric pulls the tubes. Well sod that. I love sitting down!
 |
| The Tjangvide Stone, with lots of loose-trousered, sword-wielding Vikings on board ship. Yarr! |
Right, so, baggy, with a crotch piece, a seat, and some gores to prevent me unseaming myself from pole to pole. OK. Doable.
The plan, such as it is, will be to get some wool, preferably quite fine to give the desired foldy/gathered/pleated look, then to make something that looks a lot like big, baggy Thorsbjerg trousers that go either to just below the knee, or (more likely) to the ankle.
In honour of its sterling service to the computer-based art world, here is a shoddy sketch of the pattern made in MS Paint. Lord love you, MS Paint!
 |
| A very basic idea of the trousers as they might be constructed. The leg shape and gussets will need tweaking. |
Right, chaps! That's me away to find some wool. I have some gorgeous, hand woven diamond twill, but it's a bit heavy to achieve the right drape and folds for this project, so I'm going to look at some suiting weight stuff for a bit. Wish me luck!
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