Fox and Urchin

It’s fitting that my first actual post coincides with my first attempt at a new tablet weaving pattern.

As part of an exchange with another SCAdian, Lady Anauved, I was asked to weave either a length of Halltex 123 or Hallstatt 126552 (or both.)

Hallstatt 126552 (PA NHM Vienna 126520) was found recently enough that I hadn’t heard of it, and at a glance I assumed the pattern was the diagonals found in Applesies and Fox Noses by Karisto & Pasanen. It took some internet sleuthing, but I found an article written by Karina Grömer in No. 63 of Archaeological Textiles Review.

It piqued my interest because the band is unusual for Iron Age tablet weaving; the pattern is somewhat meandering, and has ‘outlining’ similar in appearance to modern-day Sulawesi. It’s also the first tablet woven band I’ve encountered that utilises horsehair for the weft. It was a gap in my education that I wanted to fill.

The article included a pattern by Silvia Aisling Ungerechts; it also helpfully provided all the relevant information I would need to start weaving.

I had some issues finding appropriately fine wool; the original band’s warp threads are two-ply, and are ~0.7mm thick. I didn’t and still don’t know anywhere to find that commercially, and I’m not sure I have the skill to spin it myself.

My go-to merchant for wool warp doesn’t sell finer than 20/2; I was directed to a company in France that sells 24/2, colored with natural dyes, and would have been ecstatic to use that, but the $40 shipping cost was prohibitive. Thankfully, my foster Peer remembered another company called ‘Vavstuga’, and they just happened to have 28/2 – which was used for the reconstruction piece by Ungerechts.

Of all the issues I anticipated, I thought horsehair would give me the most trouble – but it was surprisingly easy to find and affordable. I had some doubts about using it; I haven’t spent a lot of time around horses and didn’t know how thick it would be. When the order arrived, I saw that it’s about as thin as the warp I would normally use for a project like this. The band should be sturdy, but not bulky.

I feel like it might not have been wise to start this project two and a half weeks before Pennsic, but aside from the length of the pattern, it doesn’t look challenging for my skill leve. I’ve woven similar bands before and feel familiar enough with the technique, so it shouldn’t eat up too much of my Pennsic Prep time. Motivation-wise, it’s new to me, unique, and I’m interested enough that later, if successful, I’ll write actual documentation and submit it to A&S competitions.

And I’m getting a hat out of the deal.

Resources:

Karina Grömer, Silvia Ungerechts and Hans Reschreiter, Knowledge sharing: a newly found 2,700-year-old tablet-woven band from Hallstatt, Austria (2020)

Silvia Ungerechts, The new Hallstatt Band (Inv. No 126520) https://aisling.biz/index.php/galerie/historisch/eisenzeit/324-hallstatt-126552