Decoration was limited to those who had the time to spend on it. There were three main forms of decoration; bands of contrastingly coloured fabric, embroidery, and tablet-weave. Decoration was commonly seen at the neck, hem and cuffs, with only a few references to decoration on skirts, down the front and on headgear.

   This was the cheapest form of decoration available, as the bands could be made from scrap fabric left over from making other garments. Contrast bands are seen on tunics and dresses at neck, hem and cuffs. (see the tunic of the Anglo-Saxon Nobleman)

   Anglo-Saxon women were famed for their embroidery. The most notable example of this is the Bayeux Tapestry, thought to have been stitched in England for the Bishop of Bayeux. Other examples are the Cuthbert vestments and the Maaseik embroidery.

   It was mainly the wives of the wealthy who could spare the time to do embroidery, taking their inspiration possibly from the intricate designs in manuscripts and books of hours. The less wealthy may made up designs based on vines and leaves, as they would not have had access to books. We cannot know for certain what form the embroidery took as textile evidence is lacking and the pictoral evidence from manuscripts is generally of wealthy figures and the embroidery is very stylised into simple circles, dots and lines.

   In the manuscripts, embroidery can be seen around the neck, cuffs and hems of tunics and dresses, with less common depictions of decoration on the skirts, down the front and one illustration of a group of nuns from Barking who have embroidered head-dresses.

   The embroidery could be done directly onto the garment or onto a band of constrastingly coloured fabric, which could then be sewn onto the garment. This gave the added bonus that if the garment got damaged, the band could be taken off and used on something else. (see the belt of the Middle Saxon Woman)

   Tablet-weaving is thought to have originated in Germany, about 500 B.C., when it was used to secure the ends of plain cloth before it was woven. It can also be used for belts, head-bands and stitched onto garments for decoration.

   A narrow braid (about 2cm wide) was found at Fonaby, Lincolnshire and had traces of blue or green in the central part, bordered by red. A braid found at Mucking, Essex had blue and possibly yellow threads, bordered by red. The end of a linen braid found attached to a strap end at Cambridge, which was probably a belt, had white, pale-green and blue identified in it.

   Tablet-woven headbands found in 6th century Kent were embroidered with gold thread, which was made of strip metal spun round a fibre core, possibly horse-hair. (see Late Saxon Wimples - Fillets)