HedebyHood

General

General		Back to top
The fragment of cloth recovered from layer 3 of the Hedeby excavation in 1937, has been reasonably identified as part of a hood. The fragment measures approximately 55cm long by 20 cm wide. The hood was probably in use for a long time, as the fragment is very worn and has been mended several times.

Construction		Back to top
The fragment consists of 5 pieces (though 3 of them are very small) and would have covered the area of the head, neck and shoulders, with a 'tail' at the back of the head. The shoulder section has been widened by the use of gussets or gores. (Some of the seams in this fragment, although I don't know which ones, were sewn with vegetable fibres, i.e. possibly linen.)
a b c-e	'Tail' Main Body Gussets or gores

The Tail (a)
This is a piece of fabric which has been folded in half and seamed along the longest edge (seam 6). It tapers from where it is attached to the hood to the end of the fragment. At the widest point it measures about 14 cm (when stretched out 28 cms) and is 15 cm in length. It has been attached to the main body of the hood by another seam (seam 5). The stitches in seam 6 are between 2-3mm long and spaced between 4-5 mm apart. The seam-type of both 5 and 6 is unidentified.

The Main Body (b)
This part is badly damaged. A short row of stitches (seam 4) may have belonged to a hemline at the forehead, but the frament is torn and frayed here. This 'decorative' stitching forms curves on each side of the fabric slightly away from the raw edge. The 'tail' attaches at the top via seam 5 and two gussets (c & e) attach at the bottom via seams 1 and 3 respectively. Below the 'tail' the edges may have been sewn to another piece of fabric.

Gusset (c)
Gusset (c), the largest, is about 8cm at its widest point and is attached to the main body (b) by seam 1. For this seam (c) has been folded once and the raw edge of (b) placed over the top - raw edge to raw edge. The two raw edges have been sewn down to (c) and the folded edge of (c) has been sewn down to (b) with overcast stitch. The stitches are 3-5mm long and 2-4 mm apart. Gusset (d) attaches to (c) at the opposite side with seam 2.
Gusset (d)
Gusset (d) is attached to (c) by seam 2. The raw edges of the fabric are laid one on top of the other (c) on top of (d) and each raw edge is sewn down with overcast stitch. The stitches in this seam are 4-5 mm long and 3-5 mm apart.
Gusset (e)
Gusset (e) is attached to (b) and (c). See above for seam 1 attaching (c). Seam 3 attaches this guesset to (b) and is identical to seam 2.

Fabric	Back to top
The fabric is between 0.3 and 0.4 mm thick. It is a 2/2 twill wool with a thread count of 16-17 warp and 7.5 weft threads per cm, which has been fulled or fluffed up. Warp threads are z spun in 3 ply and between 0.6 and 1mm thick. Weft threads are s spun in 2 ply and 0.6-1.2mm thick. It is classified as a 'fine' fabric.

Reference	Back to top
All information in this article is taken from the Hedeby archaeology report by Inga Hagg (see Books).

Reconstruction

This reconstruction is taken from The Vikings, Basic Kit Guide - Manufacture of the Hedeby Hood (however, their site doesn't show the making up picture). It utilises narrow width fabric as would be woven in Early Medieval times.
Measurement A to B is the length of the hood, from the top of the head to the hem on the shoulders.
Measurement A to C is the depth of the hood, from the nose to the back of the head (doesn't say whether this is over the crown of the head or past the ear, though.
Make up as shown, ensuring that the narrowest middle part will still go over your head. Sew the two II's together along the diagonal, the sew to the back of the hood lining up the fold with the seam. Sew one III to the back of the hood on one side and the other on the other side. Sew one IV to each of the III's and to the back of the hood. The sew along the line x to y to z. Sew from w to the point where you can still get your head through. Hem the bottom and face edges of the hood.

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