Middle Saxon Woman Notes

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A simple costume,in natural colours, accentuated with jewellery.
Under-dress Ankle-length undyed linen (U) with wrist-length close-fitting sleeves and round slit neck which fastens with hooks and eyes. Dress Ankle-length yellow linen (D) with elbow length sleeves and round neck. Cloak Brown wool 'conical' open-fronted (C) with hood.. Shoes Flat-soled leather 'turn-shoes', with central seam and decorative thonging. Hair Possibly tied back or braided, visible at forehead and temples. Head-covering Rectangular narrow yellow linen (H) stitched with blue linen thread. Belt Yellow linen narrow (B) with 'tree of life' embroidered detail. Accessories Iron penannular brooch. Wooden needle case. Wooden comb. Iron shears in a leather case. Circular leather drawstring pouch. Knife with a wooden handle in a leather sheath. Brass disc brooch. Bead necklace. Brass arm-ring. Comment:    During the 6th century there was an influx of Christian missionaries to this country. The result was a marked change in attitudes to clothing in the following centuries. The 'tube' dress was discarded and sleeved garments became common. Head-wear was also introduced. The fashion for hanging items off the belt is still very much in evidence.    The individual depicted here is of reasonable status - not high ranking, but not poor either. This is indicated by the colour of her clothing, jewellery and decoration.
	Fig 1. Anglian Woman costume © Rosie Wilkin 2003
Black text - items in the picture; Red text italic - items not made; Pink text - items not visible; Green text - items made but not in the picture; Blue text - correct item, which is different from the one in the picture.

Under-dress
   This under-dress is based on the simple 'T' shape. It is actually made of fine cotton, but the weave is quite loose so looks like fine linen. The sleeves reach to the wrist and are just wide enough for the hand to pass through. The hems are folded over twice and stitched with running stitch in undyed linen thread. The neck is round with a slit, meaning that the neck-opening can be very close-fitting (to keep out draughts). The slit is closed with 2 pairs of hooks and eyes. I have faced the neck opening, which is a bit naughty as I should have treated it the same as the other hems.

Dress
    The dress is also a simple 'T' shape, with wide elbow-length sleeves. This is made in a 'linen look' fabric, which I believe is polycotton. The hems are turned over twice and again just running stitched, with a yellow thread. The skirt has extra panels stitched in the sides for ease of movement. These panels are a bit short really, they should start about hip level, but I didn't have very much fabric left and had to make do with what I'd got. The neck of this garment is round and wide enough to go over my head.
   Dresses are commonly made of wool in this period and could be highly coloured and decorated.
Update 06/07/03 - I have had to add larger gussets in the sides of this dress as my bust has expanded. These are in a very slightly darker shade of fabric than the original.

Cloak
   The cloak is shaped to fit the shoulders and provided with a hood.
    I have cheated a bit with this cloak. I used a commercially available pattern (Very Easy Very Vogue - Misses Cape no.7110). Although it is slightly too full, it is a very near match to the hooded cloaks of the early period. If I was to make another one, all I would do is just make the panels narrower all round. The fabric is a fluffy wool with a good nap, which means that it is more waterproof. I made the hood double for warmth. The seams I stitched on the machine and then re-stitched them by hand with a decorative thread. The hems are simply blanket stitched.

Shoes
   In this early period shoes were rather flappy and loose, with no distinction between left and right feet.

Hair
   The hair is generally left loose and long, though could be braided or pony tailed.

Head-covering
   Women that took up Christianity were now beginning to cover their heads, in imitation of the Virgin Mary. However, head-coverings were still, to some degree, personal preference and could be worn or not. This one is a long rectangle of naturally coloured linen (again I think it is 'linen look' polycotton), with and turned under hem stitched with blue thread in running stitch.

Belt
   The dress is held in by a plain cord belt from which the personal items are hung. The dress is then 'pouched over this hidden belt and the embroidered belt is worn over the top. The design is called the 'Tree of LIfe' and is taken from 'The Book of Kells' a Christian manuscript written sometime between the 6th and 10th centuries, and thought to be inspired by St. Columba and his monks. The embroidred belt is two strips of the same fabric as the dress stitched together.

Accessories
Personal Items
    The earlier tradition of carrying personal items on the body is still evident, in that several items are attached to the belt.
    Needle Case - made of wood with a leather loop to attach to the belt
    Comb - made of wood with a small hole drilled in the corner for a leather thong to hang it from. Combs were more commonly made of bone or antler and could be very decorative items.
   Shears - iron shears in a leather sheath, very similar to sheep shears, which have been in use for centuries.
   Pouch - leather drawstring pouch, made as a circle with holes cut round the edge for the thong.
   Knife - small iron knife with a wooden handle in a leather sheath. Knives like these were multi-purpose items, used for cutting up meat, vegetables, eating with, etc.
Jewellery   
   Small brooch - small brass brooch used to fasten the under-dress, with decorative openwork design
   Necklace - made up of glass beads and glass pendant beads, most likely a Frankish fashion copied from Byzantine women.
   Penannular Brooch - This large iron brooch is so called because it doesn't form a full circle like the annular brooches do.
   Arm-ring - simple arm-ring made of twisted bronze wire.