The most distinctive Viking female item of dress is an apron-dress or hanging-dress. It's known by lots of names. Re-enactors often call it a hangeroc or hangerok, or even a peplos (after the similar Greek garment). It's possible the Vikings called it a smokkr.
There are six main designs. There's always lots of controversy as to which is most authentic and different strapping arrangements- read Thor Ewing if you're interested. The six designs are: the tube peplos; the two-piece peplos; the one-piece sewn tube; the one-piece wrap-around; the two-piece with apron; the two-piece wrap-around; and the gored tube.
All these dresses except the peplos hang from the upper half of your breast to somewhere on your ankles or shins, and have long strap hoops up the back and short strap loops on the front. These loops are held together by a pair of broaches - either the distinctive "shiny breast" tortoise-shell broaches, or (for Gotlandic women) animal-headed broaches. The broaches often have a string or two of beads hanging between them, and female essentials (needle cases, scissors etc) hanging from them.
Tube Peplos
This dress is found in many cultures before our period, including in Greece and in Iron Age Germanic areas. It had probably disappeared by our period, evolving into the dresses described below…
Construction
- Start with a rectangle of fabric, as wide as you need at the base and as tall as you need from your ankle to your shoulder.
- Sew up the edge that's the height.
- This dress doesn't use any loops- the top of the tube is held together at the top by two broaches.
Resources
- tjurslakter.nl has a picture on the last page.
Two-Piece Peplos
This dress is found in many cultures before our period, including in Greece and in Iron Age Germanic areas. It had probably disappeared by our period, evolving into the dresses described below…
Construction
- Start with two identical rectangles of fabric. One side should be larger than the distance from shoulder to shoulder, the other should be about the same as your total height (from floor to top of the head).
- This dress doesn't use any loops- the two rectangles are just folded over so they're the height from floor to your shoulders, and pinned by broaches at the shoulders. The two rectangles can then be sewn together for a short distance at your waist.
- When worn, this dress opens at the side to give you room to move.
Resources
- Mistress Barbara Atte Dragon has a good picture of a peplos on p.3
- tjurslakter.nl says this is a Finnish design.
One-Piece Sewn Tube
This is a tube made from a single piece of fabric, with pleats at the top to make it more fitted.
Construction
- Start with a single rectangle of fabric- one side is long enough to be the base of a dress, the other side is the dress's height. Remember to allow some extra room for hemming.
- Sew down the two breast-ankle sides, so you get a simple tube.
- Then you add a few large pleats at the top of the tube, so the top is tighter whilst the base has the full space to walk in.
- Add the broach loops (two long ones up the back, two short ones on the front) and it's complete.
Resources
- Regia uses this design, at the bottom of their page about female kit.
- Carolyn Priest-Dorman says the 9th century Western Scandinavian apron-dress could be tubular (presumably meaning this style) or wrap-around (see below).
One-Piece Wrap-Around
A single sheet with an overlap- not dissimilar to wearing a towel when you get out of the shower!
Construction
- Start with a single rectangle of fabric- one side is long enough to go around your top almost one and a half times- from your right breast anti-clockwise all the way around you and back to your left breast. The other side is simply the dress's height. Remember to allow hemming space.
- Add the broach loops (two long ones up the back, four short ones on the front) and it's complete.
- There are no gores and pleats- as you move, the front double layer moves open and shut to give you room.
- A variant of this has the overlap at the back (so identical except it has two short loops and four long loops).
Resources
- Carolyn Priest-Dorman says the 9th century Western or Eastern Scandinavian apron-dress could be wrap-around (presumably meaning this style or the two-piece wrap around described below).
- Mistress Barbara Atte Dragon has a picture of a apron-dress with a wrap-over front on p.3
Two-Piece with Apron
Two pieces of fabric, held together by the broaches, with an open front covered by an apron.
Construction
- Start with a single rectangle of fabric- one side is almost wide enough to be the entire base, the other side is the dress's height. As before, remember to allow hemming room.
- As with the one-piece sewn add a few large pleats to make the top more fitted- you want it to be the distance from left nipple to right nipple anti-clockwise around your back.
- Add the broach loops (two long one on the back, two short ones on the front two corners)
- Then add an apron (possibly flared larger on the base) to cover the front, supported by two short loops going into the broaches.
Resources
- Regia uses this design, one up from the bottom of their page about female kit.
- Carolyn Priest-Dorman doesn't like it- she says "The popular interpretation of a 'Viking apron' - one towel-shaped panel in front, one in back, connected by straps - is not only wildly impractical for women in an active outdoorsy culture, but it is also never included in discussions of the archaeological evidence for the overdress layer."
- tjurslakter.nl calls it a Swedish design.
Two-Piece Wrap-Around
Two pieces of fabric, held together by the broaches, with overlaps at the front and rear.
Construction
- Start with two identical rectangles of fabric- each large enough to go almost all the way around your body from the front of one armpit to the back of the same armpit, and both as tall as the dress's total length.
- Add the broach loops, so each rectangle has all four hoops.
- When worn, this dress is double-thickness at the front and back, and the two open slightly to give you room to move.
Resources
- Carolyn Priest-Dorman says the 9th century Western or Eastern Scandinavian apron-dress could be wrap-around (presumably meaning this style or the one-piece wrap around described below).
- tjurslakter.nl calls this a Norwegian dress.
Gored Tube
This dress is the one most similar to most normal Viking kit, so it's the most intuitive and the one most people make. Based on 10th century finds from Hedeby.
Construction
- Start with two identical rectangles of fabric. One side should be half the distance around your bust, the other should be the dress's final height.
- Add triangular side gores, reaching from the base to just below your breasts.
- You can also add tucks to the side or back, emphasising the breasts. Katy has tried this.
- Add the broach loops, two long ones at the back and two short ones at the front.
Resources
- Carolyn Priest-Dorman says the 10th century Western or Eastern Scandinavian apron-dress was cut and pieced (presumably meaning this style). In this article she says it "demonstrated several sophisticated tailoring techniques—including tucks, darts, and pieced construction".
- Mistress Barbara Atte Dragon has the same of a picture of a gored apron-dress on p.2 and p.3, for some reason…
- tjurslakter.nl calls the gored tube a 9th-10th century Danish design. Although theirs has ridiculously huge side gussets.
