Viking Age Needle Case Project
Having taken a class by Lady Blitha of Wolfhou on medieval needle cases, I decided that I wanted to make a more contemporary needle case, as the one I've been wearing for several years is technically Bronze Age, and I knew I could create something both shinier and higher-status. I used a 9th century Norwegian find, on p. 241 of Roesdahl and Wilson's From Viking to Crusader catalogue, as my inspriation. It turned out to be rather easier than I'd expected.
I picked up thin sheet brass at a craft supplier, and was able to cut it relatively simply to the dimensions of the original find.
Lady Blitha had recommended bending the brass, then drilling the holes, but I decided that it made more sense for me to pierce the holes before I rolled the brass.
I used one of smarriveurr's dowels as a form, and bent the brass by hand (with a little hammering) while it was wrapped in a piece of leather to keep it from slipping or getting scraped.
It took a little futzing, but it went together eventually.
smarriveurr came up with a method for twisting a chain that looks very similar to a chain at Kulturen in Lund of which m_nivalis had taken a photo, which I'd seen when she and I were there a couple years ago. It's a little involved, but I think it looks nice, and it's not going to come apart at all.
The original was stuffed with wool. If you stuff it enough, and you push the needle into the wool, the friction holds the needle in place. I whipped it around a bunch, trying to get it to fly out, and the needle stayed put very well.
So I now have a pretty new needle case, more accurate than the one I'd had before. Actually, I have four of them, as I think they'll make lovely pressies for fellow re-enactors, or largesse donations...or maybe I'll put a couple up on etsy.
I picked up thin sheet brass at a craft supplier, and was able to cut it relatively simply to the dimensions of the original find.
Lady Blitha had recommended bending the brass, then drilling the holes, but I decided that it made more sense for me to pierce the holes before I rolled the brass.
I used one of smarriveurr's dowels as a form, and bent the brass by hand (with a little hammering) while it was wrapped in a piece of leather to keep it from slipping or getting scraped.
It took a little futzing, but it went together eventually.
smarriveurr came up with a method for twisting a chain that looks very similar to a chain at Kulturen in Lund of which m_nivalis had taken a photo, which I'd seen when she and I were there a couple years ago. It's a little involved, but I think it looks nice, and it's not going to come apart at all.
The original was stuffed with wool. If you stuff it enough, and you push the needle into the wool, the friction holds the needle in place. I whipped it around a bunch, trying to get it to fly out, and the needle stayed put very well.
So I now have a pretty new needle case, more accurate than the one I'd had before. Actually, I have four of them, as I think they'll make lovely pressies for fellow re-enactors, or largesse donations...or maybe I'll put a couple up on etsy.