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Tablet Weaving

For Beginners

Lady Emelisse de Loupey

Melissa Peterson

A Game of Thrones and StormGods

June 30, 2022

lyssalpeterson@gmail.com stonetracery.blogspot.com

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Tablet Weaving for Beginners

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Using the belt-strap method, we will learn how to read a basic pattern and start a small tablet-weaving project. Please make sure to wear a belt that the project can be attached to.��Agenda: �

  • Plain Weave vs. Tablet Woven
  • Brief Review of Tools and Materials
  • How to Read a Pattern
  • Let’s Try It!
  • Supplies
  • Bibliography�

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Plain Weave vs. Tablet Weaving:

Structural Differences

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We’ve all encountered “plain” or “tabby” weave - it’s the straight-forward back and forth weaving style you see on the right top image. Tablet-woven trim (top left) is significantly different, and the rotation of the cards actually forms small ropes which are held together by the weft thread.

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Top image via Toshihisa Shibamoto in Facebook’s Historic Tablet Weaving Group.

Tablet Woven

Tablet Woven

Plain Weave

Plain Weave

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Extant Pieces on Pinterest

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Clockwise from right:

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  1. Bone tablets for weaving. Museum of History, Riga.

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  • Reinach, community center. Two tablets made of bone. The photos to the right show the handling.

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  • Tablet. Roman period. Bone. Wroxeter. Shrewsbury Museums Service.

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  • Viking textiles from the ship: woven fabric, tapestries, embroideries and bands (Photo by Oslo Museum of Cultural History)

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Tablet Weaving

“Groups of thin flat tablets of wood, bone, or horn were used to make decorative braids. The square tablets were all pierced in each corner with a small hole, and the warp threads passed through the holes….As the tablets are turned, a quarter turn at a time, so the warp threads in each tablet are twisted into parallel cords.”

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“Weaving tablets have been found in excavations at Lund, Birka, York, and elsewhere, and range from about 1-2 in square (2.5-5cm). The Oseberg queen was buried with a partly completed tablet weaving, containing 52 tablets…”

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“Tablet-woven bands were used to decorate shirts, hats, and caftans, and one could also apparently be worn as a simple fillet round the head.”

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From Viking Clothing by Thor Ewig, pg. 147

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Tablet Weaving

“Tablet woven bands seem to have served several purposes during the Viking Age, and such bands have probably been used by both men and women. Tablet weave including silk has been found in 37 graves at 12 of the silk sites….Tablet-woven bands with geometrical patterns have been found in early Iron Age graves, and the tradition continues in Scandinavia into the middle ages.”

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From Silk for the Vikings by Marianne Vedeler, pg. 42

From the Oseberg Ship Burial, as pictured in Margareta Nockert's Osebergfunnet, Tekstilene

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Reading a Pattern

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1

2

3

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7

8

9

10

A

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​

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​

​

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​

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​

​

B

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​

​

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C

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D

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S

Z

Z

S

S

S

S

Z

Z

S

Unfortunately, not all cards and patterns are marked the same. Make sure your cards match the pattern format before you start, or there will be sadness. Let’s look at this example, based on a find from the Oseberg Ship Burial:

Card Number

Card Hole

Direction

Thread Direction:

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Forwardslash (\) for “S”, which rotates the threads counter- clockwise

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Backslash (/) for “Z”, which is clockwise

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Let’s Try It!

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1

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A

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B

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C

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D

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S

S

S

Z

Z

Z

Schweitzer, Robert. “Beginning Tablet Weaving.” Forward into the Past. 2 April 2011. <http://www.fitp.ca/articles/FITPXXI/beginning_tablet_weaving.pdf>

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My Preferred Tools and Supplies

Lacis Card Weaving Cards, 25pk, on Amazon.com - Approx. $16

Glimakra 16/2 Linen, 4.4oz cone, at Woolery.com - $18 each

Glimakra 16/2 Undyed Linen, 8.8oz cone, at Woolery.com - $28 each

100 yards of 20/2 Spun Silk at EowynDeWever Etsy Shop - $4 each

Silk Thread Spools, Size F, at RainbowQuartz Etsy Shop - $7-10 each

I received this vintage loom at a white elephant exchange and unfortunately I haven’t been able to find another one. It’s labeled “Belt Loom: A Friendly Loom Product.” The pinch bars at the front allow an amazing degree of tension adjustment, which is perfect for tablet weaving.

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Bibliography

Crockett, Candace. Card Weaving. Fort Collins, Colorado: Interweave, 1991.

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Ewing, Thor. Viking Clothing. Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing, Inc. 2006.

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Glæsel, Nille. Viking Dress Garment Clothing. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2010.

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Lewins, Shelagh. “Tablet Weaving for Dark Age Re-enactors: The Narrow Oseberg Band.” Shelagh’s Website. 2015. <http://www.shelaghlewins.com/tablet_weaving/Oseberg_narrow/Oseberg_narrow.pdf>

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Schweitzer, Robert. “Beginning Tablet Weaving.” Forward into the Past. 2 April 2011. <http://www.fitp.ca/articles/FITPXXI/beginning_tablet_weaving.pdf>

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Vedeler, Marianne. “Silk from the Ship Burial at Oseberg, Norway.” Silk for the Vikings. Oxbow Books: Havertown, PA 2014.

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