Display – Birka 22 brocaded tabletwoven band by Arabella De Mere

Lady Arabella De Mere, Incipient Shire of Old Stonebridges

EK Wiki – https://wiki.eastkingdom.org/index.php?title=Arabella_De_Mere

This is an adaptation of the classic brocade Birka 22 band I made for Queen Margarita’s Birka outfit (used on her head band, and two lines of trim on apron panel). I changed the pattern slightly to fit more with my modern aesthetic, and made the pattern more balanced. (Original and adapted patterns available upon request). Extant band is originally a grave find from Birka, Sweden, and is dated to the 8/9 century.

I used 31 cards with 60/2 black silk for my background warp and ground weft, and real silver plated thread for my brocade weft.
Final width: 9/16 of an inch wide (1.4cm)
Length: 36 inches long
Sparkle factor: OMG!!! SO SPARKLY!!!
Time: it took between 1.5-2 hours per inch. Usually brocade takes me less time, but this band decided to be finicky.
The repeat pattern was 110 lines long, which ended up to be about 2 inches of weaving.

www.ArabellaDeMere.com – Documentation on multiple projects, class hand out on brocade tablet weaving, previous project pictures, and patterns I have transcribed or modified, free for personal use.

10 thoughts on “Display – Birka 22 brocaded tabletwoven band by Arabella De Mere

  1. ❤️ Thank you, your Excellency! It was an honor to make something for our wonderful Queen Margarita! I’m happy that I was able to contribute to the online A&S display as well!

  2. This is fantastic! Thank you for spoiling me with this amazing peice of wearable art!

  3. Oh that’s lovely. And a clever composition, wrapping it around that octagonal? prop!

    1. Thanks! Actually, that’s cardboard I use to go between the layers of warp on the loom. So it’s just a flap from an Amazon box that I cut off to use. It works though! 😆

  4. VERY lovely and what amazing patience and skill you have to reproduce such an intricate design.

  5. Absolutely stunning – amazing work! Your pieces always inspire me, and *someday* I WILL try brocaded tablet weaving 🙂

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