Hedeby Bag

Every time I've tried to update my blog, something has happened to distract me.   There was even a power flicker, shutting down the computer just as I went to start writing.   So right now, I'm just ignoring everything else and just sitting down and doing it.

I'd love to say I woke up early to get this photo, but really it was 7 am and still dark out, but the moon was incredible.   Because I could see the sun starting to rise behind me, I didn't have time to grab the tripod which would have made the photo so much better. The view lasted only a few minutes but it was pretty and intense while it did.


I stumbled upon some information on Haithabu or Hedeby bags, and got drawn into finding about more.  I decided to weave some fabric and turn it into a bag, based on some of the information.   I realized that I wasn't going to be able to weave reproduction  fabric for the bag, in the timeline I had in mind, so I went with all wool, in a sett much coarser than the extant fabrics, but in a checked pattern which was my interpretation of a description of an extant textile find.

I decided to only put one project on the loom.  That wastes fibre in loom waste, but is much faster to wind, thread and weave.   Since I really only was doing a single project, I felt it didn't matter.    It took only 1 day to wind the warp, and dress the loom.  I was ready to weave but getting dark out, I decided to wait until the morning to weave.

The bag has wooden handles, which I didn't get a photo of before I assembled the final project.   Normally I would have tried to make them myself but as I'd given myself only 5 days to get the bag completely done, I asked my husband to cut the handles out.

 His first thought was that we'd do it on the weekend, only I had wanted to use the bag on the Saturday, so as I started on a Monday, that evening we ran out to get some 1/4 in wide wood.  I drew the pattern, traced it onto the wood and he drilled out the holes on the Monday and then cut it out on Tuesday.  I sanded it, stained and oiled it during the rest of the week.  I used tung oil to finish it.   I'm sure there is some varnish someplace around here, but I use the oil on one of my wheels, so I knew where it was. It seemed easier that way.

Weaving should have taken no time at all, despite the checks, but Phil kept "assisting"me.  That meant lots of tea breaks while he kept watch over the garden.   As soon as he was bored, I could get back to weaving.

I lined the bag with some hand woven cotton.  It was a tea towel which for some reason, was funky on one end and never got hemmed.  I put in a totally non-period zippered pocket to hide things like my keys.  

I sanded the handles and had them ready to stain on Wednesday.   On Thursday, I coated them with tung oil.  I didn't have time to put a second coat on though since I was assembling the bag on Friday.

I had been hoping to sew the bag and lining on the Thursday, but it was an off the chart hectic day, where I was hardly home and crazy busy.  Sewing instead happened on Friday.  

I wasn't sure how to attach the bag to the wooden handles, so I used the leather and rivets I'd used for banjo and guitar straps.  I cut some thin ones for the centre slot, but the bag seemed to be sturdy enough without those particular bits, so I left them off.  All I needed to finish it off was a strap.  I need to make a new one, but this was a piece of tablet woven trim I found in my trim bag.  It's too narrow and the wrong colours, but if I was going to use it on the Saturday, then I needed a strap.

Saturday I was sick so ended up staying home.  Go figure.

  Still, I'm happy with the bag and I will get to use it.  I have time to make a proper strap, as long as I don't put it off too long.  I have to admit that I so loved doing this project.  It was a lot of fun.  It didn't take forever to make and I'm thrilled with the results.  It brought back lots of memories and urges to do more.