Weaving

During the Early Anglo Saxon period the main form of large cloth weaving was the Warp Weighted Loom (Walton Rogers, 2007:28-29). This type of loom was thought to have first been used about the 14^th Century BC when it is first depicted upon rock art at Naquane, in the Camonica Valley in northern Italy (Barber. 1992:91-93). By the mid 3^rd millennium BC we have direct archaeological evidence for warp weighted looms in the form of weights and post holes (Barber. 1992:91-93).

A warp weighted loom is set up in such a way that the warp is held in place by what is known as as shed bar and heddle bars. The Shed is a bar about two thirds of the way down the loom that holds some threads out at an angle compared to the other threads that are left to drop straight towards the ground. Because of the lean on the loom this creates what is known as a shed, a gap between two sets of yarn.

Lower on the loom are heddle bars. These have strings tied to them and can sit into the heddle supports or can be held by the hand while the shuttle is passed through the shed. The heddles are the strings tied around the heddle bars. These are then looped around the lower yarn that is not held forward by the shed bar. When the heddle bars are pulled forward the heddles pull the lower yarn through and the shed is changed.

For good examples of how to build a warp weighted loom and the different sort of weaves that can be done on a warp weighted loom go http://www.illuminatedspaces.com/historicarts/wwl.htm

For a video on on construction and use of a warp weighted loom.

Once a loom was warped up weaving during the Anglo Saxon period comprised of passing the shuttle between the warp threads by using the sheds created by movement of the heddles and heddle bars. This movement would be alternated so that a weaving pattern could be achieved. Different patterns could be achieved based upon the number of heddle bars tied onto the warp threads and how the heddle bars were set up.

Once the shuttle with the thread wound around it was passed through the shed it was then beaten up by a weaving baton. These were in the shape of a sword and were used to beat the weft into place. (Walton Rogers and Riddle. 2006:3-4).

This form of weaving could be done on both a wide loom and on a thin loom. However if using a wide loom there are restrictions as it is very hard to pass the shuttle through from one side to another unless the loom is restricted to about 65-75 cm in width. It is therefore likely that any cloth woven on a loom wider than this would need at least two people to participate in the weaving. This is certainly backed up by diagrams showing one person on each side of a larger loom (Barber. 1992:106).

For reasons of speed, convenience and access my weaving has not been done on a warp weighted loom. Instead it has been done on an upright loom. While this has a similar way of constructing the cloth, by using an upright loom, the details of how this are done are different. My loom beats the weft threads down on the loom instead of up. This plus the weight of the reed on my upright loom changes the rations of the warp to weft threads resulting in a slightly different cloth. Details of the types of cloth available during the Migration Anglo Saxon period are for another post. However to view my loom and weaving watch the embedded video.

Barber. E, 1992. Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

Walton Rogers, P. 2007. 'Cloth and Clothing in Early Anglo-Saxon England: AD 450-700'. council for British Archaeology, York, UK.

Walton Rogers, P. and Riddler, I. 2006. Early Anglo-Saxon textile manufacturing implements

from Saltwood Tunnel, Kent. CTRL Specialist Report Series. Channel Tunnel Rail Link London and Continental Railways Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture. London and Continental Railways, UK.