Some of my purchases from Historiska Fynd on blue/blue diamond twill
After scoring some gorgeous blue diamond twill during my trip to Finland last summer, I am still on the lookout for MORE. I know that the chances of finding more of it on my next summer trip to Finland will be slim (though you KNOW that I will look…) so I thought I’d look elsewhere too. (Since the seller didn’t have a website)
I tried looking for the fabric while I was in Vancouver – and found nothing. I am looking locally of course, but have had little luck. I found this 100% cotton diamond twill, but it’s a bit heavy for an apron dress (more like coat weight) and cotton isn’t ideal either. I’d strongly prefer wool or even linen. (I’ll still find a use for this mind you!)
I decided to look online… (the conversion is as of January 21, 2018… this will obviously vary depending on the rate – but at least lets me compare things)
I decided to make this chart for myself to figure out where I wanted to shop, but figured I’d share it instead other costumers were also looking. Maybe if more people buy this weave for their costumes… more fabric sellers will stock it and more weavers will make it!
| Company | Width | Content | Price per ? | Converted Price (CAD$) per Meter | Notes |
| Handwoven wool | 126 cm | Australian Wool | 29,00€/m | $44.29 | 242 grams per meter, soft green/green colourway |
| Handwoven wool | 78-80cm | handspun wool | 31,00€/m | $47.35 | 415 grams per meter, natural brown, diamond weave is not distinguishable |
| Handwoven wool | 140 cm | machine woven wool | 37,00€/m | $56.51 | 265 grams/m. Red/white colourway, weave is very obvious |
| Handwoven wool | 100 cm | heavy wool | 33,00€/m | $50.40 | 480 grams/m. Grey/white diamonds. Rough looking fabric but clear weave. |
| Yorkshire Fabircs | 150 cm | wool | £42.00 GBP/m | $72.78 | 395 grams/meter. Brown and black, rough looking fabric, but clear weave. |
| Nornilla | 140cm | merino wool | CA$61.80/m | $61.80/m | 200g/m. off white and raspberry, clear weave .9 x 1.2cm lozenge “like in original textile finds from Viking period” |
| Nornilla | 140cm | merino wool | CA$64.97/m | $64.97/m | 250g/m, off white and raspberry, 1 x 1.5 cm lozenge “like in original textile finds from Viking period”
Also available in indigo |
| Nornilla (also on Etsy) | 114cm | Eri silk | CA$61.80 per half-meter | $123.6/m | 100g/m Deep and light blue Deep blue + fuchsia Blue and lime green Gold and brown Gold and green Gold and red Gold and blue |
| Wooltrade | 150cm | 100% wool | 400.00 Kč/m | $24.05 | blue & grey “light” thickness 380g/m Also available in green/grey, green/white, blue/blue, brown/green, burgundy/black, red/white, nut/green, green/yellow |
| Loricamos | 150cm | 100% wool | 43 €/m | $65.67 | white or natural grey. Only available in 20m orders (or groupings of such) |
| Medeltidsmode | 150cm | 100% wool | SEK 290kr | $44.99 | 370 gr/m Green/yellow and dark grey/black shown… website all in Swedish. (Some of their brocades are also gorgeous..) Green, blue, red, and grey with darker also shown |
| NaturTuche | 145cm | 100% wool | € 30,00/m | $45.82 | 350g/m. natural brown/white diamond |
| NaturTuche | 145cm | 100% wool | € 32,00 | $48.87 | 460g/m blue/blue – weave is not distinguishable Other colours include white, and a drop down for more white.. lol (or more colours I guess as they get them) |
| NaturTuche | 150cm | 100% linen | € 23,00 | $35.13 | 300g, natural linen and bleached – square diamond clearly decernable |
| Handelsgillet | 150cm | 100% wool | SEK 296 kr/m | $45.92 | 260g/m. White with blue, also green and red with white available – looks like the whole thing is NOT all diamond twill though, but a varied weave? |
| Ardalanish | not listed | 100% wool | £75.00/m | $129.96 | variety of natural tweed colours. Weight not listed. Lengths up to 4m. |
| Faserhaus | 147cm | 100% wool | 26,40 EUR/m | $40.32 | 320g/m. white/white. Weave is clear on close up. |
| Faserhaus | 164cm | wool/silk | 23,80 EUR /m | $36.35 | 220g/m, grey/white/black |
| Faserhaus | 165cm | 100% wool | 23,00 EUR/m | $35.12 | 200g/m. Listed as very thin, and that it crinkles when washed. Black/white. |
| Faserhaus | 158cm | 100% wool | 21,80 EUR/m | $33.30 | 270g/m. white/white |
| Faserhaus | n/a | 100% wool | varies | Faserhaus also carries 200 x 66 cm shawls, 225cm x 155 cm blankets, and pieces. | |
| NorthernHerbs (on Etsy) | 150cm | 100% wool | CA $64.66/m | CA $64.66/m | 150 x 200 blankets, various colours CA$129.33 for the blanket |
| SartoriaLongobarda (on Etsy) | 55cm | 100% wool | CA $142.61/m | CA $142.61/m | various colours available |
| RunfridrCostumes (on Etsy) | 135-140 cm | 100% recycled wool | CA$37.03/m | CA$37.03/m | red/white and yellow/green available |
| Mood Fabrics | 55″ – ___ | 100% cotton | US $34.99 / Yard | $43.63/yard | white and light tan – sounds like a heavy weight, recommended for upholstery, headboards, etc. Beige colourway sold out. |
| Mood Fabrics | 54″____ | 72% Acetate, 15% Linen, 13% Polyester | US $39.99 / Yard | $49.87/yard | Black/grey, medium weight. totally the wrong content. Currently sold out |
| Textile Express | 155cm | “Wool Mix” | £8.50 / metre | $14.73 | 2.5cm repeat Black and white Brown and white See comments below |
| The Wool Company | 70cm | 85% wool 15% silk | £15.00/m | $25.99 | 70 x 200 cm scarf. all tone/tone diamond weave, not particularly discernible. Multiple colours. some on sale, some not. £17.40- £29 for the finished product |
| Marthas | 140cm | unknown | NZ $50.00/m | available in black and white only, no content listed, no scale listed | |
| Wood -n – woven | 23-26″ wide | wool or cotton | US $30/yd | The Google Drive with inventory is not currently available. |
Although she doesn’t currently have any in stock, the Etsy seller
WovenbyElspeth has sold Hand woven Wool in a Lozenge (Broken Diamond) Twill. Her current handwoven cottons are approx 22×17″ for about $20.
Othala Craft also sells their handwoven wool diamond twill, but are currently sold out. It is 150cm wide, and sold by the half-metre. It previously sold for €16.50/0.5m or €33.00/m.
Hand vs. machine woven
Now a lot of the higher priced fabrics are handwoven… which would certainly up the authenticity game… however since that’s not something particularly important to me at this time, this isn’t something I’m going to focus on. I don’t want to discourage anyone just based on cost though… pricing things out was as much about finding good sources as it was to see the huge variation in cost for such an apparently rare weave.
I did go ahead and order a sample from Textile Express – which I was quite happy with! It wasn’t 100% wool, and the company didn’t offer the content, but I was still happy with the weight, and was willing to compromise on the content as long as it was mostly wool.
I then ordered from them – which I later regret. I asked them about shipping, and they said they’d be sending the fabric via Royal Mail, which I was fine with. I paid a fairly steep price for shipping, but understood that entirely because of the sheer size/weight of the goods. Apparently though they DON’T ship through Royal Mail, and instead used a very fast handling company, which charged me nearly the cost of the goods AND shipping in additional “handling charges” and duty. In all – the fabric ended up costing far, far, far beyond the price I thought I’d be paying. Huge regrets – I do not recommend.
Additional fabric sources
Diamond twill like fabric in black and white – from the 2018 Grandmother’s charity fabric sale in Calgary
I also recently picked up a piece of not-quite diamond twill weave fabric at the Grandmother’s fabric sale, and saw some acrylic diamond twill weave in blankets at Winners. Obviously these aren’t super repeatable for later.
(I have some friends with wool allergies, so acrylic might be a good compromise to get the LOOK… without the hives..)
Weave sources
A bit about different weaves from Viking Age sites, including where diamond twill was found is on Viking Age.org.
Textile fragments from the Uppland boat-grave
More information on the sett of the weaves.
More information on historic weaves from a weaver.
A new theory on the costumes of the Oseberg Queen and her attendant
Dawn's Dress Diary 
Hi – just came across your post researching a length of vintage twill fabric I’m selling. Really interesting, thank you! I had no idea the pattern was so ancient. Thanks again – kind regards from the UK