Viking “Hedeby” bag with machine embroidered Odin heads

Carrying the Odin head embroidered bag

Carrying the Odin head embroidered bag

You might remember that when I was in the Maker Space before Covid, I made not just handles for “Hedeby” style bags, but also ended up doing machine embroidery on green wool to make up two bags using those handles.

The first was a boars head design, while the second was three circular boars. I blogged about the two bags here.

This time around I had some tan wool that I knew I wouldn’t use for any other purpose, and the design I drew, digitized, and then brought into the machine embroidery software is of Odin’s face.

The original artwork is loosely based off a tattoo design by an artist I follow on Instagram, Fiskrart. They designed a gorgeously complex Viking warrior tattoo, but when I saw it, I thought of changes to make it a one-eyed Odin face, though I followed their idea of turning it into a clover-like design through repetition. I didn’t include all of the flourishes and shading that they used in their tattoo artwork. I am not sure where they got their inspiration, or the source the design might be based on, since they don’t include that in their posts, and don’t write in English.

Above – hyperlapse video from my Instagram account of the embroidery process and hand stitching after the machine stitching was complete. 

In retrospect, I don’t love the blue thread on this tan fabric, but I’m sure someone else will like it more than I do!  There were a few errors in the machine sewing which I went in with a needle and the same embroidery thread to fix.

Fixing some of the small errors in the machine embroidery with a hand needle and thread

Fixing some of the small errors in the machine embroidery with a hand needle and thread

Using the digital embroidery machine, I put the design on two rectangles of wool fabric, added some hand-embroidery to fill in a few errors in the machine stitching, and then constructed those up into the bag. It is lined with brown linen, with tan wool straps to connect to the wooden handles.  There is a bit of hand-stitching to sew the wool straps to the handles, but otherwise the item is machine stitched.

Construction

I cut the wool out to the right size using the handles I wanted to use as a reference. I chose to use the arch style handle for this bag.

It’s just a simple rectangle, with a small gap at the top of the side seams left open. I also ‘boxed’ the bottom of the bag which I think makes it feel roomier.   From there I put the lining inside the bag, and hand-stitched the side seam openings to enclose the raw edges. More tan wool made some tabs to attach the handles to the bag, and these tabs went into the opening between the wool and the linen lining.

With the wood in place, it’s a lot easier (and cleaner looking) to sew the tabs in place by hand, so I did just that, with small hand stitches going from the front through the back.

Strap

I originally wanted to do fingerloop braid for the strap, but the yarn I chose was just too “sticky” for fingerloop, so I did a simple 2-part s-twist rope instead using multiple strands of the yarn. A big knot on one side of the handles secures it. If I find a different cord or am able to make fingerloop braid that works better in a different yarn in future, I might try that.

Historical Sew Monthly – April 2023

The Challenge: Opposites Attract: Challenge yourself to make something that uses two or more colours which you would not normally use together, or colours which “clash” to the modern eye.

Materials: Wool suiting, linen lining

Pattern: None, self-drafted straight to the fabric

Year: Viking age

Notions: wooden (laser cut) birch handles, yarn cord, embroidery thread

How historically accurate is it? The design of the bag is entirely speculative, as no bags have survived, only the handles. The embroidery is a ‘fantasy’ design. There is limited evidence of elaborate, decorative embroidery in the Viking Age (there is some.. just not a lot compared to the number of textiles that have been found). Machine stitched, hand-finished. The bag handles are based on historical finds, however the laser cutter is 100% modern LOL

Hours to complete: Embroidery – about an hour to embroider, many hours to design. Construction – about an hour, and finishing perhaps another hour.

First worn: For the photoshoot.

Total cost: The wool was in my stash- I think I bought it for $1/m at a charity sale. It would normally run about $20-30/meter here. The thread is about $9/spool, though I’ve used it for many other projects. The linen was leftovers from a linen underdress I made, and the yarn for the handle was also pulled from stash – not sure of the cost.  The handles were part of a large laser cut project, and I don’t recall the cost of wood at the time. I’ve seen handles like this on sale for $30-50/pair.

How the item fits the challenge: Honestly… I pulled this from my UFO pile to finish off for this challenge – because I do not care for the look of the teal on the tan wool, and thought that it’s “opposite” from what appeals to my modern eye fit the challenge.

 

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Hedeby-style bag with Viking ship machine embroidery

Carrying the Viking Ship embroidered bag

Carrying the Viking Ship embroidered bag

In early September I returned to the Maker Space that I haven’t been to since before Covid. While initially I went with the intention of finishing a laser cutter project that I started before the pandemic, once I popped my USB into my computer to look at the files – I remembered all of the machine embroidery projects that I had wanted to do. The files were done (or nearly done) but I hadn’t yet had the chance to get to the embroidery machine.

(I also did a few new designs too…)

One of the files is an image of a Viking sailing a dragon-head longboat, based loosely off of an illustration by an illustrator I used to follow on Instagram – Jorundrmott. Unfortunately, he is no longer on Instagram, so I can’t properly reference the artwork. I am not sure what his original source or inspiration was for the design.

Above- Instagram video of the stages sewing this design on the embroidery machine

Some hand work on the ship machine embroidery design

Some hand work on the ship machine embroidery design

After I took the embroidery off the machine, there were a few areas that still needed some hand work to be cleaned up.  I did this with regular cotton embroidery thread (two strands) rather than using the silky machine embroidery thread.

Construction

With the panel of embroidery complete, I chose the handles I wanted to use to make this bag.  For this version, I am using the “chairback” style of handle, in a mid-toned brown stain.  I THINK it’s Tudor stain, but am not entirely sure. I cut out the rectangles for the front and back of the grey wool, as well as a lining of black linen, leftover from my black linen underdress.

I sewed each rectangle together with a small gap at the top of the side seams left open.  I also ‘boxed’ the bottom of the bag which I think makes it feel roomier.  From there I put the lining inside the bag, and hand-stitched the side seam openings to enclose the raw edges. More grey wool made some tabs to attach the handles to the bag, and these tabs went into the opening between the wool and the linen lining.

With the wood in place, it’s a lot easier (and cleaner looking) to sew the tabs in place by hand, so I did just that, with small whip stitches connecting the lining and tabs on the inside, and wool and tabs on the outside.

Carrying the Viking Ship embroidered bag

Carrying the Viking Ship embroidered bag

Strap

For the strap, I tried doing fingerloop, but got totally twisted up because the yarn felt so “sticky”. I ended up just doing a twisted rope of the yarn instead. I keep thinking I should really re-learn fingerloop, or make a bunch at once for this kind of thing, because it’s just perfect to use for these… but every time I go to try again, I seem to lose the practice and get frustrated with myself.

Maybe something to bring up if we ever have in-person A&S nights again for my barony!

 

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Machine embroidered apron panel (wolves and ravens)

The rotated wolves on the screen of the embroidery machine for the larger design

The rotated wolves on the screen of the embroidery machine for the larger design

In an earlier post I showed off the large reflected Viking-style wolf heads that I did in grey, blue, and red using the maker space embroidery machine, along with the reflected ravens.

As I mentioned, I originally did both of these designs small, but then stitched them up much larger for an apron panel. I decided, like my previous apron panel (celebrating being added to the Order of the Argent Flame) that this panel would be reversible – wolves on one side, and ravens on the reverse.

In this post I’ll show the making of this panel!

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Additional sawtooth/fantasy Viking-inspired bag handles/frames

sawtooth/fantasy Viking-inspired bag handles/frames

sawtooth/fantasy Viking-inspired bag handles/frames

While at the Maker Space in September/October 2022 I had a few things I wanted to use the laser cutter for – however they wouldn’t all fit on one piece of wood together, so I had to spread them out.  That meant that I had extra space on my wood… so I added in some of the things I’d made before, including some Viking-style bag handles.

I previously showed off the “chairback” style handles, along with the the arched bag handles. 

I also added three pairs of the “fantasy” styles into the file.  These are the ones I’ll share today.

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Additional “chairback” Hedeby bag handles/frames

Laser cut "chairback" Hedeby-style bag handles / frames

Laser cut “chairback” Hedeby-style bag handles / frames

While at the Maker Space in September/October 2022 I had a few things I wanted to use the laser cutter for – however they wouldn’t all fit on one piece of wood together, so I had to spread them out.  However that meant that I had extra space on my wood… so rather than spending a lot of time researching and designing new projects, I really just went back to some of the files I’d already made and added them into the digital layout.

One of these projects was the Hedeby bag handles/frames I’d made before. A few days ago I blogged about the arched bag handles, made during this visit, and today I’ll share the bag handle/ frame design I’m calling “chairback” – because to me the design looks like the back of a kitchen chair.

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