2. Wool lirpipe hood (D10600)

My second completed project is a wool lirepipe hood.

This hood is based on one of the Greenland finds (D10600) now in the Museum of Denmark.  Østergård (p. 130) refers to this hood as a Nørlund Type I, having a center front gore, and also being unusual as the whole hood is cut on the bias.

It is further described with a suggested pattern in Fransen, Nørgaard and Østergård Medieval Garments Reconstructed (pp. 114-116).

I have sewn this version of hood D10600 using wool flannel ‘recycled’ from a favorite winter coat.  The muted blue color is very similar to a sample I have of wool dyed with woad using an iron mordant.

Cutting was restrained by the panel size from the original coat, so I allowed myself to piece together the cloth, while still maintaining the bias cut of the original.

Both the Franzen, et. al. and Østergård books discuss detail in finishing seams and edging.  This hood is not intended to be an exact copy of D10600, and I made sewing choices in lines with their information to finish the hood in a general Greenlandic fashion.  The whole hood is hand sewn and the bottom and face edges are finished with two narrow rows of stab stitching.

The Verdict

 I am pleased with the result in general.  The hood is comfortable and has room for another layer of head covering under it.  I’m not so sure of the fit around the neck, but this may adjust itself over time with wear thanks to the bias cut of the cloth.  It has given me an opportunity to explore the Greenland finds and still resulted in a serviceable article of clothing.  And I adore the long rats-tail of a lirepipe!

 Resources:

Fransen, L. A. Nørgaard & E. Østergrd.  Medieval Garments Reconstructed: Norse Clothing Patterns.  Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2011. Available here.

Østergård, E.  Woven into the Earth: Textiles from Norse Greenland.  Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2004.  Available here.

(originally posted to LiveJournal September 17, 2011)

ETA 06.10.2015: Added image of hood laid flat.