Hedeby sleeves

Historical note

A long sleeve made of medium-fine 2/2 twill weave fabric was found in Hedeby at the port area. It appears to be sewn together from three parts. The sleeve’s length is about 58 cm, and its largest width is about 30 cm. It’s about 21 cm wide both at the bottom and the armpit. However, a comparison of the number of warp threads in two of the parts shows that the sleeve’s original dimensions at the top and bottom should have been about 29 and 21 cm, respectively. So, the size of the sleeve suggests that it belonged to men’s clothing.

Pic. 1. "Die Textilfunde aus dem Hafen von Haithabu" Inga Hagg, Gertrud Grenander Nyberg, Helmut Schweppe

Since the lower sleeve part, especially on one side, is preserved only fragmentarily, the measurement in the area of the wrist can no longer be exactly determined. Nevertheless, the current length of the sleeve of about 58 cm should almost coincide with the original length.

Pic. 2. "Die Textilfunde aus dem Hafen von Haithabu" Inga Hagg, Gertrud Grenander Nyberg, Helmut Schweppe

The three parts that the sleeve consists of are joined lengthwise except for the lower area of two of the parts, where a connecting seam has a slit-like opening that is about 6 cm long. The fragments have different colors, with two smaller fragments being natural-colored or dark-colored, while the larger fragment is light-toned. All the fragments were probably sewn together at the same time. However, there is a possibility that the smaller dark pieces have been inserted at various points, for example as spare parts.

Pic. 3. "Die Textilfunde aus dem Hafen von Haithabu" Inga Hagg, Gertrud Grenander Nyberg, Helmut Schweppe

Examples of our work

All photos of the finished hood are an example of our work

Make an order for sewing