Zweeloo Princess

A friend of mine recently showed me the most amazing fabric. The Zweeloo "Princess" wore a garment woven in a lozenge twill, likely made of linen. This is to date the most complicated period weave I've seen. My friend has decieded that this dress with it's belt of glass beads, and amber necklace is our big group A&S project. Fortunately she doesn't expect it to be done this year. I'm trying to locate a good picture of the fabric itself. The idea of creating this dress from the yarn up is thrilling. First step I must learn how to create the pattern. Basic twill isn't an issue, but this will take mastery. I can't wait! I found a reference to this style in Ellizabeth Wayland Barber's book Prehistoric Textiles. It even has a diagram of how the warp and weft interact. While Barber's book doesn't specifically mention the Zweeloo find or fabric, the design appears to be the same pattern.

It is difficult to see detail in the pictures I'm finding online. But I'm hoping to come across a book with more information. I ave been told that the dress is made of linen or wool, seems the jury is still out on that one, partially because so little of the fabric was found.

Also working on garb. With Coronatian coming up in May everyone wants something pretty and new. Just about finished with Dave's chef's coat. It looks really professional. Practicing my embroidery on the pocket. I have to do at least one more for Adam, as he's head chef. I've also added embroidery to Dave's tunic for this weekend. Lissa has almost an entire outfit hand-sewen. She's gonna push me to try harder. It's great! I love having someone around to compete with on a friendly level.