Viking Day

I made this apron for the 2023 PA Renaissance Fair Viking Weekend!  I wanted to go with a more harvest witch-esque theme since I feel like that's relatively original amongst Pennsylvanian Ren Fair goers.  I found a tablet weaving--an ancient norse decorative trim- and belt-making technique--tutorial from Lacrymastory on YouTube for the trim on the apron, and used a belt I had made for another project to cinch it over my dress!

I accessorized with my sporran, which I made at a class from Tandy Leather, and I bought brooches online to really drive home the viking inspiration!

The apron is very simply constructed, just two rectangles of linen connected by chrome tan leather straps!  The tablet weaving was the most difficult part, and I ended up using the underside because I liked the effect more.  I chose warm colors (plus green in the trim) for the apron to bring that harvest idea to the outfit.  I ended up hand sewing the trim on because it was too thick for my sewing machine, and I hid the raw edges on the inside of the piece.

The belt was a fun project, I found the buckle at Tandy Leather and knew immediately that I wanted to make a belt to go with!  After cutting the leather, I skived down where it would be folded over the buckle so that it would lay flatter.  Burnishing the edges took a while, but I think it ended up really nice!  I went with normal rivets instead of snaps to hold the buckle in place since I didn't want it to be interchangeable.

The sporran is from a pattern and class by Tandy Leather, which I did with the intent to wear it to a Ren Faire.  I decided to go with a bright yellow since it's one of my favorite colors (and also achievable with natural dyes, if I ever wanted to look historically accurate), and I carved the phases of the moon on the flap.  The closure is a piece of deer antler that I drilled holes in to make a toggle!

The water bottle holder was another very simple piece, I knew I would want something to drink while I was there but I also wanted my hands free, and so this was born!  I made it out of the same chrome tan leather as the straps on the apron, and it's basically just a cylinder with a loop and grommets!  I traced the bottom of a disposable water bottle to get the bottom of the holder the right size, and I measured the circumference and the height to make sure it would be covered all the way.  I chose purple stitching for the seams because I thought it complimented the red well.