Truly Enormous "Viking Poofy Pants"

 

One of the garments described in a few Norse sources is Hábrækr, "high breeches."  We have very little evidence for these garments beyond a few runestones, some textual references, and a fragment from Hedeby harbor which may or may not be this thing.

I looked at the evidence and was concluded that I didn't really like how most people reconstruct these, plus nobody was taking the path of maximum ridiculousness that one of the sources invites.  Come walk with me.

Thunem has a good article on the finds, with images of the runestones that are the biggest evidences we have.

Stone from Smiss, Gotland.  Image source unclear, but public domain as a simple image of a public domain work.

Silver figurine from Uppäkra.  Image source unclear, but public domain as a simple image of a public domain work.

This setup also rejects gathering the pants using some permanent thing like a cuff at the knee.  I'm going to let them fly loose, and figuring out how to gather at some later point.

Thunem also discusses the crotch fragment.  I spent a lot of time on this bit, which turned out to matter not very much because you can't see it.  The images of the fragment indicate a narrow front panel - 3" at the bottom of the crotch, narrowing to maybe 1" at the top.  This panel meets a wider butt panel.  The narrow panel also has two "leg" panels attached to it, but we only have a tiny bit of them.

To better think about the fragment I made a 1:1 replica of it (ignoring the disconnected upper part of the front panel which is not controversial):

Spoilers: here's the fragment on top of my reconstruction

This helped me think about it in three dimensions, and then got me questioning the construction most people do.  The remaining parts of the leg panel are on the straight grain attached to the center panel, and then continue past where they detach.  That means that the leg panel at that section must not be cut or shaped: it's also straight grain.  Either it's sewn directly to the butt panel, making an awkward 90 degree turn, or there's an extra panel added somehow.

I decided to make a mock-up and test the simple approach of making the 90 degree turn.  A friend loaned me a creepy doll and I set to work.  The images below use a blue fabric for the butt panel, representing the multiple colors of the fragment:

In 3 dimensions the 90 degree turn is fine: it's a saddle location and not under weird strain.  This construction is adequate!  It's also pretty much in line with a lot of first millennium pants but is a bit odd.  Being a bit odd is also in line with a lot of first millennium pants.

My conclusion here differs from pretty much every reconstruction I can find:

• Project Broad Axe's very attractive reconstruction uses a right angle corner in the leg panel.  This is similar to the Thorsbjerg trousers, or modern pants.
• Jimmy The Welsh Viking's reconstruction uses the square panels, and was a huge inspiration for this project - especially wearing the pants down - but got the butt gore inverted which avoids the problem of the right angle but isn't consistent with the extant find.

With this concluded I set to work.  I had a huge, 10 yard piece of beautiful cream wool crepe (very light, a little textured) that was a fair match for the fragment's leg fabric, and which I'd gotten as a gift from a friend.  This is the wrong color: such huge pants justify great expenses, like bright colors.  I mordanted it with alum and then dyed it with weld in my bathtub.

The rest was construction.  I decided I wanted the crotch bits to match the fragment exactly, and then did the rest of the math to make that work:

• I took my waist-perineum-waist measurement with enough ease to sit comfortably
• I took my widest hip point measurement - these pants have no fly so they have to go over my butt
• I took my modern waist, where I want these to sit

I figured that I would extend the butt panel up and set its width plus the front panel's to be equal to the difference between my hips and my waist.  The other constraint is that because the leg panels split from each other at the point of the butt panel, the side of the butt panel must be the same length as the side of the front panel PLUS the exposed bottom of the butt panel on that side.

Some algebra later and I had a pattern.  I cut out two pieces for each because there's so much weight of the fabric that I didn't want to take chances of the crotch tearing.

For all the seams I'm using options from the Viborg shirt, which has a nice selection of seams for multiple panels at the same time.  They're mostly whip stitch variants.  I'm not finishing raw edges on the simple sections like where the legs join: this fabric doesn't need it.

Here the truly enormousness begins.

Out of a hundred cubits of fine linen, more-or-less, they sew trousers, which they put on tucking them up above the knee.

Hudud al-'Alam, quoted by Ewing 2006, p 96

Another author Ibn Rusta, says 100 cubits per leg.  These are both salacious travelogues and one may be copying the other.  This number is ridiculous: cubits vary but figure half a yard.  50-100 yards of fabric!  I have ten yards which can split to 20 yards of historical-width fabric.  This is not enough, but it is also far, far too much.  Many have said it cannot be done.  Reader, I will do it or I will fall into the sea with my wings melted.

To prepare the leg panels, I pulled threads to neaten the cut ends of the remaining fabric, found the center, and then pulled a thread and cut down the full 10 yards of crepe.  This took a while.

Then, I sewed the leg panels to the crotch making "technically pants" but with a totally insane size.

The next step is cartridge pleating the waistband.  I sewed two rows of gathering stitches, closely aligned, one stitch per inch, using a super heavy 12/3 linen thread that I use for sewing shoes, and gathered it up in stages so that I didn't have to wrangle 10 yards of thread.  I tied it off with a slip knot (so I could later adjust it) and used the extra thread for the waistband stitches.  The reduction is close to 20:1, since I'm shrinking 10 yards down to half my waist.

At this point I got to do a very exciting fit test using a ribbon to gather at the knee:

I didn't have enough wool left to enclose the waistband, and it's not strong enough anyway, so I encased it in hemp canvas with a heavy backstitch to set the pleats, and then applied the wool to the front.  I constructed belt loops out of canvas with a wool facing, added them, and then the pants were done!  I tried out gathering again, using a rolling hitch to keep the ribbon tight.  The pants weigh six pounds so this is a lot of weight to keep up.

I intentionally left the selvedge on both legs as the bottom hem.  It's not conspicuous, and avoiding a hem there keeps the pants light and fluid, and possible to gather.  Plus it meant not having to hem 20 yards of fabric.

I'm so happy with them.  There's a moderate amount of droopage at the belt line - I only added 6 loops - but I think this is unavoidable.  The difference between my waist and hips has to go somewhere.  My tunic covers them just fine, even though it's a shorter style.  Plus, rearranging the extra allows me to access bags I'm hiding in the pants (I fit both an alto and a soprano recorder in these suckers), and if I move it all to the front I can use the restroom without having to awkwardly disrobe.

This project was a lot of work but honestly went faster than I expected.  After I decided on a pattern, this was only a week or so of evenings to put together.

This weekend I wore the pants to Great North Eastern War and got a lot of positive attention.  Unfortunately, even using a trucker's hitch to tighten at the knee didn't stay up well enough so I'll need to regroup on that plan and find another way to keep the pants up, but wearing them down felt great and they look amazing.  Dancing in them was hysterical.

I have a few more photos and a twirling video up at https://photos.app.goo.gl/3bTthfAAtCA3uByw9

I'm glad to be done with these, but one thought nags at me: if I used a really fine linen, could I get to 100 cubits per leg?

Image from https://dresdencodak.com/2009/09/22/caveman-science-fiction/