I had never seen tablet weaving before. I'm not ashamed to confess that my mouth didn't close until the video finished - it was amazing! All of it -the pattern, the technique, the history... Mindblowing, all of it!
_Bellissimo!, anche per me è una tecnica sconosciuta, sono contenta perchè ho scoperto questo metodo di tessitura - gentile signora, sarebbe bello insegnarla ai giovani perchè oltre ad imparare un'arte meravigliosa, imparerebbero anche la pazienza e la gioia di creare con le proprie mani - Grazie per la condivisione!
I have knit, crocheted, spun fiber and done a little weaving on a tabletop loom. Tablet or card weaving leaves me in awe. The patience, skill and memory required for it amazes me.
Thank you for sharing this intriguing design with us. I am constantly amazed by the artistry that existed in prehistoric times. We really were talented creatures back then.
You've really inspired me to somehow incorporate the complexity of what beautiful craftwork our 'less technological' lineage got up to in one or two of the stories I'm writing. We constantly underestimate just how sophisticated homo sapiens (and our ancestral cousins before we didn't have any!) has been over time. We really do seem incapable of staying in one place, of living in homes devoid of artistry, and of not seeking out the novelty to be found in trying out new things and practices! I love this-- thank you so much for the thoughtful, meditative practice you show in this video. I'm a knitter and don't want to pick up anything new on the craft front, but I'm grateful to live in a time when I can watch you lovingly dip back into time, all from the cozy seat in my home!
This was such a refreshing change from cross stitching videos I usually watch, made me remember the friendship bracelets I used to knot weave into pretty patterns.
Regarding how would an ancient person might have remembered the patterns? I wonder if they just kept a cashe of "samples" that they could translate to patterns. Also (just a thought) could they have used a wooden peg board with holes to insert removable pegs of different woods (to represent different colors and to make patterns - just guessing). I think ancient craftspeople had to have amazing memorization ability too. Thanks for this amazing video, Kristine! I have spent a lifetime doing various crafts, knitting crocheting, sewing, etc. etc., and yet had never heard of this art. I got to buy some Chinese ethnic minority clothing that had these woven "ribbons" on them when I teaching in China in 1986. I always wondered how they had made them, being that they came down from a mountain in Kunming.
You have some impressive skills and such a soothing voice, I would watch you weave all day long! I also have an interest in archaeology and from this point of view your work really highlights the skills of those prehistoric weavers. You truly are doing an amazing work I love it, it makes me want to pick up weaving as a hobby
What a gorgeous video. I loved how you integrated history, the calm music, the intricate detail… as a totally new weaver, I feel inspired an in awe of all those that went before
Seeing the weft yarns dangling at the end made me realize I have a woven belt with weft yarns knotted all together and about 3 inches left dangling like a tassel, on both ends of the belt. I bought it in the 90's.
I started my first tablet weave today, with just whatever leftover yarn I had lying around and tablets made from a cereal box, but I am immensely enjoying it despite the super simple pattern. Just watching a ribbon like this come together is incredible - my brain understands how it works, but I am still in awe watching it happen. Your video editing and voiceover also made for such a nice viewing experience!
@@KristineVike I have to say this video affected me on a deep level because I think about it around once a week for multiple different reasons. Thank you!!
Memory is one of those skills that can be trained to be amazing. Take for example mail carriers. A typical mail route in the US is about 750 houses, with about 60-70% of those houses having more than one last name. Nowadays, 150+ packages on a route is common for a day, along with mail. When you're new, it takes months to truly learn a single route, but by the time you've been introduced to your 4th or 5th route, you can memorize all the addresses in order in a single day, along with delivering all the packages by memory alone. Within a year, you know every route in the city by memory, and the routes you do most you know every last name at every house, including maiden names. (Based on my experiences in a suburb of a large city) I can believe these artisans had the patterns engraved in their minds like a second nature, forged from decades of practice. The mind is a muscle!
I think that is absolutely possible! But this always makes me wonder. Were there dedicated weavers or was weaving something you did in between other chores to make life go round? I do not know, but knowledge of rural life many years ago here in Norway would lead me to maybe believe it is the latter. One of many skills you accumulate over the years. I don't know how that would affect your working memory as opposed to doing the same thing or walking the same route every day. Maybe they were just that awesome. It wouldn't surprise me though. :)
Dang, now i want to do some tablet weaving again. I used to do it all the time and made woven belts, trims, decorations, bands etc. for me and everyone else from my norse medieval reenactment group. Mostly simple beginner patterns or Kivrim, cause i always did it while talking with visitors and tourists, who were really fascinated a lot (it's not that common in Germany, especially in the south-west, nowadays). I still have some of the more complex patterns printed out or drawn that i haven't done yet. Maybe I'll do one of them over winter period, for the new tunic that i'm sewing for my partner right now. Thank you so much for sharing this, you did so great on that pattern.
Good tip for blackstrap weaving to tie the yarn round your hips rather than your waist, to protect your lower back. My lower back is weak so hips it is! Thank you
Clicked on this video because I recognised this pattern from a dissertation when I was researching for a paper about the the celtic tomb in Hochdorf. Thank you for recreating and uploading this. ♡
Thank you for bringing this amazing art to life again for many to see. I had never heard of this form of weaving before and it's amazing. The history lesson included while we watch in awe was great also.
As i was weaving one day, i started to notice that i could tell what color and pattern each turn would give me. I think, perhaps, that the patterns were more of an artist drawing than a mathematical, memorized process. When you learn the scales, chords, and arpeggios of weaving, then perhaps recreating something from sight would be more instinctual than we thought?
Ive been curious abotu card weaving for a while but the videos i happened to find didnt really show so clearly how it actually works. Your video was so clear about the mechanics and everything clicked into place i feel like i finally understand!
Oh, that makes me so happy to hear! I started with just a cardboard backing from a sketchbook cut into squares, so I can really recommend just having a go! 😊
That turned out absolutely beautiful. I love it when you weave in historical anthropology in your videos, too. Thank you for sharing your skills with us.
@@KristineVike Passionate people make anything interesting, when you see someone so dedicated to their craft you can only watch in awe as they labour away :)
Ethiopian traditional dresses are still made like this. They start with unprocessed cotton to make the threads. Everything is made by hand. It’s very beautiful
I love your subject material, production value and insight. Please keep up the good work. I’m excited to catch up on your other videos and see what else you have to come!
How interesting!! I love learning new skills and I've never heard of this before! I'm excited to watch some more videos and maybe try it! Also incredible history! It's interesting how much we will never know that we lost to history.
This was really cool, what a beautiful end result you have! And the process itself is really beautiful too, history and all. Also an honourable mention to the model at the end, what a beautiful friend you have!
This is absolutely beautiful and fascinating!! And finally a new craft that doesn't require a huge investment in equipment and space! Thanks for teaching me about this art form. 🙏 Your work is looks very professional. I'm sure that will take some time and practice lol
The Cathars, or as they used to be known as the "Bulgarian sect" are an extremely interesting group of people. They are the reason words as some words in French and English that I can't write on RU-vid used as a slur to this day come from the demonstration of that sect. Anyway, they have an incredibly interesting influence over European history. I am very interested in their history. That said, what you do is amazing! Nothing short of amazing. I am subscribing immediately. If you ever see that question, do you know of traditions that kept this kind of weaving until recently? I am very curious to read more about it. I have been interested in studying the weaving and embroidery patterns in Europe and overall Eurasia, and I had seen these ribbons but I didn't know people knew how to reproduce them. Really amazing work! Edit: I feel silly, I just found videos online on belt weaving and they use tablets but bigger. I can't believe I never though how belts were woven even in my native Bulgaria 😂
That is so cool though! This kind of tablet weaving is still alive in parts of Norway too. Some of the traditional dress requires it. Then there are all of us history enthusiasts and reenactors who do it for fun! So cool to hear that it is still alive in Bulgaria too! 😁
@@KristineVike thank you, I am just watching videos on tablet weaving from Scandinavia 😆, what a cool craft this is. But seriously, you recreating that ancient pattern is amazing. I have a question, if you don't mind. Do you thread the tablets as "left" and "right"? Where the thread passes from the left side on one tablet and then on the next tablet it passes to the right?
I hope I understand your question. It entirely depends on the pattern? In this pattern, all cards are threaded from the top left and comes out bottom right from the weaver’s point of view. Different direction of thread is created by going clockwise or counterclockwise. Simpler diamond patterns may be created by threading for instance left, left, left, and then right, right, right. This balances the warp (the first example would twist into a coil if you turned the cards all the same direction, all the time). Another example still would be to thread the cards, as you mention, alternating left and right over the whole deck of cards. This would create a balanced herringbone look that doesn’t twist (unless you make them go different directions). I’ve seen this for heavily brocaded 13-16th century stuff where the brocade is the main player. So… all of the above is possible and used when we want? You can also flip the cards mid-weaving if the twist buildup is too great and the pattern is one that can handle it. It is part if the versatility that I think makes it so fun. I hope that answers your question? 😅 my biggest tip is always to just try it out for yourself. That’s how I learn the best!
@@KristineVike yes, that was exactly my question. I am sorry for the illiterate way I'm probably asking it 😁 Very, very interesting. Thank you very much for the details. I saw this technique of alternating threading on a belt and I will go back to check the pattern again, now that you explained. I still can't believe that I never though about how the traditional belts and some decorations on the traditional clothes were made, assuming it's some kind of embroidery. 🤦♀️ There's something fascinating in all types of weaving but this just struck me yesterday. I just love how simple it is and yet what the human mind has managed to achieve.
I've weaved with tablets using a slightly finer thread before (one plie of a six-plie embroidery thread, i think is what its called?), once with tablets that were made out of playing cards and twice with wooden tablets that for the second time some were still somewhat unfinished with a slightly rougher egde and i had trouble weaving for more than roughly 30 centimetres before the threads ripped (the 30 cm one was with the wooden, smooth-edged tablets, the rougher edges ripped the threads after just ca 15 cm). the weaved band is a perfect width and thickness to use as a book ribbon :) knowing all of that, it makes it even more impressive to me, what has been accomplished 2500 years ago! the tablet edges and surfaces would have had to be really really smooth. the complexity of the pattern is also incredible, so far ive finished only less complex (4 forwards-4 backwards) patterns and had to give up my first and so far only attempt at a slightly more complex ram-horns pattern. your work is absolutely impressive!
Very nice video. Blue & green are one of my favourite colour combinations, and I the pattern you wove. Living history is something I am very interested in. Btw I love the way you speak, clearly and distinctly and not too fast so I could understand every single word (I am not a native speaker and some years out of practise). Does a written or drafted pattern exist for this beautiful design? I'm in knitting, spinning, plant dyeing and did a little weaving in the past on rigid heddle and multi-shaft looms and would love to give card weaving a try as the tools are impressively simple and can be taken on journeys. I am going off grid for some weeks and have already made a set of 30something wooden weaving cards as a woodworking practise. Now I can't wait using them, first with a nice and simple pattern, then something I really like. Thank you for sharing this inspiring video!
Karina Grömer already drafted this pattern, and you can read about it in her article. :) www.academia.edu/11916994/Tablet_woven_Ribbons_from_the_prehistoric_Salt_mines_at_Hallstatt_Austria_results_of_some_experiments v
Reading and writing likely takes up a good part of our capacity. Some scientific analysis indicates that it coopts and repurposes some mechanisms in our brain responsible for quick and accurate memorys. The increased plasticity required for cromprehending and froming images and concepts from not only language, but additinally the somewhat seperate skill in writing and reading taking up capacity from areas originally responsible for quick and accurate memory retention. This is one explanation why our primate realtives feature a vastly superior short term memory.
Hey um just a heads up 2.500 years ago isn't pre history 😅 since we have written records from vack then from multiple regions one of which is for example Greece. The ancient Greek spoken and written back then is still being taught in Greek highschools
A desire for "apocalypse skills" and an enjoyment of creating order from chaos is what has really gotten me into the fiber crafts. Thanks for such a fascinating and informative video!
Thank you so much! I got the tablets from this amazing craftsman called Ampstrike/Gunnar Karro on Etsy. But when I checked to include a link the shop was completely empty, sadly. :/
This is wonderful! I've woven this pattern once and, since it was one of my first tablet weaves, it included an incredible amount of swearing and undoing. 🤣 But it turned out great. Have you seen the more recently excavated Hallstatt band? It is like a sampler of different design elements. I had a play with that design a few months ago and really enjoyed it. Fab work! I loved your engaging chatter throughout. Are you on Instagram?
Wow this work was amazing. I have done some weaving in the past. I’m definitely going to have to try your method. Do u have a website that shows a pattern step by step? I’d love to try. Thanks for sharing.
I am afraid not. This pattern was developed/interpreted by Karina Grömer in their paper, so credit where credit is due. There are some simpler patterns from Hallstatt there as well. :) www.academia.edu/11916994/Tablet_woven_Ribbons_from_the_prehistoric_Salt_mines_at_Hallstatt_Austria_results_of_some_experiments
Call me a nerd, but that looks like something out of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Just thinking of all the effort to trim out a tunic for a cosplay 😅❤
No lie, I may or may not have tried to convince Weta Workshop that they needed tablet weaving like this when they made The Hobbit. It would have been perfect for the dwarves! 😂
What fiber were the originals made of? Also I totally agree on weaving, it feels so magical to bring cloth into existence. I'm with you on yearning for a big loom with threadles, but I finally got myself a rigid heddle and I'm excited to see what interesting textures I can get out of it. Congratulations on your finished ribbon! I'm always in awe of people who can make complex tablet weaves like this... The result is beautiful
Aw, thank you! ❤️ The original is wool warp (just spun much thinner), and horsehair weft, maybe from the mane. It’s the second time I’ve seen horsehair mentioned as weft for tablet weaving, so maybe it was somewhat common? Certainly saves a bit of time on the spinning! Rigid heddles are also such fun! And it can be quite fast. Some people are super cool to watch! :D
@@KristineVike oh right you did mention the weft. "It saves time on spinning" is a real consideration honestly. Incredible that one can make wool threads this fine that can still hold the tension for tablet weaving, too. Rigid heddles can be fun and I've seen people do really amazing things with just two heddles and a pickup stick. So much hand manipulation though haha. I miss the meditative nature of just pressing threadles in order and throwing a shuttle across.
This is unbelievably wonderful, with every new fact I had to pause the video and try to fathom how on earth such incredible mastery was possible. Thank you so much for all the information you shared, along with the gorgeous pattern and beautiful weaving you did. I thought if you're not already aware, you might be interested to know that singing is a much more effective method of passing information along withour significant error accumulation. The most effective known method is still used by Indigenous groups in Australia, and requires three generations - let's call them grandmother, mother, and daughter. The mother teaches the song and craft to the daughter while the grandmother listens and corrects if necessary. If they are especially lucky, by the time the daughter is teaching her own daughter she may have both her mother and grandmother to listen and support her. The middle generation still has the strength and agility to show and teach, the youngest generation is best able to learn, and the oldest generation has spent their life with the knowledge memorized and can ensure no errors are passed down. The process is truly awe-inspiring.
I was aware that singing and rhythm is much easier to remember and thus pass on to the next generation, but I had not had it described in so much detail considering generations and the very conscious passing of knowledge like that before! That is really cool and makes a whole lot of sense.
Mindblowing, indeed! What a discovery! What a random click on the internet can do! Your demonstration is OUTSTANDING from all points of view: from the amazing subject matter proper to the quality of presentation, personal and filmic-technical!! A joy to watch, with the dropping of the jaw - to paraphrase an American idiom
Like you said, weaving is magic, I think the old Norse word for magic (Seidr) meant to weave because weavers were seen as magical people that could shape the future. So cool, beautiful skill, beautiful content.
This is beautiful. I love how you engage with history. I read the article you linked and I find experimental archaeology like this fascinating, especially how they experimented to figure out how exactly it was done. Your comment about our current lack of understanding regarding pattern recording and transmission intrigues me deeply. I can imagine whole communities sat, singing songs and weaving. How they might incorporate instructions into a poem, or a song, or if they were recorded another way lost to time. Fascinating to think about. Thank you for this video, it was a pleasure to watch. I really appreciate how much credit you give artisans of the past, acknowledging their skill. I can tell you really love history and your craft.
Craftsmen of the past(and some current) used bone for burnishing leather(smoothing the edges) and creasing paper for book making. The great thing about bone smoothing tools is that they get smoother(so better) with use. So cards of bone could be great for delicate card weaving.
Really lovely and very well presented. Thank you ❤️ I've done a little tablet weaving but get very frustrated with it. Yes I spin and do some other weaving, but I prefer to leave the tablet weaving to others.
What I love about tablet weaving is that it allows to dabble into (pre) historical weaving without much space or fancy expensive equipment, I made tablets out of uno cards. I heard in a lecture I found on RU-vid that in ancient Greece, tablet weaving was the last thing a woman could do to survive and make an earning and from the simplicity of the equipment I can totally see tablet woven bands being everywhere at that time (and it's not rare to see extremely skilled textile artisans being shunned or undervalued by their culture) A common way of sharing knitting stitches and intricate textures (such as lace for example) before printed patterns were a thing was to knit a swatch and keep it in a swatch book, as you do the same craft day in and day out for years or decades you instinctively start to see the way the threads move and so someone could probably read finished pieces like a pattern and could probably play with different sequences to see how it changes and so creating different more complex pieces
I agree on spinning and weaving (and by extension knitting and crochet) are the *prime* apocalpytic skills. What are you going to sew if there's no cloth of thread? 😅
I was curious to what the vid was about... and at ca 10.30 it hit me .WOW !! The endles possibilities spun through my head. Wonderful art Kristine ! greets ,Paul.
What resources would you suggest for people who want to learn about tablet weaving? Are there any good books on the subject that can help a person cobble together tools and start working? I am so fascinated with this video, I definitely want to try for myself, but it is a terribly obscure skill!
My favourite book in English is called Appelsies and Foxnoses and is in Finnish and English about Finnish Iron Age bands and it is quite beginner friendly, I think. :) depending on your craft style though, you may also just make some cards, grab some yarn and have a go!
@@KristineVike I'll try and get a copy of the book, seems a bit scarce! Do you know if anyone has published any books or videos on usage of an Oseberg-style loom? I believe I can build one quite easily, certainly more so than an Inkle loom, and I'm certain that a loom will be more suited to my life than the backstrap method. Also, do you have a preferred online source for weaving materials? I'm digging around and finding some leads, but I always appreciate suggestions from talent such as yours!
What a fascinating process! Am I a bad person for my first thought being "how would I automate this process"? It depends on how much modifications I could get away with on the cards if my idea would work.
My cards were very amazingly already waxed and polished by the excellent craftsman who made them (Gunnar Karro of Ampstreet on Etsy, who I sadly cannot find anymore). A woodworker might correct me on this, but I imagine something along the line of melted beeswax or a combination of beeswax and other oils rubbed in, waiting a few hours and then buffing off (in the direction of the wood grain) the surplus wax with a clean cloth with particular attention to the holes in the cards. This is how I do it with wood counters and utensils, at least. :)
@@KristineVike thanks for the positive answer... I will try to fix my fake wooden/cardboard tablets with Your instruktions 🧚♀️ Enjoy the Christmas time ✨️
I wonder if this might not have been as much of a game of remembering patterns, as a mixture of a hell of a lot of knowledge about how this works, and then just making or figurering it out as you go? 🤷 But I have never tried this craft so I don't know if that is even possible? Or if there is evidence of the exact same pattern being made over and over again?
Beautiful pattern! I think many people tend to think of our ancestors as less mentally agile when the opposite was probably true. They had fewer technologies to rely upon and had to struggle more, produce more, and innovate more often in order to survive and thrive.
I would guess that they had example pieces like with early crochet or tatting when maybe a round of repeats. But thats an educated guess. I know early crocheters had literal books showing finished motifs for Irish crochet.
From amazing artizan Gunnar Karro (shop name Ampstrike on Etsy). The shop appears to be empty now, but there are some other amazing artisans on there too. 🥰
Why do you rotate the cards on the edges in the same direction all the time to build up twist? Why not 4 forward and 4 back or similar. Is it aesthetic or structural?
It is mostly aesthetic. It gives your ribbon a smooth edge. But I’ve also found that the finished ribbon warps and twists less when you do (especially when you weave as tightly as I often do).
I am interested in understanding how you set up your warp. You seem able to maintain the tension perfectly, yet you must be able to put it down and return to it whenever the cat needs attention. I love this pattern - your version of it is very beautiful.
I have the warp secured at the end point to something (like a hook or a table leg), and then the other end of the warp is secured to a belt around my waist, so I maintain the tension with my body. When I need to put it down I secure the cards in their position with a large safety pin (you can also use a long needle and some thread) and then just unhook it from my belt. I tried a small loom-like contraption a while back and actually prefer maintaining the tension myself, as I can make minute adjustments as necessary.
It's so awesome to see someone really skilled in this, and at the same time mind boggling! Can you recommend a resource for a total beginner in tablet weaving?
There are a lot of really good videos right here on RU-vid. But I know for me, I learn the fastest by trying things out. I started out with the cardboard backing of an old sketchbook cut into squares, many use a holepunch and a deck of cards with some scrap yarn. Dive in, have a go. I find it much easier to understand what others are talking about when I’ve had a go at least once. Hope that helps! :)
@@KristineVike Thanks a lot for your reply! I definitely have want to give it a try! I just find it fascinating how you can creat these incredibly intricate designs but with such ancient tools. And I also have to say I really appreciate the pleasant way of your presentation and narration - a work of art in itself if I may say so!
If I am sewing it to a garment, I would tuck the ends in and secure it as with any ribbon. If left loose as a belt or shawl edge I would braid off the remaining warp using one of the many cool historical methods.
