Viking's Use of Wool

[Mr. Sparky]

I thought this article on wool and Vikings would be of interest to some:
http://www.hakaimagazine.com/article...ool-no-vikings

[Feral Bill]

I'm a fan of wool, sailing, and hiking, so yes, this was of great interest.

Thanks

[George]

the alternative would have been animal skins, with the same land area producing less usable product - linen was the main plant fiber but the conditions in scandinavia were not conducive

[Leo L.]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Severin
He built an old style leather Viking boat, started from Ireland and aimed for America.
Remember that he stated in his book, that while they relied on then-modern (plastic) outfit during the first part of the Brendan Voyage (1976), they completely switched to old fashioned wool for the second part (1977), for way better insulation when wet, less stink, and better drying in sun.

[TexasBob]

Very interesting read. Thanks.

[Feral Bill]

Come to think of it, wool was standard for backpacking up into the 1979's, and worked very well in the harshest of climates. And that was before merino was available. If my mom was still knitting I'd ask her for a nice mid-layer sweater.

[Leo L.]

Using wool just needs lots of experience. There is no good in just taking any wool and try to make something out of it.
In the text the OP linked above you can read: Special kind of sheep, very special kind of harvesting it, and they didn't expand on how they fabricated the cloth.
At times there was a fashion here of using dog's (Husky or similar) wool for knitted pullover. People who use this swear on it.

[Traffic Jam]

Great article! Wool is so fascinating. As a spinner, weaver, and knitter, my mind is boggled by the enormous amounts required for the sails.

I've been working on several pounds of a Jacob/Cotswold fleece and it's not a quick process; several washes..drying...picking the mats apart. Next will be combing, forming a rolag, spinning, then knitting into a sweater.

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Leo L., I haven't found anything superior to the warmth of my dog hair (Norwegian Elkhound) mittens.

[Traffic Jam]

In the 2nd photo, the washed and matted wool is on the right. The wool on the left, which is ready for combing, took days to gently prepare (all by hand) without damaging the fibers.

[Puddlefish]

As a sailor it's amazing to me how the low tech wool sails were such high tech of their day.

[zelph]

North Ronaldsay sheep have lived mainly on seaweed, picking their way over slick rocks and browsing on the wet algae exposed at low tide. They’re so well-adapted that if you restrict them to a standard grassy diet, they’re likely to sicken and die.

Very interesting article, thank you.

Last year I learned something new about warm clothing made from Musk Ox.

MUSK OX
The musk ox lives in the frigid Arctic, and its fur is multiple times warmer than wool or even alpaca. It's a protected species in Alaska, and like bison, the American musk ox was once dangerously close to extinction. Fiber made from the musk ox's undercoat is known as quiveut, or quiviut, and is extremely light and fine. It's also very rare, since it's usually harvested by hand-combing the animals or collecting fibers from the ground after they've naturally been shed.

[iio]

Musk ox qiviut, wonderfully warm and far and away the lightest fiber for hats and such. Here is a source for products made with qiviut, http://www.qiviut.com/
Often out hiking here in western Alaska, we find shed clumps of qiviut in the bushes, and it works great for warming hands just having it stuffed in my pockets!

[zelph]

Musk ox qiviut, wonderfully warm and far and away the lightest fiber for hats and such. Here is a source for products made with qiviut, http://www.qiviut.com/
Often out hiking here in western Alaska, we find shed clumps of qiviut in the bushes, and it works great for warming hands just having it stuffed in my pockets!

Thanks for sharing that.....The mother of a friend of a friend lives up around Nome and spins yarn of the quiviut and made a pair of long underwear for her son that is on the forestry service up there. He told his mom that the underwear was too warm for the amount of activity he does during a normal work day.....whodda thunk it :-)

Alaska is on my to-visit bucket list as is Nova Scotia.

[Mr. Sparky]

I admit that I did not realize there were musk ox in Alaska!

[bikebum1975]

Interesting article. I'm a huge fan of wool. Being a year round bike rider come winter I'm in a wool jacket almost the entire season. Tried other stuff wool is hard to beat

[Traffic Jam]

Musk ox qiviut, wonderfully warm and far and away the lightest fiber for hats and such. Here is a source for products made with qiviut, http://www.qiviut.com/
Often out hiking here in western Alaska, we find shed clumps of qiviut in the bushes, and it works great for warming hands just having it stuffed in my pockets!

That's cool! Do you save the fiber? It's probably from the outer coat or skirt...the under coat is where the gold is. At over $100 for 1-2 ounces, I would never use it for clothing for outdoor, physical activities.

[Traffic Jam]

Speaking of cool fibers, has anyone tried clothing made from opossum down? Opossum fiber is smooth with a hollow shaft which makes it light, warm (50% warmer than merino), and hard wearing. It's pricey also but not as much as qiviut.

[Feral Bill]

Speaking of cool fibers, has anyone tried clothing made from opossum down? Opossum fiber is smooth with a hollow shaft which makes it light, warm (50% warmer than merino), and hard wearing. It's pricey also but not as much as qiviut.

Please tell me you are kidding.

[Pedaling Fool]

Hmm....Opossum fur

I should probably make a report to these organizations.... http://opossumsocietyus.org/

http://www.opossum.org/

[Traffic Jam]

Hmm....Opossum fur

I should probably make a report to these organizations.... http://opossumsocietyus.org/

http://www.opossum.org/

Forgive me! One does not want North American "opossum" down. Instead, they should use superior, New Zealand or Australian "possum" down.