Skjoldehamn Trousers. Suitable for Kievan Rus persona.
Men’s trousers in Kievan Rus were narrow legged, usually tucked into tall boots,
or worn with shoes and onuchi (leg wraps.) The Skoldehamn trouser fragments
were found with leg wraps, but it is surmised that as the ankles were decorated
with colored braid, they may have also been worn without wraps or boots.
Only fragments of the actual garment was found, so much of this reconstruction is
an estimation.
“In 1936 a body was found in a bog on Andøya, Norway. Unfortunately, it was
not properly excavated by archaeologists. Instead it was dug up, reburied in a
different place in the bog, dug up again by a farmer and sent to Tromsø museum,
where it was analyzed by Guttorm Gjessing. The body was dressed in several
garments and wrapped in a large woollen blanket. Based on the cut of the clothing,
Gjessing believed it to be from the late medieval period. However, recent carbon
dating places it at 1050-1090 (with an alternative date at 1150-1210). Gjessing
reported on the find in 1938, and it was re-examined in Dan Halvard Løvlid's
master thesis from 2009.” 1
An unusual detail of these trousers is the seam is on the outside of the leg
only. This seam is decorated with embroidery, red and blue on the original
garment.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Fragments of the original trousers, showing red and blue
embroidery at the side seam, and braid along the bottom edge,
and ankle slit.
1
Viking Men: Clothing the legs, Hilde Thunem , http://urd.priv.no/viking/bukser.html, 2014
Pants (actually porty, gachy) [штаны vs. порты, гачи]
supplemented the next to the skin clothing of men. Judging by the
depictions, they were not wide, and rather clearly outlined the legs.
V. P. Levashova considers that pants were cut from straight width of
cloth, and in the legs were sown in lastovitsy, the waist was made
wide, with out a slit, and held up with a gashnika [гашника, cord],
tied around the body (Levashova, 1966, page 117). 2
2
Sofya la Rus,13th-14th Century Medieval Russian Life, Lisa Kies,
http://www.strangelove.net/~kieser/Russia/KMC1.html, 2007
iSewing
Instructions: Linen, wool, and silk are suitable fabrics.
Indicates wrong side of fabric
1. With right sides together, sew Back 1 panel to Back 2 panel at wide edge. Press seam open.
2. With right sides together, sew Front panel to Back 2 panel at narrow edge. Press seam open.
3. With right sides together, sew Leg together along outer edge.
ankle. Repeat with second leg. Press seams open.
Leave a 4” gap at the bottom, for split at
4. With right sides together, sew center panels to leg, aligning waistbands. Repeat with other leg. Press
seams open.
Note: seams can be folded under and hand stitched to prevent fraying, or use French seams.*
5. At waistline, fold over 1/2” and press. Then fold down 2” from folded edge to form drawstring/ belt
channel. Stitch close to first folded edge.
6. Fold hem at each leg up 1/2” toward the wrong side, press, then fold another 1/2" and stitch.
Figure 1: Kolchin, B.A. Drevnyaya Rus': Byt i kultura. (Ancient Rus: Life and Culture) Moscow, "Nauka", 1997
Figure 2: Viking Men: Clothing the legs, Hilde Thunem , http://urd.priv.no/viking/bukser.html, 2014
Sewing diagrams: Barbara Shelanskey, 2014