Definitions of Garb Layers

• "Smock"-- The undermost layer of garb; a long-sleeved, full-length tunic which can be made either T-tunic style (although separate sleeves are basic to the Viking repertoire) or in several pieces sewn together (e.g., shoulder seams, separate sleeves, and gores for fullness), depending on the time and place.
• "Gown"-- The layer we would most frequently refer to as a "tunic," it goes on top of the smock; long-sleeved and full-length, it was usually brightly-colored and ornamented with trimming or embroidery.
• "Apron-Dress"-- A more descriptive term than simply "apron," this is the traditional overgarment of a Viking woman; it's a complete overdress descended from the peplos garment of antiquity, not a pair of discrete strips of cloth held together by straps as so many artists would have us think. It was also apparently not very heavily ornamented, certainly not with metal-based trimmings.
• "Caftan"-- The outermost layer of garb, it's a long-sleeved long coat which was pinned together at about the solar plexus with a large brooch; it too was heavily ornamented.
• "Fillet"-- A fabric band worn around the head like a diadem or coronet, often of metal-brocaded tablet-woven silk. In nearby cultures, it was often worn either over a veil or as a foundation onto which the veil was pinned.
• "Coif"-- Best generic name for the Jorvík style headwear, which is a sort of square hood with a rounded upper back. It tied under the chin and extended for some way down the neck all the way around the head. Extant examples in undyed, probably locally-woven silk with linen ties.
• "Cap"-- Blanket term for a variety of headwear whose details are frequently obscure. In Dublin the caps were wool, basically rectangular, less-elegant cousins of the Jorvík coif, with points at the back of the head.
• "Scarf"-- Some (fairly small) purple fringed fabrics found at Dublin are thought to have been worn scarf-wise, possibly like the Anglo-Saxon headwrap.

General Construction Notes

• Linings--can be used on all layers except the smock.
• Seam Finishings--In the tenth century flat-felling and French seams were both used, also binding raw edges in the period version of bias tape. It is entirely possible that these finishings were also used in the ninth century, although they are not yet so documented.
• Embroidery Stitches--Stem, chain, herringbone, split, and couching are all documentable; finds of embroidery are minimal, with a couple each from Birka, Oseberg and Gokstad (Norway), Mammen (Denmark), and Jorvík (Danelaw). Mostly they are tenth-century.
• Trimming materials--Narrow (1-2mm) handmade braids, strips of wider diagonal braiding (also called "fingerweaving"), whipcording, bands of fancy cloth, tablet-weaving, or storebought trims with diagonal geometric designs on a single bright color with metallic threads are all appropriate.

Sources

Hägg, Inga. "Viking Women's Dress at Birka: A Reconstruction by Archaeological Methods." Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe, ed. N.B. Harte and K.G. Ponting, pp. 316-350. London: Heinemann, 1983.

Roesdahl, Else, and Wilson, David M., eds. From Viking to Crusader: The Scandinavians and Europe 800-1200. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1992.