Things To Consider

I'm working on the trim for the apron dress today. I'm running into a few small problems. Problem #1: Following the directions in the book-wrapping the weft around the edge of the fabric is leaving the warp room to move around (closer to the edge of the fabric). Current Solution: I modified my overcast stitch into a buttonhole stitch. This creates a twist in the thread on the back side of the fabric and seems to be holding the warp in place. Having re-read the section in MGR-NCP (Medieval Garments Reconstructed: Norse Clothing Patterns), I discovered no additional helpful information. It simply says the weft is overcast. I considered that perhaps I was not pulling the stitches tight enough, however pulling the stitches tighter causes the fabric to bunch creating a wavy upper edge. Happily the addition of the buttonhole stitch has improved the appearance of the trim. I have to consider that the direction of my twisting could be part of the problem. The information in the book does not state which direction the warp was twisted clockwise/counter clockwise, and this could effect the way the trim lays. If the drawing in the book is accurate, then I am working in the correct direction. (See post "The Trouble Begins for image) Problem #2: My hand is cramping from holding the fabric taught and the new twists in place while my other hand is manipulating the needle. This means I have to take more breaks. Which is not the way I like to work, I want to sit down and work for at least an hour at a time. But I'll deal, probably better to take extra breaks anyway. I'm really hoping to have the chance to run these issues by some of the other fiber/fabric folks next weekend at Candlemas. I also want to do additional research on the apron dress. At least in the case of the Greenland finds, as summarized in the book, they were big on symmetry, going so far as to even add false seams to garments. My current pattern for these aprons does not comply with this. I am curious to see if this desire for symmetry was  local particularity or if it was a habit elsewhere that was brought by the Norse to the settlements in Greenland. If symmetry was of significant enough importance to cause the addition of false seams, then potentially I will need to re-work my pattern in the future.  More on this as it is discovered.