Viking Knit

My new obsession... Viking knit. I just can't stop. It's so addictive. I have also become obsessed with making little end caps for my pieces. I was dissatisfied with store bought caps. They were too cone shaped and didn't transition well. So make your own I thought! Aren't they sweet?

To purchase go to: http://www.etsy.com/shop/melissamanley

I've also spent hours on line looking at examples of Roman woven gold chain and Viking chains in many of the Viking hoards found in England.

Cool images abound, such as this image from 1389 of drawing wire:

I even found this image of an ancient Viking drawplate, used to compress the knitted tubes of wire, found in the town of Sigtuna, situated in Lake Mälaren just west of Stockholm:

And this one from Gotland:

This Viking era knitted chain is in the British Museum:

This image is actually an Roman era chain of gold from the Hoxne Hoard in England. Lovely example of knitted wire:

And a yummy image of the Cuerdale hoard. These chains appear to be loop-in-loop and other types, but isn't the stamping cool? ya just gotta love history!

And I've lost track of where I found this image :-(