From Fleece to Square Sail

A Viking sail began on land. Well before a crew could put a ship before the wind, somebody had to turn wool into thread and thread into a broad, dependable cloth.

Look closely enough at a sail and the voyage becomes a textile story.

Looking at the weave

The Viking Ship Museum has tested wool sailcloth on reconstructed ships. Its research considers several possible weaves, including plain weave and twill. Plain weave alternates over and under one thread at a time. Twill shifts the crossings along neighbouring rows, producing a diagonal pattern.

Try drawing four vertical threads on squared paper. Pass a coloured line over one and under the next, then reverse the sequence on the following row. That small repeat is the beginning of a surface large enough to catch the wind.

Further reading at the Viking Ship Museum ↗