We are Alania Workshop. For several years we have been dealing with the reconstruction of the early Middle Ages, so we mostly specialised in early medieval clothes. Our main region, which we reconstruct, is the area of the North Caucasus, and more specifically the Alans from the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries. In addition, we have behind us an attempt to reconstruct the rural social strata from the areas of today’s south-eastern Poland from the 10th century. We not only sew historical costumes, but we are also active reenactors. We have a wealth of knowledge that we are constantly expanding, we do not stand still. In our work, we focus on the historicity of costumes based on historical sources, and as we always say – the first step to a good reconstruction is good fabrics.
Something about sewn clothes
We sew a variety of clothes, from the simple clothes of ordinary people to the richly decorated outfits of the elite. The dating of our products can be mostly closed in the 8th-11th century (early medieval clothes), but we also had the opportunity to sew clothes from earlier centuries several times, and make a Mongolian deel for the 13th century. We cannot unambiguously determine the geographical origin of the things we sew, because we have already sewed clothes, e.g. Sogdian, Slavic, Scandinavian, Kievan Rus’ and even costumes of Turkish nomads, but above all we specialize in Alan clothing. We use many materials to create clothes, but the main fabrics are wool, linen and silk. We learn about the materials and sewing techniques we use from scientific publications and museum exhibits.
Interpretation of coat from Izbornik of Sviatoslav
Some time ago we decided to sew a coat that would refer to the clothes of the characters depicted in the manuscript from Izbornik of Sviatoslav. The selected material is burgundy wool (referring to the painting as far as we could afford). The coat was also decorated with silk in a manner similar to iconography, and it also has a fur collar. In addition, it is lined with thin wool. This and all the outfits presented below are entirely hand-sewn.
Find the perfect burgundy wool!
Wool Thin Twill – Light Grey Melange – WKT 04/01
| Width +/- 2cm |
140 cm |
|---|---|
| Grammage Note1: OZ - stands for Ounces per Square Yard. Note2: We are showing grammage as per 1 square meter (GSM). While you may be used to gramms per linear (running) meter from other shops (GLM). |
8.5oz, 290 g/m2 |
| Thread count TPI - stands for Threads Per square Inch, so it counts warp ends and weft picks altogether. If inch is not familiar for you, we are showing also how many threads (warp/weft) are present per 1 cm |
55 TPI, 11/11 threads per cm |
| Colour We have divided the palette into 11 basic colours. So this attribute is telling about the general, closest colour. For example BLUE : will include all different blue, navy and turquoise shades. This helps while filtering the shop searching for the fabric shade you desire. |
Grey |
| Weave |
Twill 2/2 |
Wool Thin Plain Weave – Burgundy – WKP 60/11
| Width +/- 2cm |
140 cm |
|---|---|
| Grammage Note1: OZ - stands for Ounces per Square Yard. Note2: We are showing grammage as per 1 square meter (GSM). While you may be used to gramms per linear (running) meter from other shops (GLM). |
7.6oz, 260 g/m2 |
| Thread count TPI - stands for Threads Per square Inch, so it counts warp ends and weft picks altogether. If inch is not familiar for you, we are showing also how many threads (warp/weft) are present per 1 cm |
50 TPI, 10/10 threads per cm |
| Colour We have divided the palette into 11 basic colours. So this attribute is telling about the general, closest colour. For example BLUE : will include all different blue, navy and turquoise shades. This helps while filtering the shop searching for the fabric shade you desire. |
Red |
| Weave |
Plain weave |
Coat with a pleated seam at the waist
Taking an example from the icon of Saint Gleb from the 11th century, we sewed a caftan pleated at the waist. Thanks to the large circumference at the bottom, it gives freedom of movement, and at the same time looks really not trivial.
It was made of diamond-woven wool, which gives it a suitably rich look. As for the construction itself, it is cut at the waist, and then a pleated bottom was sewn on. The whole is finished with decorative buttons.
Check out our diamond woven wool
Wool Broken Diamond – Turquoise Black – WD 13/03
| Width +/- 2cm |
140 cm |
|---|---|
| Grammage Note1: OZ - stands for Ounces per Square Yard. Note2: We are showing grammage as per 1 square meter (GSM). While you may be used to gramms per linear (running) meter from other shops (GLM). |
10oz, 350 g/m2 |
| Thread count TPI - stands for Threads Per square Inch, so it counts warp ends and weft picks altogether. If inch is not familiar for you, we are showing also how many threads (warp/weft) are present per 1 cm |
45 TPI, 9/9 threads per cm |
| Diamond size |
3 cm |
| Colour We have divided the palette into 11 basic colours. So this attribute is telling about the general, closest colour. For example BLUE : will include all different blue, navy and turquoise shades. This helps while filtering the shop searching for the fabric shade you desire. |
Blue, Black |
| Weave |
Broken Diamond |
Wool Broken Diamond – Yellow Mustard Black – WD 15/03
| Width +/- 2cm |
140 cm |
|---|---|
| Grammage Note1: OZ - stands for Ounces per Square Yard. Note2: We are showing grammage as per 1 square meter (GSM). While you may be used to gramms per linear (running) meter from other shops (GLM). |
10oz, 350 g/m2 |
| Thread count TPI - stands for Threads Per square Inch, so it counts warp ends and weft picks altogether. If inch is not familiar for you, we are showing also how many threads (warp/weft) are present per 1 cm |
45 TPI, 9/9 threads per cm |
| Diamond size |
3 cm |
| Colour We have divided the palette into 11 basic colours. So this attribute is telling about the general, closest colour. For example BLUE : will include all different blue, navy and turquoise shades. This helps while filtering the shop searching for the fabric shade you desire. |
Yellow, Black |
| Weave |
Broken Diamond |
Wool Broken Diamond – Green Beige – WD 25/01
| Width +/- 2cm |
140 cm |
|---|---|
| Grammage Note1: OZ - stands for Ounces per Square Yard. Note2: We are showing grammage as per 1 square meter (GSM). While you may be used to gramms per linear (running) meter from other shops (GLM). |
10oz, 350 g/m2 |
| Thread count TPI - stands for Threads Per square Inch, so it counts warp ends and weft picks altogether. If inch is not familiar for you, we are showing also how many threads (warp/weft) are present per 1 cm |
45 TPI, 9/9 threads per cm |
| Diamond size |
3 cm |
| Colour We have divided the palette into 11 basic colours. So this attribute is telling about the general, closest colour. For example BLUE : will include all different blue, navy and turquoise shades. This helps while filtering the shop searching for the fabric shade you desire. |
Beige, Green |
| Weave |
Broken Diamond |
Another Alania's Work
Hedeby hood
Hood based on fragments and one of the interpretations of a find from Hedeby, Denmark dated to second half of the 10th century, made of wool Thin Wool Diagonal Dark Mustard
Simple tunic
We also sew simple things! Like this wool twill tunic made of Fine Wool Twill Khaki. This is one of the basic patterns that appears in many finds.
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