The Raven's Wing Shadow Vararfeldr
- ardbeagcrafts
- Feb 17
- 1 min read
This varafeldur was the project that started it all. I called it “Raven’s Wing Shadow” for the abstract black shape that stretched across the white and grey ringlets, and it was my first real step into this ancient weaving form.
Before I began, I researched the Icelandic Gragas, or Grey Goose laws, to understand the traditional varafeldur proportions. I worked out I’d need about four fleeces. I wanted my materials to tell a story, so I sourced fleeces that echoed the Viking route from Scandinavia and Iceland through the Scottish Isles and on to the west coast of Scotland. I used white Icelandic, black Gotland, grey Shetland, and a grey fleece from the Isle of Colonsay.
Since traditional accounts described these garments being cleaned in clear mountain streams, I carried the finished varafeldur up into the hills behind my cottage and washed it in a pool. It was a freezing December day, and once it was soaked, the cloak nearly doubled in weight for the walk home - but it felt like a fitting ending to my first vararfeldr journey!
