Today we celebrate Christmas Eve in Sweden so I have left the most exotic garment of all for today. In Birka and on Gotland there are quite a few finds indicating that people wore clothing which either were imported from och inspired by the east, or maybe both. To a lesser degree these influences can also be seen in Denmark.

The most obvious examples of a caftan with buttons come from Birka where rows with 4 to 14 buttons have been found. In connection to these were also posaments, tablet woven braids and silk strips which were laying horizontally across the chest. There are also indications of a collar in the form of posaments at the neck. These remains are often connected with belts, bags and knives with metal decorations which together form a kit.

Further evidence for a narrow collar comes from Valsgärde outside of Old Uppsala where a well preserved collar with silver embroideries has been found. It was straight at the start, but the heavy embroidery has pulled on the fabric so that it now looks slightly bent.

There are contemporary illustrations of similar caftans in the east and some of them have the opening and button row at the mid front so that is absolutely an relevant reconstruction. I have chosen a different alternative and instead built my reconstruction on the very well preserved caftans from Moshchevaja Balka, within the Alan territory in what is now southern Russia. We don’t know if the Vikings met Alans during there travels eastwards, but it is at least possible. What made me choose this reconstruction is that it fits so well together with the finds from Birka.

The caftan on the picture has taken the measurements directly from one of the Alan caftans, except that I have shortened the sleeves a bit. It was originally worn by a considerably shorter man, so it probably reached almost down to the feet and the waist will land on the hips. In addition to this, the sleeves were very long and could either have been turned up or used almost like mittens. The Alan caftans were often in pattern woven silk and lined with fur, while the caftans in Birka seems to have been i wool with decorations in silk and precious metals. This coat also works well as a riding coat, just like the wrap-over coat.

The photo is taken by Iduna Pertoft Sundarp.

You can buy pattern for an oriental caftan here: Outdoor Clothing