The craft of the next gathering will be built around the so-called Eura dress, which is named after a region in Finland where many artefacts have been found dating from 500 AD to 1200 AD. Clothing generally does not preserve well, but 1300 graves have been excavated from the same cemetery and archaeologists have managed to piece together likely patterns from fragments that are mainly preserved under metal parts, jewellery, tools and weapons. The patterns are most often simple, with straight lines that make good use of the fabric, and the Eura dress is one of the most efficient. The pattern is pleasingly simple to put together, with long, straight lines, but challenging to get the correct measurements and proportions. At the craft gathering, the pattern will be reviewed, how it works and how best to adapt it for each individual, and then the pattern will be cut from materials that were used in Scandinavia during the Viking Age.

Tools will be available on site, but if you plan to sew a dress, it's a good idea to bring fabric – or your muslin to take a pattern from.