By Martha Brummitt

In the May 1996 issue of the Norwegian Textile Letter, Amy Lightfoot wrote about her experience creating a 100 square meter wool sail, replicating what the Vikings used centuries ago. Inspired by her work and in an attempt to merge my interests in sailing, boatbuilding and weaving, I applied for and received a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board Folk and Traditional Arts fund to build a Norwegian pram and weave a wool sail. The goals of my project are to practice traditional boatbuilding and sail making methods and to share my project with the public.

Under the mentorship of master boatbuilder, Phil Winger, I began building the clinker-style pram at the Q.arma artist building in Northeast Minneapolis. Using pine, walnut, and douglas fir lumber, about five hundred copper rivets, and several simple hand tools, we constructed an 11’7” boat that was traditionally used in the Norwegian fjords for fishing and hauling heavy loads. This small boat, fit for up to three people when rowing, will be rigged with a wool sail.

Test swatch of vadmel sail fabric

This spring I will weave the sail using single-ply, long staple wool spun from Rach-Al-Paca Farm in Hastings, MN. A total of four sections in twill weave will make up the four-sided sail, weighing about 12-15 pounds. The sail cloth, comprised of warp spun in z-twist and weft spun in s-twist, will be fulled on a fulling table to increase stability and make it more windproof. Other traditional fulling methods include laying the cloth underneath stones in an ocean shore and letting the ebb and flow of the water do the work, or using a stampa, which is a timbered structured powered by a nearby river to evenly “stomp” the fabric. Finally, the sail will be coated in a resin made of pine tar and sheep tallow to keep it wind and waterproof.

Throughout the process of making the sail, I will work under the mentorship of Carol Colburn, who has studied and created vadmel fabric, very similar to the cloth used by Vikings for their sails. The weaving community is also contributing by helping weave parts of the sail at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota.

To follow the progress of this year-long project, you can search “Building a Norwegian pram and weaving a wool sail” on Facebook or e-mail marthabrummitt@gmail.com. Public presentations will occur at North House Folk School, the American Swedish Institute and the Weavers Guild of Minnesota. A full report of the project will appear in the Nov. 2019 issue of the Norwegian Textile Letter.

Martha Brummitt grew up in Milwaukee, WI and was lucky to spend much of her childhood surrounded by craft projects, boats and water. Driven to understand how useful objects are sourced and made, she has tanned hides to sew leather moccasins, harvested trees to create baskets and snowshoes, and processed raw wool into a knitted sweater. Her professional work has included teaching youth how to sail, canoe, waterski and build wooden boats. She currently lives in Minneapolis, MN with her partner and plans to live on a sailboat someday.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.