Winingas

Also known as legwraps, wickelbander or puttees, winingas consisted of woven woolen strips which were wrapped around the lower leg among the Anglo-Saxon and Viking cultures. The exact purpose of winingas is lost in the mist of time, but here are some possibilities:

Winingas protected the lower leg of the working man against “brambles” and other low-lying thorny plants. Well, that can be discounted on the grounds that even a good pair of winingas will accumulate seeds from sticky plants, and the thorns from “bramble” (read blackberry) will pass right through the leg-wraps. High leather boots were apparently not used in period, yet this would have furnished better protection.
Winingas provided warmth in cold months, especially for older folks.
Style. People, through the ages, have done some pretty crazy things in the name of style, and doubtless this is one explanation for winingas.

The strips measured about 3 ½ inches wide and about 9 feet long. The most common type of weave used on the fabric was herringbone; this was because herringbone fabric has a lot of natural elasticity. It is apparent that these were woven on small-scale regular looms, and not card-woven.

A large number of legwraps, as found in archaeological digs, were found to contain orchil, which is a dye derived from lichen, producing a light purple or fuchsia. Yes, these stout manly warriors wore fuchsia leg-warmers! More about Orchil dye: Poor Man’s Purple

As may be seen in the manuscript examples, the winingas were wrapped spirally around the lower leg. Both legs were wrapped in the same direction. The strip was fastened at the top, possibly by simply tucking in the strip. Clothing hooks are often found just below the knees of skeletons, so it is reasonable to assume that their function was to hold up the winingas.

Reconstruction

So how do I go about making a set of winingas for my Anglo-Saxon or Viking living history impression?

First, get three yards of woolen herringbone fabric, of the weight used for suits. A dirty light-purple color is ideal, but considering the archaeological evidence, practically any color is suitable, as long as it is wool and herringbone.
Cut the fabric into strips measuring 4 1/4 inch across.
Fold the edges of the strip over at 3/8 inch and press.
With a sewing machine, Sew over the raw edge of the fabric, tacking it down onto the rest of the fabric; use a zig-zag stitch. Make sure you use a thread about the same color as the fabric.
Fold over the ends of the strips and sew by hand, using linen thread.
Sew your clothing hooks onto the ends of your completed winingas.

I got my clothing hooks from Bodge and Bendit Museum Replicas, but you can make your own out of a bit of brass.

Here's how I put on my winingas:

Anchor the lower end of the strip to my instep.
Wrap it a good turn around my ankle.
Wrap it up my calf, overlapping each wrap by about half.
At the top of my calf, just below my knee, add a final good wrap.

Observation of some period illustrations shows the top wrap is the same width as the previous wraps, although this is not overlapped as the previous wraps are. Perhaps it was folded in half lengthwise at this point.
Pull down the top end with the hook to hook onto a previous wrap of the winingas.

Resources

Wickelbander article
Affordable shoes for re-enactors
Baldurstrand