Viking Brooch craft

Last year in our homeschool history we were studying the Middle Ages, which meant we studied Vikings!  Yes that requires an exclamation point.  In the middle of winter when everyone was in the winter doldrums we took a week out of our normal Illuminations schedule to have a week of funschooling about Vikings. One of my favorite projects was this Viking brooch craft.

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The importance of a Viking brooch

I know in this day and age we think of a brooch as something old ladies wear on their fuzzy sweaters.  We also think of strange shapes and ideas.  But, that’s not what a brooch was to the Vikings.

For a Viking, their brooch was a way to hold their cloak on.  A Viking brooch could be a badge of office.  It showed wealth and prestige.

Before making a Viking brooch

Before we made our brooch we took some time to read about Vikings (using the resources I’ll link at the bottom, total lie, I need to find the names again), and I did a google search of Viking brooches to show what they looked like.

We noticed some common themes.  Most surviving Viking brooches had intricate knotwork on them.  This was almost certainly a way to display wealth because that takes more time than a simple brooch.  A few had jewels in them, but it was mostly metalworking on the Viking brooches we looked at.  They often had symbols from Norse mythology (Anyone else excited about the new Rick Riordan series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard* coming out October 6?  Expect me to disappear for a day as I read it), in particular Thor’s hammer was common (I just attempted to spell it, and got all sorts of red lines underneath).  And of course animals, with particular emphasis on strong animals.

Viking Brooch Supplies 

cardboard, hot glue gun*, black acrylic paint* (the price here is horrible, I got mine using a coupon at Hobby Lobby), Aluminum Foil*, Scissors* (I have this exact pair of scissors), Extra-Large 1-3/4″ Safety Pins* (I like this size for the project, but if you have smaller it can work, just not as well), School Glue* (I buy this in large bulk at the beginning of the school year), duct tape*, paper towels* (I keep remembering one more thing I’ve forgotten)

How to make a Viking Brooch

First, cut your cardboard into roughly an oval shape.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, ours certainly weren’t.

Next using the hot glue gun put a design on your cardboard.  I would suggest for less intricate because the next step becomes harder the more complicated you make your design.

Now cover the entire front of the brooch in school glue, a smooth layer of it.  Then press a large square of aluminum foil onto the glue.

Smooth it out as much as possible.  You want to make sure the aluminum foil is sticking out over the edge.

Cover the back in glue as well, and carefully smooth the foil as flat as you can.

While the glue on the back is drying out a little bit of black acrylic paint onto your brooch, and then wipe it off with a paper towel.  This will give your brooch an aged look, and make it look more authentic.

Finally tape your safety pin onto the back of your brooch with duct tape (the non-openy side, yes that is a word because I pulled a Shakespeare and made it one, that’s my new thing, I’m going to claim I pulled a Shakespeare every time I make up a word).

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More Viking resources

• Vikings discover Greenland and Iceland
• Vikings discover America
• Viking lapbook
• Vikings unit study