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Nordic Hands: 25 Fiber Craft Projects to Discover Scandinavian Culture (Book Review)

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By Robbie LaFleur 

Nordic Hands: 25 Fiber Craft Projects to Discover Scandinavian Culture. By Anita Osterhaug. Schiffer Craft, 2023.

Nordic Hands begins with a 30-page geological, political and cultural history of the Nordic countries. Ambitious! The section sets the stage for a book that is both an interesting read and a compilation of practical and well-conceived projects. The text includes many photos of Nordic nature, buildings, and traditional fine craft.

The projects at the heart of the book are imaginative and beautifully designed by a variety of Nordic fiber experts. Some reflect the author’s deep weaving connections. The knitted “Nordic Summer and Winter Throw,” designed by the author, resembles a traditional Norwegian coverlet in krokbragd technique (only much softer and fuzzier). Knitted tea or coffee cozies by Sarah Shippen and a knitted market bag by Osterhaug have krokbragd patterns too. 

Coffee cozy designed by Sarah Shippen

Osterhaug pays homage to many Nordic traditional crafts, including woodcarving, metalwork and rosemaling, and they serve as inspiration for fiber projects. Birgit Albiker-Osterhaug transformed the designs of deep-relief acanthus into a beautiful lacy tablecloth. Laura Berlage used felting to reimagine Telemark scrolls found in rosemaling. 

Birgit Albiker-Osterhaug transformed the designs of deep-relief acanthus into a beautiful lacy tablecloth.

Osterhaug deftly incorporates history and culture from several Nordic countries, often comparing and contrasting. Here is part of the section describing a now-ubiquitous Nordic concept, because, as she posed, “Who hasn’t heard of hygge by now?”

While hygge is often translated as”cozy,” a more accurate translation would be a feeling of comfort of satisfaction…But Swedes use the word mys, and Norwegians say kos. Icelanders call it huggu, though the term is not as commonly used as in Denmark. The nearest Finnish equivalent (this from many reliable sources) is kalsarikänni, or “underpants drunk,” which Travel and Leisure magazine once described as “the thrilling act of enjoying a good class of wine in your skivvies.” To each his own, right? 

I couldn’t resist adding a quote with the phrase “underpants drunk.” The book is filled with funny stories and anecdotes. When writing about the history of band weaving Osterhaug included:

In her book Weaving Patterned Bands, Susan Foulkes relates how the Sami weave bands to trim clothing and small bags and about how they tie bands around their fur boots to keep the snow out. The band patterns and colors indicate a person’s village, family, marital status, and gender. 

Band weaving was also an important cottage industry. Foulkes relates a saying from Leksand, Sweden, that “one should weave 2 to 3 meters while boiling the potatoes.” I think either those band weavers were lightning fast or those were tough potatoes!

Woven bands owned by Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

The projects featured in Nordic Hands are not only tempting because they are cool, but because they are accessible to many fiber enthusiasts. The danskbrogd designs on the beautifully graphic pillows featured in the book are most often woven on a multi-shaft floor loom, but Osterhaug asked Jan Mostrom to write directions for weaving on a rigid heddle loom. Overall, there are projects for everyone from beginning fiber enthusiasts to deeply experienced handcrafters. 

Danskbrogd pillows designed by Jan Mostrom

The instructions for each project are thorough and clear, as befits an author who was formerly the editor of Handwoven magazine – and they include useful extras. Would you like a refresher on the right way to make a yarn butterfly for weaving? See page 142. I found the “Weaving and Other Tips” pull-out box in Osterhaug’s placemat project valuable for weaving with linen in general (p. 87). 

Nordic Hands should definitely be on the bookshelf of Scandinavian textile lovers, and it would be a great entry point for future Nordic fiber enthusiasts who haven’t been exposed to Scandinavian handcraft and culture.

Nordic Hands: 25 Fiber Craft Projects to Discover Scandinavian Culture by Anita Osterhaug is available through bookstores and at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum bookstore.

December 2023

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk!

Annemor Sundbø’s Latest Book: An Eminent Exploration of Nordic Sweater History

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By Mary Skoy

Norway’s Knitted Heritage:  The History, Surprises, and Legacy of Traditional Nordic Sweater Patterns. By Annemor Sundbø. Publisher: Schiffer Craft (May 28, 2023)

book coverIn 2020, Annemor Sundbø won a major Norwegian literary prize—the Sørlandets litteraturepris— for her book Koftearven: Historiske tråder og magiske mønster. In 2023, this extraordinary book was released in English as Norway’s Knitted Heritage: The History, Surprises, and Legacy of Traditional Nordic Sweater Patterns. 

This review appeared in Fædrelandsvennen, a regional newspaper based in Kristiansand, Norway, when the Norwegian version was released in 2019. It provides a nice summary from a Norwegian’s point of view.

The Crown of a Life’s Work

With the book Koftearven, Annemor Sundbø has delivered a work of cultural history, religious history, philosophical history, and much more, and of course, also a knitting book.

It may well be that there will be more books from Annemore Sundbø’s hand, but if that doesn’t happen, then she has crowned her remarkable life’s work with a book that fills me with deep respect. She often repeats that it all started in a “pile of rags,” when she took over Torridal Tweed and Ulldynefabrikk in 1983.

Since then, she has spun threads, woven and knitted, carded and spun, and I mean all the expressions literally and figuratively. Because of course she is a master textile artist. But even more, she is characterized by an almost unruly and unrestrained interest in digging into the past. She also says at the outset that she is not an academic when she writes. And I’m tempted to say thank you and praise her for that assertion. Nothing wrong said about academics. But academics must always be rock-solid and objective in all their conclusions. Annemore Sundbø uses her rich experience with knitted garments in combination with a knowledge of patterns and symbols in textile art to dig deep into the fabrics she mentions.

If I now mention that the knitted “lice” jacket is perhaps the same as Christ’s drops of blood in bishops’ robes and the like, then maybe it sounds a little too fantastic? But not after you have read Sundbø’s adventurous walks in tracks and trails through history.

Night shirts, striped shirts, Fanakofter or Mariuskofter are all part of a tradition that for the reader grows and becomes interesting as they go from chapter to chapter in the voluminous book. We’re stopping by the workhouses in old Kristiansand, the ones older people remember as Handicrafts School and Karl Johans Minde Skole,with pictures for nostalgic recognition. And so we are in Egypt’s pyramids, Hindutemples, Jesus’ seamless robe, Italian altarpieces from the Renaissance, and back into the rag pile, the sweater.

The book is unusually rich in visual material, and the collection of this for Sundbø must have been at least as time-consuming as the writing process. And even as one who doesn’t knit and weave, the book is extremely exciting.

Emil Otto Syvertsen (via https://annemor.com/).

This is a big book. Meg Swanson, renowned knitter, teacher, author, purveyor of knitting supplies and books, and head of Schoolhouse Press writes, “Having known Annemor Sundbø (and the translator Carol Rhoades) for many decades, I should not be surprised by the excellence of this tome, but I am stunned nonetheless! 400 pages with nearly 900 images; I am nearly speechless.”

And the book weighs almost 5 pounds! I mention this to emphasize the grand scale of Annemor Sundbø’s comprehensive and richly illustrated history and analysis of iconic Norwegian sweaters.

Sundbø’s journey as “Norway’s Sweater Detective” came about when she applied for an internship at a “little shoddy factory that recycled wool.”  The owner placed only one condition for her training:  she first had to buy the factory (p. 302). In 1983, sixteen tons of wool rags including several tons of sweaters destined for the shredder entered Annemor Sundbø’s life.

In the introduction to Norway’s Knitted Heritage entitled “I Found, I Found,”  she writes:

During the work of shredding that knitted wool into recycled wool, I wiped out pattern traditions from our knitting heritage.  

The Norwegian sayings “to disappear like a spirit in a rag pile” and “with Handwork the Hands are at the Service of the Spirit” haunted me. They led me to believe that there was a spiritual dimension in the art of hand knitting. I set out on “the tracks of wandering souls.”  The mind game of summoning a spirit or the souls in the sweater heritage awakened in me a hunting instinct. This was followed by a deep dive into the rich source materials I found in over 16 tons of knitted rags…

On this journey, I found miracles in legendary myths, Christian faith in salvation, the magic invulnerability of victory shirts, and star sweaters’ symbolic protection as a means of grace and a free ticket to paradise. Knitted sweaters in our time are a national treasure of Norway, and our sweater heritage is an adventuresome source for the power of creation and knitting happiness (p. 1). 

The clues to what makes up the spirit of Norwegian sweaters are recorded in the 31 chapters. The titles themselves are enticing. For example, Chapter 3: “What Defines a Sweater;” Chapter 7: “Knitting for God and the Fatherland;” Chapter 19: “The Destiny of Sweaters, Nature, and Beings in Mythology and Etymology;” Chapter 28: “Patterns as Chaos Control;” and Chapter 31: “A Key to the Enigma of the Nightshirt.” Readers interested in language history will appreciate Sundbø’s amply-illustrated discussion of the words used to describe what we call “knitting” and “sweaters” today going back to the 16th century.

Each chapter is made up of short essays with illustrations (the book contains almost 900 illustrations), presenting the reader with what Annemor Sundbø has discovered in this journey through her ragpile. 

Here are some highlights from the book:  

(Left) “Finding an authentic sweater offers possibilities for assessing the wool and spinning qualities. In addition, we can see what techniques were used for casting on and binding off as well as being able to study the patten on the shoulders and cuff` .”(p. 85).  (Right) “A sweater remnant that served as insulation in a doorframe on a farm. The pattern corresponds to a description of rose or star sweaters, also called “Nordland nightshirts” in advertisements. The night heavens shining stars have been used symbolically in all cultures.” (p. 254).

Annemor and sweaters

“From the moment I decided to save traditional sweaters from being recycled wool, it was only a few days before I was setting aside more than I recycled.” (p. 28).

Nordland sweater

A Norwegian wool knitted star-pattern night sweater (Nordland nightshirt) with decorative ribbons around the neckline. (p. 59).

Dance Chain and Eternity 

dance chain sweater

“Three-leaf clovers are symbolic of the trinity in the Christian belief, but, in folk belief, they represented the life force, vitality, and vigorous growth.  The ring dance can be interpreted as a “mandala,” a decorative circle to keep evil out.” (pp. 340, 341).

  The Tree of Life, Wise Mother, and Art and Craft Tree  

sweaters

“Memories constantly turn back. Life’s wisdom and handwork knowledge are our heirloom silver. Helen Engelstad, rector of the National Teacher’s School in Design, was my “wise mother” in textile history, and I became one of the branches in her “art and craft tree.”…Reminders of her exquisite sense of form have turned up in different variations in the ragpile.  Inspired by a pillow pattern from 1672, Helen Engelstad designed a sweater-jacket in 1939, a pattern heritage that wandered even further in gold and purple to honor her memory.” (p. 328). `

Lice Sweater

“Lice sweaters, a Setesdal tradition, are classic and immortal. The knitted sweaters were a common part of the men’s costume in the valley.  If a new one was knitted for the wedding ceremony, the custom was that one would be buried in the same sweater.” (p. 342).

Many of the model  sweaters presented  in the book include graphed motifs. For adventurous knitters wanting to create their own Norwegian sweaters, Sundbø provides tables of measurements and stitch counts, graphed pattern designs, and 224 snapshots of individual sweaters that were “among the drop-offs“ from the rag pile (pp. 305-314). 

Sundbø writes, “I have tried to recreate knitted sweaters for our time. You can choose the yarn that suits the models on the basis of your measurements, and you can knit the sweaters with shaping you like. The measurement schematics are, therefore, only suggestions.” (p.318). She encourages knitters to “design your knitted garment by choosing patterns from the past and knitting with joyful colors for the future.” (p. 387).

I found her instructions for neck openings particularly useful (pp. 318-319). She explains how to stitch and cut the knitting and then pick up stitches using a crochet hook to then knit a facing. The instructions are clear and smart.

neck shapes

Neck shapes. (p. 319)

From the Pattern Bank: 

The sweaters in the ragpile offered many examples of iconic, traditional Norwegian sweater patterns, among them: dance lines, deer, domestics animals, cross and circle, birds, stars, roses, and zigzags. Sundbø has provided charted patterns in the “Pattern Bank” on pages 371-386 for knitters challenged to design their own sweaters. (So many reindeer!)

Annemore Sundbø writes, II have desired to reach the outer limits for uncovering new sides of our knitting history…..And at the same time, I want the rag scraps to be used as inspiration for new models in our common sweater heritage, so that they can become useful and joyful and bring fortune for all the future.” (p. 304). 

This book is the extraordinary record of Annemor Sundbø, “Sweater Detective” and “Hunter,” discovering, illuminating, and sharing the spirit in the ragpile.

December 2023

Mary Lønning Skoy is a weaver, knitter, and member of the Scandinavian Weavers Study Group at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota.
Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a
donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you!

Book Review: Dressing With Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia

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By Karen Keenan

Dressing With Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia. By the Museum of International Folk Art, Carrie Hertz, editor. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2021

I am a relatively new folk art practitioner of traditional Swedish hair jewelry, an almost extinct folk art form sometimes referred to as hairwork jewelry.1 Over the past few years I have been searching for answers to many questions about the context in which hairwork emerged and developed from the 17th to the early 20th centuries – the social conditions, the cultural influences, the aesthetic driving forces. My hairwork research in general, and of the Swedish style in particular, led me to articles and some 19th century tutorials, but I still wondered: Why and how did this art form became so deeply identified with the village of Våmhus, my ancestral home, in the Swedish region of Dalarna? Print sources and my 2018 learning experience in Våmhus were helpful. Additionally, I knew family artifacts held potential cultural and material lessons. Dressing with Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia gave me a deep structural foundation for putting my past learning in order, to help me practically and creatively apply accumulated knowledge in a variety of ways. This perspective is the springboard I used to write the following book review.

This book is a companion to an exhibit of the same name held at the International Museum of Folk Art (MOIFA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from December 12, 2021 – February 19, 2023. As with any creative endeavor, the book has focused boundaries. The contributors explore the history, preservation, evolution and practice of sartorial folk art found in only three representative areas of Sweden, Norway and Sápmi. An array of artisans are featured throughout. The reader is introduced to the folk dress costumes specific to areas in Sweden (folkdräkt), Norway (bunad), and Sámi (gákti) through image, experiences, stories, and abundant references. We learn traditional Norwegian, Swedish, and Scandinavian-American folk costume use is not the same as that for the Sámi Gákti. For example, the former is naturally being adapted or expressed to reflect Nordic culture, population change, resistance, ceremonies and events. Sámi Gákti can, on the other hand, be used for daily attire, for ceremonies and events, as a symbol of resistance, and a means of creative expression.

Sami Winter Market in Jåhkåmåhkke (p. 167)

Sami Winter Market in Jåhkåmåhkke (p. 167)

This book’s collection of informative, reflective, connective and inspirational narratives is a good model for further exploration of other places and identity-specific folk dress not covered in its contents.

(left) Norwegian, Setesdalbunader (p. 106); (right) Swedish, Kersti Jobs-Bjöklöf (p. 44)

Dressing with Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia is a unique source for learning about humanity’s desire and challenge to hold onto traditions, live with them in the present, and help shape their future. It takes us on a journey through folk art costuming and the knowledge embedded in its rich materiality. Individuals interested in global transitions will find this book captivating. In this case, the contents describe cultural responses to the shift from agricultural to industrial practices during the late 1800s and into present day. Essay contributors celebrate the cultural meanings of folk costumes, and reveal tensions resulting from the intersection of traditional ways of being and doing, and the inevitable winds of change.

While preparing this essay I received comments about the book from expert costume designer and clothing historian, Carol Colburn. Carol’s research confirms the findings in Dressing with Purpose, “We find that traditional dress changes in ways that reflect our transforming world.”2

I also interviewed MOIFA’s Curator of Textiles and Dress, Carrie Hertz . I asked Carrie about what she hoped the reader would glean from this book. She responded, “[A book like this can] travel all over the world, be used in education settings, handed to collaborators, and live in the future as a research reference. It is useful for the specialist and those who are interested in traditions. You never can anticipate everything that people are going to take away [from a book]. Sometimes they just completely surprise you and [this] is also a joy.”3 So true. What were my take-aways? 

I read this book prior to giving an invited presentation in November 2022  at MOIFA as a complement to the Dressing with Purpose exhibit. In the book I was delighted to see both an image of the Mora folkdräkt, a costume similar to that from Våmhus, and a familiar description of hairworkers from Våmhus:

The economic necessity of peddling regional handicrafts as traveling salespeople or specialized trade skills as migrant laborers may have contributed to the cultivation of stable, localized dress traditions. Recognizable dress contributed to economic success. Because Dalecarlians enjoyed a reputation for industrious talent, individuals who made their origins clear were more likely to be hired in city factories or trusted as vendors. Women from Våmhus in Mora parish, for example, were famous across Europe for making popular styles of jewelry using a readily available material: human hair. When hårkullor (hair workers) traveled – going as far as England, Russia, and Jerusalem – the women’s recognizable Moradräkt served as a savvy advertisement for their hair working skills and wares.”4

Woman’s Moradräkt, (p. 39)

Woman’s Moradräkt, (p. 39)

Months before touring the exhibit in Sante Fe, I was pleasantly surprised to find out from Carrie Hertz that a hair table was included in the exhibition (though not pictured in the book). Carrie Hertz explained,

“…the hair table [the tool used to weave hair] and jewelry were collected in Våmhus in the 1960s by William Coperthwaite (1930–2013), the author of A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity. Our foundation sent Coperthwaite to Scandinavia primarily to create a field collection of Sámi folk art, but during his travels, he also visited Våmhus… According to his records, the hair table had belonged to Ada Ryttar (1895-1987), who was leading revival efforts at the time (along with Bälter Elin Olsson).5

It was a remarkable experience to see these familiar items on display, to be able to refer to the book during the presentation, and share additional information about hairwork in a unique museum in which, as Carrie Hertz describes: 

Art is understood as having a cultural base, where it is respected for the process, craft and meaning materials have to the people…We understand art as cultural based, something that can be understood in many different ways based on where you are coming from, when you’re living, and where you are living. We do not limit what kind of genres can be considered art. We do not limit who can make art. In that way we are moving toward the very inclusive, multicultural understanding of what art is.3

Folk art can be viewed in a variety of cultural and practical ways. Laurann Gilbertson, Chief Curator at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa, offers  another way of looking at it. “When we’re talking art of the people – cultural traditions of every day life – we’re commenting on the fact that it is beautiful and useful at the same time.”6  I think these views are complementary.

Whether sewing clothing, making pottery or music, creating hair jewelry, observing nature, teaching, researching or consulting, I hold a life-long interest in making many types of art, including hand crafted folk art. It resonates with me. To illustrate the impact a book such as this can have on a folk arts practitioner, I now turn to a few unexpected discoveries while reading it.

One was about someone who, like me, decided to learn a folk art skill practiced by ancestors. Tapp Lars Andersson is his name. He lives in Dalarna and is a Skinntröjor, a maker of shearling coats and jackets. The book’s description about him helped further my understanding of the history of and the process used to make the jacket I inherited with my mother’s Våmhus folkdräkt.

Further, since it is so easy to connect with people via social media, I now  follow Lars’ posts on Instagram. The next time I travel to Sweden I hope to meet him at his workplace.

Tapp Lars Andersson, p. 57

Tapp Lars Andersson, p. 57

Another personal impact the book had on me was with regard to my work as a board member at the Nordic Center in Duluth, Minnesota. The book demonstrates a few examples of identity formation as it is evolving in today’s multi-cultural environment at the individual, group and national levels. This is enlightening. These examples are familiar to what we experience at the Nordic Center. There is a growing need for us to learn about and address the impact of historical injustices, a critical step to help build inclusive communities. Many Americans identify with multiple cultures. Organizations can provide cultural programming and provide resources to help participants learn about the multiple facets of their identities.

Evolving traditional dress. (left) The Oslobunad with hijab (p. 101); (right) Designs for Ivgu gåvttit bu Jorunn Løkvold (p.192)

(left) Left, Jenni Lait in Kårášjohka gåkti of black lace (p. 192); (right) Synnove Kvamme, traditional dress in a modern protest (p. 119)

In summary, I hope in some way this review taps the reader’s interest and motivates individuals and groups to read Dressing with Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia. Your personal take-away will most likely be different than mine, but one aspect that may unify our experience of this book is provided by William. S. Coperthwaite, mentioned above, who wrote:

Creative Simplicity

Borrow from cultures old and new
And with our imaginations
Blend those borrowings
To create new ways to live
That are simpler, gentler
More generous and beautiful7)

Karen Keenan, October 2023
www.hemslojdstudios.com
Instagram: @hemslojdstudios
Bio: Karen Keenan, Ed.D. is a retired music teacher, staff developer, and consultant. She currently works in two process-oriented disciplines. One is: assisting individuals, groups and organizations through planned change as an organization learning and development consultant. She is also an artisan and founder of Hemslōjd Studios. Through the studio Karen creates, teaches, and coaches, with a focus on ceramics and Swedish traditional hair jewelry, a folk art she is helping to revive.
Outside the studio, Karen enjoys working with her husband, who makes and sells wood hair tables and weighted bobbins inspired by traditional Swedish designs, for the growing number of hairworkers. Karen also is a musician. She enjoys playing the contemporary flute and early music recorders. She rehearses weekly with a recorder quartet called “Four Friday Fipple Flute Friends.” Otherwise, you can find her on local hiking trails with friends and family.
Photos from Dressing with Purpose were provided by Carrie Hertz, Editor.

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk!

  1. Thanks to support from an American-Scandinavian Foundation 2018 Folk Art in the Midwest Fellowship, Karen studied traditional Swedish hair jewelry with Master Teacher Johanna Svensson in Våmhus, Sweden. Her goal is to help revive this almost extinct folk art form. (https://hemslojdstudios.com/ ) Note: Some readers may be familiar with other creative ways to use human hair fibers, such as palate work, dissolved hairwork, and gimpwork. These techniques were commonly applied in the making of, for example, mourning jewelry and hair wreaths. [↩]
  2. Comments from Carol Colburn, March 25, 2023 [↩]
  3. Interview with Carrie Hertz, March 10, 2023 [↩] [↩]
  4. Rosander. “The ‘Nationalisation’ of Dalecarlia,” pp.109-11. In Hertz  2021-by the Museum of International Folk Art), Dressing with Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 36 [↩]
  5. Personal correspondence with Carrie Hertz, Sept. 21, 2022 [↩]
  6. Interview with Laurann Gilbertson, March 21, 2023 [↩]
  7. Coperthwaite, Wm. S. A handmade life: In search of simplicity. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2002. (p.111 [↩]

Book Review: Nina’s Favorite Mittens and Socks from Around Norway by Nina Granlund Sæther

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mitten book coverMary Skoy reviews Nina’s Favorite Mittens and Socks from Around Norway

This book  is a compilation of favorite patterns from Nina Granlund Sæther’s two previous books: Mittens from Around Norway (2017) and Socks from Around Norway (2019).

Her extensive research and design work are deeply rooted in the Norwegian tradition.  Here is how she describes her process in the book’s forward entitled “Clothes to Stay Warm”:

“Selbu mittens are extremely lovely and considered almost a national symbol—but it was important to me to also shine a light on lesser known patterns from Halden and Kristiansand in the south and Kautokeino in the north.…I often find myself excited and inspired by patterns from preserved garments, but I’m not compelled to make exact copies. The yarn is typically different, and I tend to play with more colors than were traditionally in use. I’ve also made some adjustments so the mittens and socks will be as easy to work and user-friendly as possible for modern knitters” (p. 4).

In her description of the pattern she calls Caroline Halvorsen’s Mittens, Sæther refers to the classic Knitting Book for Primary School and Home Use written by Caroline Halvorsen, published in 1901, and used in schools in Norway until the 1950s and 1960s:

“Mittens embellished with cables and fans were usually called “bride’s mittens” or “church mittens,” and eventually “Sunday mittens.”  Caroline Halvorsen didn’t write complete instructions for the mittens, but described how to make the cables and fans.  This is my variation on this type of mitten” (p. 45).

Sæther’s instructions are complete and well-illustrated as are all the patterns in the collection. In her introduction to  Vestland Rose Mittens, she writes:

“I began with a well-known rose pattern and played a bit with the petal shapes.The result was an entirely new rose.The cuffs on these mittens were inspired by an old pair of mittens from Voss.The technique of crossing stitches used here was well known in Fana, which is just outside Bergen” (p. 89).

Vestland Rose mittens and a portion of the graph for her “entirely new rose.”

And introducing Snowflake Mittens:  

“All sorts of stars have been widely used as motifs in Norwegian knitting textiles.  The stars featured on the palms of these mittens were often knitted in Selbu and are locally called “spit balls.”  Many Norwegian designers have used snowflakes in their designs and I wanted to make my own snowflakes” (p. 141).

Snowflake mittens

The first chapter of Nina’s Favorite Mittens and Socks from Around Norway is  called “Before You Begin: Tips and Techniques.” Saether has obviously been a teacher (she trained as a craft teacher and taught at the high school level) because she seems able to anticipate questions a knitter might have.  She provides her readers clear explanations, photographs, and charts.  She devotes ten pages to illustrating and explaining heels—the Hourglass heel, gusset heel, band heel with short or long heel flap, and the shaped common heel. 

Some of the heels explained in the book: hourglass heel, gusset heel, and the shaped common heel.

And in another two pages, she explains reinforcing heels and knitting toes. I was amused and agreed with her practical suggestion about knitting heels:  “Ask someone who’s knitted heels before for help or check the internet, where you’ll find many good instructional videos” (p. 12). She also explains Latvian braids, weaving in ends, and thumbs. The individual patterns have special techniques and motifs as well—lace or cabled cuff; two-color ribbing; and birds, cats, moose, pinwheels, and roses.

This book comes alive with full page colorful closeups of forty-four pairs of mittens and socks.  The instructions for the twenty-four mitten patterns and twenty sock patterns are clearly explained in text and photographs, as well as in easy to read charts.  After looking at a knitting book as inspiring as this, I wish I could knit faster.

Nina’s Favorite Mittens and Socks from Around Norway by Nina Granlund Sæther. Trafalgar Square Books (May 2, 2023).  ISBN-13  :  978-1646011643
Mary Skoy is a long-time knitter, as well as an experienced knitting and weaving instructor. She is a frequent contributor to the Norwegian Textile Letter.
Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

Apri 2023

Book Review: Continuum by Solveig Aalberg

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By Molly Elkind

I’ve been weaving tapestry for over 10 years and teaching approaches to tapestry design for at least five years.  I’m always on the lookout for other tapestry weavers doing interesting contemporary work, to inform my own work and to share with other weavers.  I came across this blog post on the Textile Forum blog, about a body of work by Norwegian fiber artist, Solveig Aalberg, that I am excited to share. 

Aalberg has made a series of 100 small pieces that she calls “miniatures” which together form the series Continuum.  Each one measures about 20 x 24 cm, or roughly 7.75 x 9.5 inches.  Each features horizontal stripes in some form.  They are woven in tabby or double weave in a variety of fibers.  As she wove the series, Aalberg designed a book that reproduces every single piece, Continuum:  Woven Miniatures.  The book devotes a full page, or in some cases two pages, to each tapestry, and for each, the fibers and colors used are listed with a numerical notation that indicates the number of times each color is repeated.

Solveig Aalberg, Continuum #020, 2018.  Linen, cotton, polyester.

As I began to look through the book, I realized that far from becoming repetitious the project allowed for almost infinite variation within Aalberg’s parameters.  The idea that boundaries and limits actually free us up for greater creativity has been coming up in my tapestry feedback group discussions lately, and Aalberg’s project is a perfect example of how that can work.

Aalberg says in an interview included at the end of the book that her work is “all about reading the world around me by organizing structures and repetitions.  Tapestry’s strict framework of horizontal and vertical lines provides a basis for working on my visual idiom.  It might seem restrictive, but it is a challenge that triggers me.” (p. 260).  She goes on to say that systems and mathematics allow for rhythmic repetitions would not be possible otherwise:  “. . . structures build up contrasts and juxtapositions that you couldn’t envision beforehand without using these systems.” (p. 265).

While Aalberg’s work starts with weaving on the loom, she further develops each piece by adding stitching, sometimes subtle straight stitches that meld with the weft, other times wild loops and dangling threads that create a riot of texture on the back.  These pieces are pictured front and back on double-page spreads.  In all the pieces, a delight and curiosity about color is the driving force.

Solveig Aalberg, Continuum #036 back, 2020. Linen, cotton, polyester and reflex.

Solveig Aalberg, Continuum #036 front, 2020.  
Linen, cotton, polyester and reflex.

Aalberg has worked on a very large scale many times, but for this project she chose a format that invites the viewer to “experience the work up close” in an “intimate and personal” way (p. 264).  Many of us are attracted to small format work not only because it is portable and more quickly accomplished than large work, but precisely because it speaks one-on-one to the viewer.

Pieces from the Continuum series have been exhibited in various shows in Europe, and several have been sold.  Aalberg hopes that the works will be widely disseminated and that they can “thereby make a little statement about how everyday life is influenced by how we do the same thing again and again, but with either minor or major changes.  In that way, each miniature can be read as a metaphor for the days we live” (p. 267).

Solveig Aalberg, selections from Continuum at Haugesund Kunstforening og Billedgalleri, 2020.

Regarding her commitment to a long-term project over several years, Aalberg admits, “It does cost something to bring this about–that is also part of the process.  Showing tenacity, holding on to your idea, not letting go.  If I had abandoned Continuum, it would be like going back on a promise.  It would feel like a betrayal” (p. 267). This struck me–how often do we as artists lose heart, have crises of confidence, or simply bow to the ongoing pressures of life and abandon our big ideas?

Regarding the book itself, in addition to the interview with the artist, an essay by writer Ole Robert Sunde is included, whose work Aalberg feels draws on similar themes.  All text, including captions for the tapestries, appears in Norwegian and English.  Several installation shots of the work show how it is mounted approximately 4.5″ from the wall, so that it casts a shadow and attains a sculptural presence.  It is a beautifully photographed and produced hardcover book.  You can order it here for 380 Norwegian kroner, about $38 plus shipping.  For me this book is a wonderful counterpoint to Sheila Hicks’s Weaving as Metaphor, which contains images of dozens of her experimental minimes.  Both artists work in small format, but their approaches and results are very different.  Food for thought.

This review first appeared on Molly’s blog, https://mollyelkindtalkingtextiles.blogspot.com on October 12, 2022. 

https://mollyelkindtalkingtextiles.blogspot.com
Instagram: @mollyelkind
Molly Elkind earned an M.A. in Studio Art from the Hite Art Institute at the University of Louisville in 2002. Exhibition highlights include two solo shows in Atlanta (2009 and 2018)  and numerous juried and invitational shows nationwide.  Molly has been published in a number of fiber art-related publications, and her work is in several private collections.  Besides making art, Molly is passionate about teaching it, with a particular focus on design principles and processes.  She is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico and teaches both online and nationwide for guilds and conferences.  

Editor and author’s note: These images are screen shots from Aalberg’s book. The book images are of much higher quality. 

March 2023

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

Book Review: Vivian Høxbro’s Knitting Handbook: 8 Schools of Modular Knitting

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By Mary Skoy

I first encountered Vivian Høxbro’s clever approach to knitting in her book Domino Knitting (Interweave Press 2002).  That book pushed the boundaries of my understanding of how knitting worked as it explored the interaction of shapes connected to shapes—“modular knitting.”   

I dutifully followed the instructions to learn the domino knitting techniques and ended up with a collection of swatches that doubled as pot holders. I became an immediate fan of Vivian Høxbro when she wrote, ”There is no getting away from the fact that domino knitting is slower but who says that we have to knit quickly?  We knit for the enjoyment today, don’t we?  Who wants something fun to end quickly?  Not I!” She also said: “Be kind to yourself—only the best equipment is good enough.”

In her latest book, Danish knitting expert Høxbro goes beyond domino knitting and explores space and shape in other kinds of modular knitting.  Vivian Høxbro‘s Knitting Handbook: 8 Schools of Modular Knitting is Høxbro’s compilation of techniques and projects for eight different types of modular knitting. Once again, you can learn the techniques by knitting carefully explained swatches which are large enough to be put to use.

Vivian Høxbro’s Knitting Handbook: 8 Schools of Modular Knitting by Vivian Høxbro.  Published by Trafalgar Square Books (April 19, 2022)        ISBN-13: 9781646011353.

The book is divided into 8 “schools” or categories of modular knitting arranged by shape. School 1 is Stripes 2 Squares, 3 Tri-Squares, 4 Right Angles, 5 Staircases, 6 Zigzag, 7 Shells, and 8 Circles. Each “school” comprises 10-14 pages of row by row instructions illustrated with step-by-step photos of the knitting in progress.

An example of Høxbro’s excellent illustrations: the “zig-zag school.”

The directions are clearly written and Høxbro seems to anticipate questions that might arise in the knitting. For example, she tell us: “Just before a color change the edge stitches are very, very small, so here you have to be especially careful when the needle is inserted into the join. You can enlarge the edge stitch with the needle tip and can maintain control if the stitch and ridge count coincide”  (p. 29). This is helpful information for both a beginning knitter and an experienced knitter.

Following each of the eight techniques are patterns for two projects using the technique just presented. Among the projects are patterns to create scarves, shawls, vests, sweaters, and pillow covers. As is always the case in books with patterns, some are appealing and some are not so great. I loved the Shell Top (pictured on the book cover) and was not so fond of the Boomerang Shawl. Of course, that’s very much personal taste. But each pattern is thoroughly explained and well-illustrated.   

Boomerang shawl. Photo taken from the author’s website, viv.dk

The last section of the book is Techniques and Edgings. Here, she illustrates picking up stitches, short rows, changing color in stripes, and weaving in ends. She includes clear photos of i-cord, ribbed, and garter stitch edgings. 

These instructions may not be necessary for an experienced knitter, but  including them makes the book a handy reference for knitters at all levels of experience. She illustrates a way to mark decreases and increases by adding a small rubber band to the stitch to keep track and to make counting easier. This was new to me and a good tip. 

The book welcomes us into the world of Vivian Høxbro’s knitting. She writes in the introduction: “I have never been a fan of the cast on 385 stitches and knit around to the underarms. etc.  …I’d rather be entertained and challenged, and create something you could never find in a store.  I like the knitting process. If you feel that way or you’d like a change of pace from your usual patterns, then this book is for you” (p. 8).

Høxbro suggests spending “a few evenings studying each school, preferably with your knitting friends,  It’s always great to work together so you can help each other.” She writes as if she is speaking to us, inviting us along on this knitting adventure.  

Her stated goal is for knitters to use the book to play and experiment further. She has given us the tools and inspiration we need.

Vivian Høxbro has worked as a knitwear designer for over 35 years, both self-employed and for yarn companies. She has written 12 knitting books, some of which have been published in Norway, Japan, and the USA-including Traditional Danish Sweaters, published in 2019 by Trafalgar Square Books. Since then, she has taught and given lectures in Scandinavia, as well as in the USA and Japan, and is working to make  Denmark’s first knitting museum in Stubbekøbing a reality. Vivian currently resides in Stubbekøbing, Denmark.

Vivian Høxbro‘s Knitting Handbook: 8 Schools of Modular Knitting by Vivian Høxbro.  Published by Trafalgar Square Books (April 19, 2022)        ISBN-13: 9781646011353.

Mary Skoy is a Minnesota-based knitting and weaving instructor who kindly took time from her Christmas gift knitting marathon to share these thoughts.
Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you! Tusen takk! 

Book Review: Norwegian Mittens & Gloves, Over 25 Classic Designs

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Book Review: Norwegian Mittens & Gloves, Over 25 Classic Designs. By Annemor Sundbo. Trafalgar Books, 2021. 

By Karin Weiberg 

I first bought this book in Norwegian at the Hillesvåg Woolen Mill [Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk] in 2013, during a Textile Tour to Norway with Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. After a tour of the mill and  lunch, we were delighted to be brought to the store. Every pair of mittens from this book was on display, hanging from the ceiling. I bought the book and some heavier yarn. Later on the bus, I regretted not buying yarn for a specific pair. I often have taken my book from the shelf, looking at all the choices, but never deciding which ones to knit.

Now I have a copy of the new English translation, one I can read! The majority of mittens have an explanation of the symbolism of the design. Will this make my decision of which pair to knit easier or harder?

Annemor Sundbø is the premier authority on symbols in knitting and the history of knitting in Norway. She wrote in the forward that her journey for re-using materials began as a child to find yarn to knit with. She described how she realized the treasure she had after she purchased  a shoddy mill in 1983, Torridal Tweed.*  It came with a mound of knitted goods intended for recycling, knitting done by women over decades. Could they contain the “transmigration of souls,” with codes from the past, in motifs that had power and magic? Annemor takes the reader along in her research into myths, folklore and history. Knitters will become enthralled with the symbolism in Norwegian knitting, as there is much to appreciate in the rose design, animal and bird motifs. I don’t believe she discusses a “snowflake” motif at all. The knitter is encouraged to try designs of her own.

Sundbø includes interesting description of mitten and glove details.

After covering so much background, the next section is about knitting a mitten, referred to as the “anatomy of a mitten.” Different styles of cuffs, palm stitches, and how to knit the thumb and top of a mitten are explained with good detail. The why and how of gloves are explained as well. It is important to read this part of the book because the mitten patterns rely heavily on charts. Adaptations are encouraged. This is also where you find the abbreviations and “how to” instructions.

Next the mitten styles begin. Each mitten has a photograph of the old mitten, and the new in a close-up. There is a sentence or two explaining the symbolism of the motif, the yarn, needles and gauge information. There are yarn resources in the back of the book. (I checked out www.yarnsub.com and found it helpful.) There is a note about floats for color knitting and then you are ready to begin. A crisp font makes for easy reading. As with most charts, I would enlarge my chart for my own use. Please respect copyright and do not share.

A design plucked from her rag pile: a dog joins a Scandinavian star.

I think the best add-on to this book is a chapter called “One Mitten is a Pattern Treasure Trove.” Annemor takes a motif and explains how to knit a coordinating hat, socks and a sweater. You will need to knit a gauge, but the bonus is a table of standard measurement for sweaters–and more exciting, one for mittens and gloves!

This book is a good value for anyone wanting to knit mittens and then go beyond with other knitwear. You can knit mittens with a story, choosing a motif that fits your recipient or YOU. We know Annemor’s journey of Norwegian knitting and textile discovery will continue. I look forward to her next book!

Order the book from the publisher, Trafalgar Books, here. 

*Read more about Annemor Sundbø’s life and work with the history of knitting in “A Rag Pile, My Lot in Life,” Norwegian Textile Letter, Vol. 22, No. 1, March 2016.

 

BOOK REVIEW: “Weaving Damask” by Anne E. Nygard

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By Janice Zindel

If you have ever been intrigued by the beauty of damask weaving, by the sight of drawlooms, or on the other end of the spectrum, intimidated by these looms, Weaving Damask will help provide clear, helpful, easy-to-understand explanations of what damask is and how a drawloom works.

The book begins with a brief history of damask weaving along with the tradition in Norway, followed by chapters on how the looms work, how to wind and beam/thread/sley it, an explanation of shaft draw, single unit, and a couple pages on weaving uphamta on a drawloom.

Creating your own designs is discussed and several pages of patterns are provided which can be woven as shown, or used as a starting point for your own creativity.

The principles provided in this book apply no matter who made the loom or the drawloom attachments.  There are a few pages on how to make the “Petra” for people who want to make their own attachments.  Looms are different, some go out of production, some looms were handmade to begin, and issues may arise in buying attachments and expecting them to fit and work.  The information in this book will help with any challenges that may arise.

The photos in the book are clear, in color, and clearly relate to the text.  Diagrams and charts are black and white.

Near the back are pages of “Quick Guides” with bullet points, so readers don’t need to re-read the book looking for pieces of information.  There are also guideline charts for planning a point threading for 10 through 50 pattern shafts.  Also, calculations for warp yarns, two pages on finding and correcting mistakes, and a bibliography of non-English books.

On a personal note, this book came along at just the right time.  I have a 35+ year old Glimakra single unit draw.  After weaving on a Myrehed combination drawloom at Vavstuga several years ago, having a loom with that setup had been on my wish list.  Well, this book gave me a good push, the time was right, and the attachments were just ordered.  Because of the width of the loom, not made in many years, it is a special order but I am hoping the packages will arrive by late November.  Meanwhile, I will re-read this book to be ready to assemble the new attachments and begin a new area of weaving.  

Janice Zindel’s draw loom in Wisconsin

Author Anne E. Nygard lives and teaches at Damaskvev in Lysoysund, Norway.  She is on Facebook.  Damaskvev was published, in Norwegian, by MuseumsForlaget in 2018.  Weaving Damask was published, in English, in 2020.

Janice Zindel took her first basic weaving class in 1981, with an opportunity to weave on a single unit drawloom.  She knew then that one day she would have that loom, and three years later she did.  Life with her husband, child, three moves in five years, a few years later two adoptions, loss of husband, and raising children kept that interest still a dream.  She continued taking weaving classes over ten years, including Basic Weaving and Basic Drawloom at Vavstuga. Though lately she has been exploring indigo-dyed woven shibori, she is returning to her Interest in Norwegian/Scandinavian weaving and textiles.  Her paternal grandparents emigrated from Norway.

 

Book Review–Hannah Ryggen: Threads of Defiance

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By Sally Reckert

Courtesy of the British Tapestry Group, first published on their website in January, 2020.

Review: Hannah Ryggen: Threads of Defiance, 
by Marit Paasche

Thames & Hudson, 2019
288 pages
ISBN 9780500094099 hannah-ryggen-threads-of-defiance hardcover

In 2011 a bomb detonated in front of the “Highrise,” (the colloquial name of the government building Oslo), leaving Hannah Ryggen’s tapestry “We are Living on a Star” lying in a pool of dirty water, concrete rubble and shards of glass. Later the bomber, Anders Behring Breivik, went on to kill 69 people, most of them children, at a youth camp on the island of Utøya.

Hannah Ryggen (1894-1970) would have woven this horror as a monumental tapestry and ensured that it was hung in a public space in memory of these wasted lives. She was a Swedish/􏰗Norwegian artist whose tapestries were well 􏰗known and admired in her lifetime, and was recognised as a genius by her, mainly male, critics. Her large output of tapestry work was mainly publicly hung as she refused private commissions when possible. She exhibited internationally on a regular basis but fell into the unknown from the 1970s. Frustratingly the author, Marit Paasche, doesn’t cover this period and so tell us why. Perhaps she’ll write a second work on Ryggen?

The significance of Hannah Ryggen as one of the most important figures in the history of Scandinavian art has 􏰂􏰀􏰐􏰔only recently been rediscovered internationally, mainly thanks to Marit Paaschewho has studied Ryggen’s work for the past ten years. Ryggen’s rich􏰌􏰅􏰀􏰎􏰍 􏰉􏰇􏰏􏰊archive of news cuttings, photographs, sketches and letters 􏰇􏰀􏰈􏰂􏰉􏰃􏰅􏰄 informed Paasche’s work, whether radical political statements against fascism or against poverty􏰇􏰀􏰍􏰆 􏰕􏰂􏰓􏰅􏰉􏰆􏰔and cruelty and injustice in her own country, newly independent Norway. Using these sources, Paasche focuses on the period of Ryggen’s life that she shared with her husband Hans between the weaving of “Fishing on the Sea of Debt” (1933) and “We are Living on a Star” (1958). In “We are Living on a Star” Ryggen􏰔􏰌􏰌􏰅􏰀 has woven a naked man and woman lying within a large oval, the couple are encircled by a blue band binding and separating time, two babies lie either side of their feet; the family surrounded by the infinity of the cosmos. Ryggen explained her thinking behind the tapestry: “I chose the shortest route: woman man child. They meet on earth, star among other stars, why no one knows, where they come from no one knows. They are there together: life’s highest expression and purpose, and two children already on their way to continue on the same path.”􏰜

Responding to her grief at Hans’s death, Ryggen wove “We are Living on a Star” (1958) on a loom built by him. She had been commissioned, in 1955, by the Norwegian state to weave three monumental tapestries, to themes of her choice, to hang in the new government building, the Regjeringsbygget or Highrise designed by Erling Viksjø, whose novel sandblasted walls were the only other decoration.

There was another side to Ryggen’s life and work which illuminated everything she did, her closeness to nature, her respect and dependence on it and all other living things. “Us and our Animals” (1934) was woven in response to the necessary slaughter of her geese including her beloved Kakaleja: “I had ten geese. We slaughtered them all at once. I haven’t eaten goose since.” Unusually, for depictions of nature during this period, there is no sentimental romanticism. For the Ryggens on their small-holding, nature was very real. In 1948 Malmö Museum bought “Us and Our Animals” for 25,000 Swedish kroner, a not inconsiderable sum which caused heated debate. As the Director, Ernst Fischer, wrote, “I managed to secure the purchase today. Politics were involved…The naysayers insisted on remaining anonymous in the minutes.”

Hannah Ryggen’s visually powerful tapestries are a mixture of folk narrative and decoration, social commentary and pure colours. The wool was mostly spun by her from her own sheep and dyed by her using local plants. At once hard-hitting and humorous, her works combine personal candour, social and political engagement and visual majesty.

Paasche explores Ryggen’s bold subject matter, particular blend of abstraction and figuration, and use of contemporary and folk art not only within the context of Ryggen’s life and beliefs, but also in the context of European art and politics of the first half of the 20th century. Not reading Norwegian, it’s hard for me to know whether Paasche writes well or is served well by her translator, Katie Stieglitz, or a mixture of the two; but taken together the women speak confidently and calmly, leaving the tapestries, informed by Ryggen’s voice through her archive, to speak for themselves.

Included in the book are excellent illustrations, many with detailed accompanying images, together with numerous photographs showing Hannah with her family on their small-holding, and in her contemporary world. But this is not a picture book for the coffee table. It is a very readable and scholarly account of Ryggen’s work, backed up by a comprehensive list of works, bibliography, footnotes and archive resources. ‘Hannah Ryggen: Threads of Defiance’ provides an account of a remarkable artist. I recommend it to both weavers and non-weavers as a well-written document of a fascinating and turbulent time for Europe and it effect on an artist who engaged and wove to the full the life around her.

Review by Sally Reckert (sally@reckert.com) October 2019

Sally Reckert is an avid tapestry weaver who lives in Richmond, Yorkshire, England. She is also the editor of the British Tapestry Group’s journal, Tapestry Weaver. Sally has a tapestry in the upcoming exhibit, The Baldishol: A Medieval Tapestry Inspires Contemporary Textiles. Read about this tapestry with special resonance now: Sally Reckert: Marching Toward the Unknown.

Book Review: “Tablet-weaving—in True Nordic Fashion” by Sonja Berlin

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By Helen Scherer

Discovering a 2017 English-language copy of Sonja Berlin’s Tablet-weaving—in True Nordic Fashion at the Eugene Textile Center was a delight; it was exactly what I wanted for quickly and easily learning about the tablet-weaving tradition in Norway and the other Nordic countries.

The first seventeen pages outline the history of tablet-weaving in each country: Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Finland and Sweden. In the section on Norway, Sonja mentions the use of warp-weighted looms as early as the 3rd-4th centuries as well as the tablets found in the Oseberg grave from the 830s. She highlights the distinctive Telemark Bands, which are used as belts and hair bands with Telemark bunads, and even provides a weaving pattern for “Belt Band Nr 1971-575, from East Telemark”.

The weaving instructions on pages 37-89 are very concise and easy to follow. Pages 90-92 provide instructions for tutoring children using smaller tablets.

Although the equipment list calls for a back strap loom, I chose to use my LeClerc Cendrel Inkle Loom with all but three pegs removed for my first attempt, knowing that I would have to jump up for every beep, bell, ring and buzzer in the house. Since tablet rotation causes the yarn behind the tablets to twist together, it is necessary to use a loom that can hold a long warp between sturdy pegs or beams, and since the warp can tighten or loosen as weaving progresses, the loom must offer a simple mechanism for adjusting the warp tension.

I purchased both wooden tablets and cards, but chose to learn with the cards, since their holes were labeled A, B, C and D.

For my first warp, I didn’t want to waste any of my precious stash of 6/2 Rauma Spaelsau Prydvevgarn, so I used 3/2 cotton thrums left over from weaving a color gamp blanket. Therefore, I had to use several different greens and several different reds for the two-color sampler that demonstrated “Five Pattern Variations”.

The resulting band was not bad. Even though the “stocking stitch” seemed to create itself evenly without fussing too much over how snug to pull the weft and how hard to beat it, it became evident that keeping a fairly constant warp tension and weaving consistently was important to avoid creating a snake that looks like it ate a few mice.

The sample bands begin on page 57, each introducing a new concept, such as color patterns, stocking stitch, same direction twining, direction changes, the relief (missed-hole) technique, cabling and double-faced weave. The book has an excellent section on Icelandic double cloth along with patterns for weaving a beautiful alphabet. Sonja also covers the Egyptian diagonal, the prehistoric warp-weighted method, six-holed tablets, brocading and Finnish reins.

The original book, called Brickvävning—så in i Norden in Swedish, was published in 1994 in connection with the Nordic Symposium on Tablet Weaving. The 2017 translation is very good (although the last sentence on page 52 might say: “6. If some holes were missed while threading the tablets, they should be filled now to avoid forming extra crosses in the warp.”) The book is well illustrated, includes a few brilliant color photos, and will be my go-to book for future tablet-weaving lessons. It has certainly diminished my fear of tablet-weaving: It is mesmerizing and not as difficult as it looks.

Helen Scherer first learned about handweaving from her mother, who had been a weaver in Norway during the early 1950s. She enjoys using several different types of looms and is focused on trying a wide variety of traditional Norwegian weaving techniques. Although she enjoys reading instructions from older Norwegian handbooks, she also treasures books in English that offer more clarity.