Nordic News and Notes, April 2024

Exhibits

“Karin Larsson: Let the Hand be Seen.” American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis, MN. June 8, 2024 – October 27, 2024.

Explore the colorful work and legacy of Karin Larsson—a trendsetting artist, designer, and style icon ahead of her time—in a special exhibition at the American Swedish Institute from Carl Larsson-gården.

Karin Bergöö Larsson (1859–1928) was a groundbreaking artist whose approach to textiles and design ushered in a new era of interior design and established the iconic Swedish style that continues to inspire contemporary artists worldwide. The floral motifs, vivid colors, and charming simplicity of her style remain heavily influential nearly a century after her death, inspiring both independent makers and major brands like IKEA.

Many of Karin’s works were forever captured in husband Carl Larsson’s iconic paintings of Swedish life. It was Karin who designed and created Lilla Hyttnäs, the Larsson’s home just outside of Falun in Sundborn, Sweden, which was so often the subject of Carl’s paintings.

This exhibition presents Karin Larsson as an artist, designer, dressmaker, and style icon through her art and textiles.

Tendencies 2024 – In the Right Hands. Galleri F15, March 23 – June 12, 2024. Moss, Norway.

The 46th edition of Tendencies focuses on craft’s materiality, the work of the hands, and making statements through textiles. The exhibition presents the practices of 15 artists based in Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

For those who can’t travel to Norway, a short video on the gallery website gives an overview of the works. The Norwegian text of the video is mostly in English in the exhibit description, except for this, “The source of inspiration for this edition of the Tendencies exhibit is the artistry of the Norwegian textile artist Brit Fuglevaag. She is an 84 year old woman who was very significant n the development of textile art and weaving in the 1960s, and who remains active in textile art today.” Photos of individual works can be seen in the Media Gallery.

Lectures Online

Nearly Wild Weaving. Tapestry: In Conversation – With Robbie LaFleur. Wed, April 24, 2024 7 pm UK time. (Eventbrite calculates the time for each guest’s time zone. It costs 10 pounds, which Eventbrite conveniently charges you for in your own currency.) Register here.

During our conversations we find out how our guests approach their work, what inspires them, what techniques they favour and why. Throughout this season we are taking a more international view of tapestry weaving, and this month delighted to be crossing the Atlantic once again, this time to talk to Robbie LaFleur who is based in Minnesota. And as we talk, we’ll also be travelling back across to Scandinavia, finding out more about Robbie’s long association with weaving in Norway.

Robbie’s work is strongly influenced by traditional Norwegian weaving. She has a particular interest in the work of Frida Hansen, which she studied in depth during a funded research programme in 2019. Robbie has been the editor of the Norwegian Textile Letter for many years and is also an instructor, introducing many others to the different facets of Scandinavian approaches to tapestry weaving.

We will find out what brought Robbie into tapestry weaving and especially the world of Scandinavian weaving, how she approaches her designs, the influences on her work and discover where her work has taken her.

“Early Swedish Folk Weavings” with Wendel Swan. May 1, 2024, 1 pm EDT, 7 pm CET. Registration is required. Click Here to Register. Cost: Free

Wendel Swan, who has loaned 54 rare and exemplary textiles for the current exhibition Swedish Folk Weavings for Marriage, Carriage, and Home 1750-1840, at the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia. He will discuss the historical background of Scandinavian weavings since the Viking era and, with numerous illustrations, the enormous diversity and aesthetic merit of design elements, color and weaving techniques of Swedish textiles that were produced for personal household use in relatively small Scania.

Lectures (In Person)

“Norwegian Folk Costumes: A Living Tradition.” Lauran Gilbertson, Curator, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. May 18, 2024. 11 am. Location: New Directions Real Estate Building, lower level, 110 North Main Street, Westby, Wisconsin.

As part of the Westby Syttende Mai celebration, Vesterheim Chief Curator Laurann Gilbertson will explore Norway’s tradition of colorful folk costumes is as old as the Middle Ages, and as young as the 1940s. Learn about the history of costumes from Hardanger, Telemark, Hallingdal, and many other regions of Norway. The forces of politics, fashion, and immigration have left their mark on this important part of Norwegian and Norwegian-American folk culture.

The program is open to the public and starts at 11:00 am. For more details about the event contact Dave Amundson at nissedal@mwt.net or visit HOME | Westby Syttende Mai (syttendemaiwestby.com).

Helena Hernmarck tapestry at Hudson Yards

“Hernmarck Tapestries at Hudson Yards: Artist Talk with Helena Hernmarck and Matilda McQuaid.” Wednesday, May 22, 7 pm. Free. (Reserve tickets.) Scandinavia House, located in New York City at 58 Park Avenue, four blocks south of Grand Central Station.

Tapestry artist Helena Hernmarck and moderator Matilda McQuaid discuss Hernmarck’s latest commission: two sets of monumental tapestries for a residential lobby at 35 Hudson Yards in New York City, Flowers and Maple Tree. The program will also include a screening of the documentary Hernmarck Tapestries at Hudson Yards (20 min.), which showcases Helena’s ongoing collaboration with weavers and spinners in Sweden. The film also explores the complex design and installation requirements for the unique commission, and highlights the relevance of tapestry as an art form in contemporary architectural settings.

“The Influence of Karin Larsson on the Art World and the Work of Helena Hernmark,” an artist talk by Helena Hernmarck. Sunday, June 9, 5-9 pm. American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis Minnesota. Cost: $30 ($25 ASI members) (Register here.)

Be the first to view Karin Larsson: Let the Hand Be Seen at this preview event featuring a special FIKA Café menu and artist discussion from the renowned Swedish textile artist, Helena Hernmarck, who was heavily influenced by the work of Karin Larsson.

Have you ever caught yourself marveling at the massive tapestry in the Nelson Cultural Center? Now’s your chance to meet the artist herself! Following a screening of a new short film about her work, Helena Hernmarck will discuss her work and the influence of Karin Larsson on the art world.

Join ASI for small plates in the courtyard available for purchase, featuring a menu inspired by Karin Larsson’s cookbook and curated by FIKA Café’s executive chef, Amalia Obermeier-Smith. Dress up inspired by Karin or come as you are!

Web Sightings

“Tradition in Transition: A Colorful Baptismal Dress from Norway.” Laurann Gilbertson, Curator, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. Piecework, April 3, 2024.

This short essay begins, “Garments worn for special occasions make up a significant percentage of many museums’ collections because they are the textiles that people tend to save and pass along.” Beautiful textiles become even more meaningful when accompanied by the stories of the people who made and used them.

“Hardanger Embroidery: Needlework to Do When the Loneliness Comes.” Laurann Gilbertson, Curator, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. Piecework, November 3, 2023.

Anna Anderson began her tablecloth on her journey from Norway to the United States. “My mother gave me the tablecloth when I was leaving and told me that when I was feeling lonesome I should work on it,” she recalled.

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

Nordic News and Notes, March 2024

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Scandinavian Weaving classes

North House Fiber Art Courses

Among the many tempting fiber arts courses held on the shores of Lake Superior are a few with a specific Scandinavian theme: Scandinavian Band Weaving with Caroline Feyling, Swedish Toothbrush Rugs with Melba Granlund, Tvåändsstickning – Mittens in Swedish “Twined” Knitting with Lily Bell, and Warp Weighted Tabletop Loom: Build and Weave with Melba Granlund.

Vesterheim Folk Art School

Vesterheim Folk Art School has announced their summer and fall 2024 in-person and virtual classes. Be sure to check out both the Fiber Arts and Weaving categories.

Video

Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson. “With Sail over the Baltic Sea.” (On the potential connection between the introduction of sails and the Viking phenomenon). Part of a 2022 conference, “Vikings before Vikings.”

From the description: “The iconic image of the Viking Age is arguably the sailing boat, as e.g. seen on the Gotlandic picture stones… Sail production was an extensive and in research often underestimated process, requiring extensive amounts of raw material that then had to be processed, spun and woven. Sailing provided quicker and less arduous means of transportation, increasing the range of travel, but the making of sails was an advancement that required a new level of organisation and planning. The connection between sails and the Viking Phenomenon is significant, but the social development it reflects is equally important, constituting an even more significant indicator of the beginning of a new era.”

Båtryer. Romsdal Museum.

This brief museum video highlights båtryer [pile coverlets, or rya, used on boats]. Båtryer has English subtitles. (It seems odd they chose to make it black-and-white.)

Exhibitions

“Swedish Folk Weavings for Marriage, Carriage, and Home 1750 to 1840.” Swedish American Historical Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. March 15-September 22, 2024.

From the description: “Swedish Folk Weavings for Marriage, Carriage, and Home is an exhibition of rare and artful cushions and bed covers woven by women for their households. Many have inscribed dates ranging from 1750 to 1840. Such textiles were used on or displayed for special occasions and were a significant form of decoration for the typical household.

“The design elements and patterns reflect the influence of centuries of trade since the Viking era. Visitors will see colorful geometric patterns, exotic birds, real and mythical creatures, religious depictions, crowns, floral themes, and even patterns from Roman mosaics. Swedish Folk Weavings for Marriage, Carriage, and Home was developed in collaboration with Wendel and Diane Swan, both of whom are of Swedish descent, and whose collection is primarily featured in the exhibition.”

Help support wonderful articles on Scandinavian textiles with a donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you for all your appreciation along the way. Tusen takk!

A Tribute to Ane Marie Aleksandersdatter (1847-1906)

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Ane Marie Aleksandersdatter, great-great grandmother of the author.

By Lill-Karin Elvestad

One day in 1863. Joy ignited in her chest as she closed the door behind her. It was chilly in the room, but she would soon warm up. The evening light that wandered past the window made the colors in the cloth stand out clearly. Green at the bottom and horizontal lines in red, black and blue. She knew each thread, they had slipped through her fingers as she spun them, and the colors were hers too. She still wondered how moss, lichen and birch leaves that were always just there, out in the landscape, could be transformed into strong colors and give life to grey-white wool.

They said she was good. They said she had her own flair for weaving, that what she created was beautiful. And maybe it was like that, but she thought mostly about getting the next thread as smooth as the previous one.

She settled herself, tightened the knot of hair at the nape of her neck and spread her arms over the weave like a pianist over the keys. Soon the rhythm found her and she fell into it and danced along.

Women’s Day, March 8, 2024. Today I think of my great-great-grandmother Ane Marie Aleksandersdatter, who was only 16-17 years old when she wove the dress you see in the picture. The thin, thin wool threads are perfectly even, and the pattern stands out clearly in four colors. Most likely she had carded and spun the wool herself, and perhaps also sheared the sheep. She gathered plants and vegetation to dye the yarn, and knew exactly which plants produced which color.

Jacket woven and sewn by Ane Marie Aleksandersdatter, front

The whole painstaking process from wool on the sheep until she could put on the beautiful dress life and accompanying skirt, required knowledge, accuracy and creative urge.

But Ane Marie could not write. Maybe not read either. I know that because when I wrote the book Til livet skilte oss ad – skilsmissehistorier 1879-1909 [Till Life Did Us Part – Divorce Stories 1879-1909], in which her and her husband Theodor’s divorce is one of the stories, I saw that all the documents she had signed include m.p.p. underneath, which means med påholden penn [with held pen] – someone had held the pen for her.

Was she illiterate? I don’t know.

But what I know today is that she had great abilities in textile art, on the same level as many other women of her time. Perhaps Ane Marie would have had a career as an artist and weaver if she had been placed in another place, in another time. But like thousands of other women whose significant knowledge and artistic abilities were given little recognition, Ane Marie came to live a quite anonymous life, a cog in the wheel of grey everyday existence.

Fortunately, Ane Marie’s daughter Anna, my great-grandmother, was far-sighted enough to give the dress life as a gift to the Tromsø museum sometime in 1935. Thanks to this, one day earlier in February this year I was able to join a conservator in the magazine at the museum and look at the art created by my own great grandmother.

Which again says a lot about the importance of preserving our cultural history! Happy Women’s Day!

Jacket woven and sewn by Ane Marie Aleksandersdatter, back. Aleksandersdatter’s dress was delivered to Tromsø museum by her daughter Anne (my great grandmother) in the 1930s, and is now being used by students and other textile-interested people as an example of the great handcraft that existed in Northern Norway at this time. The museums page for this is: https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/dcc035d0-5749-4baa-9bff-ab728d5dd854

Editor’s note: Lill-Karin Elvestad wrote this tribute to her great-great-grandmother on Instagram recently, and I asked if I could include it with her other article, “Old Clothing Tells our Story.” She responded, “I’m just thrilled that the story of Ane Marie gets known. Her fate became somewhat dark and miserable, but she had outstanding skills that today would have brought her out in the great world, I think.”

Lill-Karin Elvestad is a writer, journalist and historian from Troms. Her interests lies in cultural history of Northern Norway, and she’s written several books and a lot of articles for various magazines through the years. She lives at a little farm in Balsfjord, in the midst of Troms, with a husband, two cats and two nearly grown up kids. On the farm there’s a house from 1926 which she restored in 2022 and now uses as a meeting place for arrangements, writing-courses and story-nights. More about Elvestad on Instagram: @lillkarinelvestad or Facebook: Lill-Karin Elvestad forfatter

Translated by Robbie LaFleur

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

Old Clothing Tells our Story

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By Lill-Karin Elvestad

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in Lokalhistorisk magazine, Number 1 and 2, 2016, in a special themed issue, “Art and Handcraft,” and translated by Robbie LaFleur.

A worn piece of clothing, crumpled and frayed. At one time a warm stocking for a young woman, but now a seemingly worthless rag? Not for the project leader Lillian Magnussen with the project “Registration of Clothing in Troms.” Since 2011, the project, run by by the Troms fylkeshusflidslag [Troms County Handcraft Association], has registered all sorts of clothing, as well as accessories and jewelry, belts, caps, and shoes.

“Museums have put a lot of effort into the preservation of objects, houses, boats, and bits and bobs. But they have few textiles, when things like clothing can tell us much about our ancestors’ histories,” said Lillian Magnussen.

The Troms County Handcraft Association is a part of the Norges husflidslag [the Norwegian Handcraft Association], and in many areas of the country the registration of textiles has been underway for many years.

“In the South several thousand articles of clothing have been registered. In North-Norway we have not reached 1000. We are well underway, but it has not been so easy to make people interested and curious enough.”

Gloves from Troms, purchased by the Nordiska Museet in 1891. Photo: Anne-Lise Reinsfelt. https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023223482/vott-fingervante

Registering

Since 2011 seminars and meetings have been arranged to attract people to come with clothing. The project has traveled around the whole county, sometimes in cooperation with the Troms historielag [Troms History Association], and we have registered a good deal of clothing and accessories. We have also registered some of the objects that were once in rural settings and those in museum collections. But one would like to see more.

“It is important to emphasize that we don’t keep the clothing. We describe the details of an item on a form, take photos and measure its dimensions. We also register as much as possible about the owner, together with where they lived, how old they were, and whether there is a special story connected to the clothing,” Magnuson explained.

The textile experts with the project also look at the way the clothing was sewn or constructed. The handwork can tell us a lot, especially if the clothing is quite old. It mirrors society, and how people lived. For example clothes from a fisherman might tell whether he has adequate finances. Clothing was patched for reuse, and later was used for rugs or insulation. The smallest scraps were used as long as possible.”

Information on the clothing was added to a database called Primus. Everyone can see information and photos on the clothing through the Digital Museum, but private information, like the names, are withheld.

This baby shirt was sewn by Nanna Nilsen, Bjarkøy, ca. 1947. It was given to the Sør-Troms Museum in connection with the Registration of Clothing in Trøms project. https://digitaltmuseum.no/021028322025/skjorte

Clothing History

The oldest find in Målselv so far happened when clothing was found in a window frame. The bodice of a dress was used as insulation. It appeared to be from the 1700s, or 1800 at the latest. For this project we wanted older clothing, preferably from before the 1920s, and not newer than the 1950s. The older the clothing, the more interesting it is, but clothes from the 1930s and 40s also have stories to tell. The Norsk institutt for bunad og folkedrakt [The Norwegian Institute for Bunads and Folk Dress] takes a thorough registration of the oldest clothing items and puts them online at digitaltmuseum.no.

Magnussen thinks that one of the problems with registering more clothing is that people are reluctant to bring clothing that is wrinkled or stained. But as a rule the things you find in a paper bag in the loft are not newly-washed.

“So we try to gain the confidence of the people bringing in clothing. If they don’t want to tell about an item, or they don’t know anything about it, there’s no pressure. But for those of us interested in textiles, seeing these items can as valuable as gold.”

So far mostly women’s clothing has been registered, but also underwear and work clothing belonging to men. There has been little children’s clothing, explained Magnussen, who lives in Målselv. In Målselv and Bardu the immigrant history is especially interesting, and clothing from the colonizing era of the 1800s can tell us much about the people who came. Did they use a different clothing style than the people who usually lived in the North? Could you tell the difference between a new settler in Målselv and someone who was born on the coast? And if you can, how?

Dress bodice in blue linsey-woolsy, cotton warp and wool weft. Back covered shoulder and side seams. Back seam and panel seams. Breast penetration. Sewn-on, black, pattern-woven silk bands along the edges. Closure with pulled buttons and buttonholes. Small stand-up collar. Sewn-on black lace edging along the bottom edge. Two-seam sleeves sewn on with a peekaboo edge in between. Heilfora with beige, twill cotton fabric. https://digitaltmuseum.no/011024089867/liv

More is needed

Registration is also about the preservation of the handcraft itself. “Earlier it was common to sew all your clothing yourself. You sheared the sheep, carded the wool, wove, and sewed. Later store-bought clothing was available, and cotton became common in Norway as the 1800s progressed. Before, wool and linen that you grew yourself were most common. Both the fabric itself, and the methods used for sewing and construction, tell a story.”

Embroidered belt from Lavangen in coarse wool Panama weave, embroidered in loosely-twisted wool yarn in blue, green, and natural. Lined with natural-colored linen. Cast metal buckle. Photo: Norwegian Institute for Bunads and Folk Dress. https://digitaltmuseum.no/011024089888/belte

Since the project started in 2011 it received resources from Troms fylkeskommune [county]. It will continue through 2015, and longer if more resources are available. The project leaders are sure there is more clothing to be discovered. For example, throughout the county there are countless homes and outbuildings that are full of old things, junk, paper bags, packages — and clothing.

“We really want to get in more clothing. Everything is of interest! We are also interested in old photos that show clothing customs,” says Lillian Magnussen, who finished by noting an especially fine clothing item that was registered. “A silk shawl with fringes was submitted from Sørreisa. It was well-worn but had a beautiful rose pattern in blue brocade. It was from the 1800s, and its owner had been especially proud to own such a fine textile.”

March 2024.

Editor’s Note: According to the project leader, Lillian Magnussen, all the data are safe, but there has been no activity with this all-volunteer project in the past few years. They hope to find new, younger volunteers to take it up again!

Lill-Karin Elvestad’s research led to learning about the amazing textile talents of her great-great-grandmother. Read her tribute in this issue: “A Tribute to Ane Marie Aleksandersdatter.”

Lill-Karin Elvestad is a writer, journalist and historian from Troms. Her interests lies in cultural history of Northern Norway, and she’s written several books and a lot of articles for various magazines through the years. She lives at a little farm in Balsfjord, in the midst of Troms, with a husband, two cats and two nearly grown up kids. On the farm there’s a house from 1926 which she restored in 2022 and now uses as a meeting place for arrangements, writing-courses and story-nights. More about Elvestad on Instagram: @lillkarinelvestad or Facebook: Lill-Karin Elvestad forfatter

Translated by Robbie LaFleur

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

A Bit about the Transparent Portieres of Frida Hansen

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By Astrid Bugge (1902-1988)

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in “By og Bygd” (Yearbook of the Norsk Folkemuseum), 1962, pp. 133-138. Today many of the tapestries described in the article are in the digital collections of museums and available for us to enjoy in color.

When the Norsk Folkemuseum acquired a pair of portieres¹ in transparent weaving technique in 1962, it was the fourth time this special type of weaving turned up in the museum’s collection.

The first time was in 1954 when a set of two curtains and a single piece came from Louis Nicolay With’s villa, Haugen, at Hoff in Skøyen. Haugen is a typical Swiss-style villa with an interior of painted timber walls. A photograph from 1908 shows how the portieres hang in a broad doorway so that the woven pattern appeared clearly against the transparent ground threads, as was intended. Now the same portieres are displayed in the dragon-style room in the city collection. The materials are all wool in many strong colors. The design: roosters, large flowers and twining leaves – all strongly stylized – are woven in with regular tapestry, but the ground consists only of uncovered warp, in this case two-ply dark blue yarn, doubled and tightly twisted, and “see-through” as the technique intends. The warp ends in long fringes at the bottom and the top. In the tightly-woven border at the bottom “DNB 1901 LXXXIII” is woven in, meaning “The Norwegian Tapestry Studio, production number 83, 1901.” The Norwegian Tapestry Studio was a company founded by Mrs. Randi Blehr with Frida Hansen as its director to undertake a revival of historical coverlet and tapestry weaving on a modern basis. It was active from 1897-1904.

Villa Haugen. Photo: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011013387071/haugen

Frida Hansen, née Petersen, was born in 1855 at Hillevåg near Stavanger. She intended to become a painter and had studied drawing at home and abroad, but in the middle of the 1880s she became interested in our historical weaving. At the first Almindelig Norske Husflidsudstilling [Universal Norwegian Handcraft Exhibition] at Tivoli in Kristiania [now Oslo] in 1890 she displayed her first tapestry, Birkebeinerne, after a lithograph by Knud Bergslien. The exhibition catalog noted that “all the yarn for the tapestry was dyed and handspun by the artist.” Some time after the exhibit Frida Hansen moved to Oslo, and in 1892 opened her studio, with instruction in weaving for students from the city and countryside. This studio became the Norwegian Tapestry Studio in 1897, with large, light-filled rooms in the merchant Simonsen’s building at Stortorvet. The tapestries were woven on large vertical looms, one of Mrs. Hansen’s improved models.

In 1894 Frida Hansen began a dye studio that worked with plant dyes and, after Miss Augusta Christensen’s method, dyed unspun wool that would be carded together afterwards. This allowed her to create yarn in a myriad of nuances and shades from 3-4 simple main colors. The jury at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 wrote that in this way Miss Christensen’s yarn attained color combinations that were more full of energy and fresher than by dyeing already-spun yarn. It was the theory of deconstructing colors in modern painting translated to yarn.

One of a pair of portieres. Warp: two-ply wool yarn doubled and tightly twisted, three threads per centimeter. Dark blue with some lighter blue. Weft: two-ply wool yarn, six ends per centimeter. Light blue, medium blue, bright red, dusky rosa, beige, light brown, orange. All yarn is handspun and plant-dyed. Height: 340 cm, width 111 centimeters. Fringes on both ends. Full record: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023185980/portiere-1-fag. Note: Throughout the article, reference numbers have been replaced with links to the museum records.

Each yarn is specially spun for its location in the weaving, just as every nuance is specially blended for the painter’s brush, the jury concluded.

This is a form of expression that we don’t fully understand in our time. With few exceptions, and perhaps especially with Mrs. Hansen, tapestries from the Art Nouveau period worked with their imprecise colors. Yarn from carded-together wool gives a different appearance than the juxtaposition of pure color areas in painting. Frida Hansen, who drew for tapestries herself, was moreover clear over the need for good cartoons and in 1897 received a royal grant of 1000 kroner for a studio for pattern designing.

The first time The Norwegian Tapestry Studio [DNB] appeared was at the husflidsutstillningen [handcraft exhitibion] in Bergen in 1898. Among the things the press noted and was excited about was a pair of “distinctive portieres with dense flowers and transparent base…the see-through curtains, one of Mrs. Hansen’s artistic inventions.” A hanging in transparent weave with flowers in white and orange marked NABV 1898 X, which in 1962 was purchased by Kulturen in Lund [a museum in Sweden] is the earliest known example. (http://carl.kulturen.com/web/object/60480) so far. At that time the studio signed pieces with the original name, Norske Aklæde og Billedvæveri [NABV; Norwegian Weaving and Tapestry Studio], and had only reached example #10.

But it was at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 that Mrs. Hansen’s work caused a sensation. We quote the judges committee: “Our attention was immediately drawn to a whole group of transparent weavings in the form of portieres. The greatest honor is due to Mrs. Frida Hansen, who has created the compositions of these completely modern portieres. They reveal her deep knowledge of the possibilities of weaving, and that with nuanced areas in a limited number of strong yet well-balanced colors you can create the most enchanting decorative effects. These textiles in transparent tapestry are the only ones of that type in the exhibition and they are, we will declare in two words, truly new. These weavings are designed to work as portieres between adjoining rooms. They are woven in a way that allows a person in one room to see what is unfolding in another room. The weaving, which is created like other tapestry on an upright loom, is woven on the warp threads only in the areas that create the pattern. The warps are left bare in the areas that would have been a one-color background.

“As you will understand from this short explanation, this is tapestry in which you weave only the pattern and not the background, and it is through the free spaces between the warp threads that you can see what is happening on the other side. Therefor you need an especially meticulous composition for the work. Even though the jury regrets that such a technique requires a high sales price, we admire the skill with which they are made and spare no congratulations in connection with this new creation, of which several examples are laid out for us in a variety of lively colors.”

Then the jury switched over to discussing Frida Hansen’s tapestries from Gerhard Munthe’s cartoons. The DNB, Frida Hansen, and Gerhard Munthe all received gold medals.

When Frida Hansen returned to Oslo she was interviewed by Urd [a magazine], and she described her gold medal and the orders that came from museums in Copenhagen, Basel, Brno [in former Czechoslovakia] and Kensington. “‘It was especially the curtains in transparency that were sold at the exhibition, and now I have a new idea regarding them — ceramic beads. I think they will be beautiful — here you can see, I’ve made them myself,’ and she brought out some small things, glimmering in strange metal colors. ‘Don’t they remind you of antiquities, as from an old Egyptian find? They will form the sepals in flowers.’”

No examples of transparencies with beads have been found to date.

Frida Hansen had taken a patent out on her discovery. When the Norwegian Tapestry Studio was discontinued in 1904, she gave up her patent. There were several others who took up the technique. According to Einar Lexow, the most important weaver in the Gobelin and transparency technique, in addition to Frida Hansen, was Ulrikke Greve. Using her own designs, Greve wove the other hangings the Norske Folkemuseum received from the Haugen villa, commissioned between 1910-1914. These are a pair of portieres in front of one door and a single hanging in front of a door in the same room. They are more tame in their designs than Frida Hansen’s rooster portieres, they have almost rug-like patterns in subdued tones, the first in reds and greens on a rust-red warp (https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023185982/portiere); the other in green, lilac and beige tones on a deep red warp (https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023185981/portiere-1-fag). The yarn is hand-spun and carded together, from dyed wool.

Ulrikke Greve. Portiere. Full record: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023185982/portiere

Ulrikke Greve. Portiere. Full record: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023185981/portiere-1-fag

At Norway’s Jubilee Exhibition at Frogner in 1914 there was a large showing of transparent weaving. Frida Hansen delivered two hangings, Hvite Fugler [White Birds], a long, narrow panel, and a large rectangular hanging, Sommernattsdrøm [Summer Night’s Dream]. The last had a completely tapestry image with trees, greenery and water, all quite stylized. They were both particularly noted by Carl W. Schnitler in the official exhibition document, who determined that it was the technique that gave Summer Night’s Dream its dream-like effect.

Photo: Nasjonalmuseet/Annar Bjørgli https://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/samlingen/objekt/OK-1973-0063

Others who wove in the transparent technique around 1914 included the wife of Consul Robertson in Hammerfest (using a cartoon by Anette Schirmer); Ingeborg Arbo; Titti Karsten (sometimes with her own, and sometimes with her sister Marie’s designs); Ragna Nicolaisen; Agnes Røhr; and Aslaug Mohr in Bergen.

Ingeborg Arbo: Nasjonamuseet/Andreas Harvik. https://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/samlingen/objekt/OK-1991-0394

The Norsk Folkemuseum’s newest transparent curtains were also at the Jubilee Exhibition in 1914. They were woven by Miss Aagot Lund from her own design: large red rowanberry clusters and leaves in different shades of green and brown against a warp of medium blue, doubled, tightly twisted three-ply wool yarn. The wool yarn here was also dyed, carded together, and handspun.

Aagot Lund. Photo: Anne-Lise Reinsfelt. https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023193360/portiere-1-fag

Transparent weaving was taught in the tapestry course at Statens kvinnelige industriskole [National Women’s Arts and Design School] up through the mid-1920s. Husfliden [the Handcraft Association] in Oslo wove the last example of weaving in transparent technique, Ygdrasil, after a 1939 drawing by W. Nickelsen. Then it ended — unless there is still a romantic person sitting and weaving a dream into an open warp in this uniquely neo-romantic weaving technique.

Astrid Bugge (1902-1988) was a conservator and author of many articles in museum magazines and yearbooks, in addition to several books. She was appointed the Senior Conservator for the Norsk Folkemuseum in 1954.

Translated in March 2023 by Robbie LaFleur and Katherine Larson

¹A portiére is a curtain hung in a door opening, from the French word for door: porte. Wool transparent curtains or portieres were often sold as pairs, known as “et fag” in Norwegian.

Sources:

“Selvhjælp,” Stavanger Husflidsforenings Tidskrift, I. February 1897, I. November 1898.

Husmoderen, 1898, p. 250.

Norges Deltagelse i Verdensutstillingen i Paris i 1900. K.V. Hammer, Kra. 1904, page 175.

Urd, August 4, 1900, page 313.

Marie Karsten, Billedvæv og Prydsøm. Kunst og Kultur, 1912, page 61.

Schnitler, Carl W. Norges Jubileumsutstilling 1914, Officiel Beretning, Kra. V. II, p. 432.

Norske Kvinder, Kra. 1914, p. 421 ff. (Randi Blehr)

Einar Lexow: Moderne Decorativ Kunst i Norge. Kunst og Kultur 1919, p. 159.

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You can Count on Wool

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By Sølvi Westvang Skirbekk

This essay from the Anno Glomsdalmuseet, “Du kan stole på ull,” was translated by Katherine Larson.

No textile fiber has as strong a presence in the museum’s historical collections as wool. In past times, it’s hard to imagine people’s everyday lives in the biting cold of Norway’s interior, along our damp, stormy coastline, or in the festive interior of a church, without the valuable fibers of Norwegian sheep. Can we learn something from the use of resources in former times?

People with a sheep and a bucket. Rachel Haarseth, Anno Museum in North Østerdalen

Vital textiles

Through history sheep have given us materials from which we have made both work clothes and decorative textiles. Skilled hands have carefully transformed these fibers through shearing, washing, carding, combing, spinning, dyeing, weaving, knitting and sewing. Thus have our foremothers and forefathers made for themselves the vital textiles that they could count on – in their work and in life in general. In Anno’s collections we find work mitts, coverlets, skin blankets, wadmal trousers, work shirts, leggings, jackets, cushions, blankets and several other types of textiles where wool is used as a material, either in total or in part. Cloth remnants and yarn samples show how valuable a material wool was, especially when you had to spin the yarn or weave the cloth yourself. All these articles offer clear witness to the role wool played in the lives of people in our area.

Fabric scraps of different qualities and a selection of leftover yarns of various qualities and colors. Photos: Emir Curt

At Glomdal Museum we have a collection of nearly 100 houses. A person’s social status, the century in which they lived and their access to resources determined who lived in which houses, but there were some things most had in common. They were dependent on wool, and they had the knowledge of how to work it.

The drop spindle represents the knowledge of the hands and the maximum utilization of time that could not be wasted. One could always spin yarn on the drop spindle while doing something else. Anno Glomdal Museum

Adaptability

Sheep were domesticated over 10,000 years ago. Only the dog has been with us longer. Sheep played a key role as we developed agriculture, grazing in scrub and forested areas not easily reachable by farmers. Even today, this is one of a sheep’s capabilities that is highly valued.

The climate in our country, with its extreme changes in temperature and humidity, has contributed to the development of wool with a unique quality, a fine under wool [bunnull] and a protective outer hair [dekkhår]. Together these factors have made wool from Norwegian sheep quite effective at regulating temperature, but it also has a unique glossy quality, pills very little, and is better at holding its shape than its modern international competitors.

These are part of the reason that Norwegian wool is sought after by the modern textile industry. Its ability to “spring” back into its original form after being stretched makes Norwegian wool especially well suited to rugs, and furniture shows no marks as it does in those made of other fibers such as viscose. Did you know that statesmen walk on Norwegian wool every day in the White House in Washington D. C.?

Yarn qualities

In earlier times wool fibers were carded by hand. One could easily separate the under wool from the outer hair, sorting the fibers to suit the textile to be made. For clothing that would be close to the body the soft under wool was best, but for a rya or a wall hanging, the durable and glossy outer hair was preferred. Today wool is carded by machine, with the result that carded yarn consists of both types of fiber. No one produces combed (worsted) Norwegian wool. As a result we lose the potential from Norwegian under wool. If you want a soft and comfortable under garment [trøye] made from that wool, you have to make it yourself. It’s not impossible, but it requires a good deal of knowledge that is not readily available these days.

Thrifty livestock

Sheep were kept as domestic animals by all levels of society. The need for wool was large and sheep were thrifty animals to keep. They could graze on growth that was not accessible to other animals – or to people. In this way households were outfitted with clothes and tools that were exclusively made from local resources. The fiber was local, work tools were for the most part locally produced, and knowledge of the steps in processing was also local. When a pair of trousers was worn out, one repaired it with yarn and cloth that was also produced of the same local resources. When a mitten could no longer be repaired, it was used as insulation around the windows. In this way people and nature, both in their home and in the community to which they belonged, adapted to one another. Consumption was low, necessity could be great, but riches and possibilities were based on that which was to be found of resources and knowledge in the vicinity. Thus in the course of normal use, a piece of clothing could end up never leaving the community in which it was made.

Work mittens mended innumerable times. Emir Curt, Anno Glomdal Museum

A welcome income

Wool provided the basis for both home production of goods for sale and for larger factory production. The knitting of mittens and sweaters commissioned by the Handcraft Association [Husfliden] has provided a welcome extra income for families throughout the country. In 1785 the small industry Enighetsfabrikken was established in Stor-Elvdal, and it later become part of the basis for the successful textile factory Devold.

The extraordinary in the ordinary

It is wool’s fiber properties that give it such a large presence in museum collections. Here we find stockings with clear indications of long and careful use, and beautiful decorative textiles for church and home.

These stockings received a newly knitted foot when the earlier foot could no longer be mended. Anno Glomdal Museum

Some of these have clearly been repaired time and again with coarse materials, while on others time and exacting skill have been lavished, seemingly with eternity in mind. Wool fibers themselves are long lasting, and the tools for preparing yarn and cloth have traditionally been well cared for in homes and on farms. These are tools that carry with them stories of knowledge and resource utilization, of wealth and of hard times.

Beneath the decoratively patterned fabrics of different qualities and fibers lies a warm layer of wool batting. Emir Curt, Anno Trysil Engerdal Museum

Environmental enemy?

In a well meant sidetrack in 2006, climate activists, basing their activities on a metric for measuring the international textile industry’s climate footprint (the Higg Index), accused Norwegian wool of being the least sustainable fiber in which you could clothe yourself. Now wool has resumed its rightful place as the lasting, sustainable fiber that it truly is – still just as perfectly adapted to the climate that we live in.

In the excitement of giving consumers guidance in their choice of sustainable clothes, people forgot to take into account a textile’s lifespan. The Higg Index did not value a textile’s service life as a factor, and based its metric solely on the climate impact from production. Sheep are ruminants, and like cows they release gas – a known argument against animal products and materials. What the Higg Index forgot to evaluate was that wool clothes are the ones in our closets that we keep the longest and of which we take the most care. Many people have a national costume [bunad], an exclusive dress, costly to buy yet infused inside and out with life’s changes. One has a bunad for a long time. Wool underwear is often kept until it completely wears out: darned, repaired and used again. To maintain wool clothing has again become something to admire, with social media tips for visible and invisible mending shared by eager enthusiasts.

Agricultural- and climate-aware consumers are now for the most part united in their view that wool is a sustainable choice of materials. The understanding that production based on local and regional resources is sustainable has established itself for both food and textiles.

Lasting and timeless

We can draw inspiration from an earlier time’s use of resources. We can shop for quality clothes, make clothes ourselves, and we can lower our climate footprint by increasing our knowledge about washing and caring for the clothes that we already own.

Unfortunately the Norwegian textile industry is only minimally accommodating of Norwegian wool. In order to fully utilize the sustainable properties that wool embodies, you would have to take up wool cards yourself. But on the road towards your finished sweater, you can enjoy becoming part of the long line of those bearing these traditions. The number of artifacts from which to take inspiration in the museum’s collection is enormous, a fact that many designers have discovered.

Veronika Glitsch holds a doctorate in design, redesign and clothing. She is a textile designer who prefers to look back in time for inspiration. For her Bynhild Sweater she found inspiration in older sweaters from Byneset [in Trøndelag]. (Instructions for this sweater can be purchased. Instructions for a version of the original sweater are available via Byneset Husflidslag.) Photo: Svensson Glitsch

Sofa produced by Elverum Møbel- og Trevarefabrikk [Elverum furniture and wood products factory]. The upholstery is woven from Norwegian wool. Roger Johansen, Anno Glomdal Museum

Museum collections of the future

The story of Norwegian wool stands in stark contrast to the modern consumer society in which we live. The textile industry has a higher climate impact than ship traffic and air traffic combined. The dust in our homes is dominated by textile fibers processed with carcinogenic and DNA-damaging flame retardants. The mountains of refuse from Europe’s internet-purchased and returned clothes coming from the other side of the globe is a cause for concern that draws major media attention.

We don’t yet know how the future’s museum collections will reflect the profusion and abundance of fibers with which we live. Perhaps the largest paradox will be that the future’s museums reveal few traces of today’s intense overconsumption?

===

Sølvi Westvang Skirbekk is a museologist and curator with Anno Glomdalsmuseet, the cultural history museum in Hedmark. Anno Museum is a regional museum in eastern Norway; Glomdal Museum is a member of this regional museum.

Translated in April, 2023, by Katherine Larson, Affiliate Assistant Professor, Department of Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington, Seattle

Editor’s note, Veronika Glitch, whose sweater design is featured in a photo, held a very interesting TED talk, “The Power of Favorite Garments,” basically arguing that well-fitting clothes are more sustainable because you will wear them longer. Smart!

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

March 2024

Kristina Austi: Dialogue between the Ancient and the Digital

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Kristina Austi. “Swim here, swim here, little boy. I will give you a white shirt and a red ribbon!” (The phrase refers to a Lithuanian folk tale.)

By Kristina Austi

Background

Kristina Austi (former name Kristina Daukintytė Aas) was born in 1978 in Klaipėda, Lithuania, and now resides in Bergen, Norway. Austi’s multifaceted work spans digital jacquard weave, embroidery, installations, video, and collage. Her artistic inquiries challenge our perceptual understanding and the relationship we maintain with our surroundings, pushing the boundaries of textile art into new realms.

Kristina Austi

After graduating from the Bergen Academy of Art and Design in 2011, Austi’s journey in the textile arts has been marked by a profound engagement with digital Jacquard weaving since 2013. This technique, which marries traditional weaving methods with digital technology, has allowed her to explore the woven surface in innovative ways. Her work as a part-time textile designer at Innvik AS, a small weaving mill in Western Norway, further enriches her practice, blending industrial techniques with her artistic exploration.

For Austi, the allure of digital weaving lies in its ability to extend the ancient craft of weaving into the digital age, allowing for unprecedented creativity and precision. This fusion respects the past and embraces the future, reflecting Austi’s deep respect for textile tradition alongside her commitment to innovation.

Current exploration

In my latest endeavour, Hybrid, I venture into the realm where folklore, poetry, and advanced technology converge, creating a narrative fabric that weaves together the mystic charm of Lithuanian folktales with the profound verses of William Blake. This project is an artistic endeavour and a textual exploration that bridges centuries and disciplines. It represents a dialogue between the ancient and the digital, embodying a quest for a new aesthetic and conceptual vocabulary in textile art.

Kristina Austi. “And it grew both day and night. Till it bore an apple bright” Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen

Central to Hybrid is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) as more than just a tool—it is a collaborator in the creative process, pushing the boundaries of traditional craftsmanship and digital innovation. By feeding AI algorithms with images of my handcrafted weaves, I challenge them to reinterpret 16th-century tapestries. The outcomes are mesmerizing yet unsettling, blurring the lines between creator and creation and prompting a reevaluation of authenticity, originality, and the role of the machine in art.

The project further explores the potential of AI to generate novel patterns that draw inspiration from historical textiles while simultaneously questioning established notions of artistic genesis and authenticity. This inquiry extends into the domain of 3D printing, where digital weaving patterns are transformed into tangible models. These intricate structures, reminiscent of futuristic cityscapes or sophisticated microchips, serve not only as a testament to the versatility of weaving techniques but also as a metaphor for the intricate interplay between tradition and innovation.

Kristina Austi. “The Princess Tears”

The exhibition Hybrid encapsulates this duality, showcasing the collaboration between artisanal expertise and machine intelligence. It’s an invitation to perceive textile art as a tactile experience and a medium for conceptual exploration and technological experimentation. I aim to showcase the tangible outcomes of this artistic journey and initiate a conversation about the evolving landscape of art in the digital age.

Hybrid I marks the beginning of this larger project, with further developments and revelations anticipated in Part II, to be exhibited at KRAFT, Bergen, in April and May, 2024. One selected piece from this series will be displayed at the “Tendencies 24” exhibition at F15 in Moss from March to June. Later in 2024, I will show the project in Lithuania.

In 2023, I started my own company, VEVFT, together with three of my former students. This initiative is born out of a deep-seated desire to explore the boundaries of digital weaving myself and cultivate a thriving professional environment for this innovative craft in Norway.

Through VEVFT, I am dedicated to sharing the knowledge and insights I have garnered over years of experimenting and creating with digital looms. It is a platform for learning, collaboration, and experimentation designed to empower artists to harness the potential of digital weaving in their work. The establishment of this organization reflects my belief in the power of community and education in advancing the arts and crafts. It’s gratifying to witness the impact of these efforts, as a growing number of young artists are now embracing digital looms in Scandinavia. As digital weaving continues to evolve, so will the ways we think about, create, and interact with textiles.

March 2024

Editor’s note: The author sent a link to a review of her current show at the Soft gallery, with the pieces shown above, by Katia Maria Hassve for paragone.no. Because it is difficult to understand the impact of Austi’s tapestries with photos, it is fun to read Hassve’s reactions to seeing them in person. For example, “Turning to the right, I encounter another impressive tapestry with the text “Swim here, swim here, little boy, I will give you white shirt and red ribbon!” This piece immediately captures my attention. I begin to wonder: Is this a forest? Is the forest burning, or is something else happening? My gaze shifts to the stones in the water, and I ask myself if someone could drown there. Could someone drown in the tapestry itself? I notice that this seems more intricate, and I start to think that some form of data must have been used in the creation process. It’s almost like a woven snippet of a video game.”

See more of Austi’s work on her website, austikristina.com, and on Instagram:

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 cover In 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).

“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).

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

Dance Chain and Eternity

“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

“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. (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.

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donation to the Norwegian Textile Letter. Thank you!

Nordic News and Notes, December 2023

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Upcoming Webinar Featuring Norwegian Knitters Arne & Carlos

“Healing Trauma through Craft.” World Hope Forum. December 17, 2023, 9 am-11 am CST. Register for free.

Recent events continue to challenge our sense of humanity on an international scale and so the next edition of World Hope Forum has gathered speakers who practice mending, caring, and giving; a hopeful attempt before the Holidays to knit society back together. Among the featured guests are well-known authors Arne & Carlos: “Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrisson are highly regarded fashion designers, textile artists, YouTubers, and authors. Their work is highly influenced by their Scandinavian background and everyday life in rural Norway. They work under their artist name ARNE & CARLOS, established in 2001. Today, the duo designs for and works closely with Rowan and Regia yarns. They have also written ten books.”

Upcoming Webinar on Norwegian Knitting History

“The History of Norwegian Sweaters.” Presentation by Laurann Gilbertson, Chief Curator, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. Thursday, January 4, 2024, 6:30 pm CST. Sponsored by the Sons of Norway, Nidaros Lodge #1-001, Minneapolis, MN. Click here to register. (Trouble registering, or accessing the Zoom event? Email Carolyn at cjtownsen@comcast.net.)

Learn about the history of different types and styles of Norwegian sweaters, including Setesdal, Fana, Marius, and Olympic. Laurann Gilbertson will also talk about the symbolism behind some of the patterns and colors on sweaters made today. Those attending are invited to wear their sweaters! If you do, make sure to have your camera on!!

Upcoming Webinar on Norse Textiles

“Norse Textiles and Women in the North Atlantic: Iceland and Greenland from the 8th Century to the 15th Century. Sunday, December 10, 1 pm EST. Free. Register here.

The International Hajji Baba Society (Washington DC) will host a Zoom webinar by Dr. Michèle Hayeur Smith. The webinar is free of charge, but preregistration is required.

Dr. Hayeur Smith is an experienced anthropological archaeologist who has done extensive field work, primarily in Iceland and Greenland, to examine a large number of textile fragments from the Viking era up to the 15th century. She has also examined trade records from the period, which show that the textiles were not only critical to survival in a cold climate, but also key to the economy of these North Atlantic cultures. She looks at the evolution of the weaving structures to corroborate hypotheses regarding developments of the woven products to different clothing requirements between the two islands, to their use in local and international trade, and in response to the advent of increasing cold during the Little Ice Age.

Sihren Dahle: Tapestry and Concrete are a Winning Combination

Norske Kunsthåndverkeres Årsutstilling 2023 [The Annual Craft Exhibition 2023], sponsored by the Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts, is the largest display of contemporary crafts in Norway. 63 works by 56 artists are on display at the new Nasjonalmuseet through the end of December. Many textile works are included each year; this year, 17. The full catalog is linked here.

This year the winner of the Artisan Prize for the most significant work in the exhibit went to Sihren Dahle for Concrete Life (Gladengveien 14), 2022.

The jury wrote about her work: “The contrast between the soft tapestry and the hard concrete tapestry frame evokes a sense of unease that corresponds to changes in the urban space. The uneasiness is heightened by the unclear state of the building; it may be in the process of being built up or torn down. The motif gave the jury immediate associations with a tendency in today’s Oslo, where existing buildings are demolished and new ones are built without thinking about the importance of architecture in telling the city’s history. Among other things, the dismantling of the Y block comes to mind. While parts of the city’s heritage are quickly disappearing, it takes a lot of time to hand-weave jacquard.”

See more of Sihren Dahle’s work at her website.

Take an Online Fiber Arts Class: Vesterheim Folk School

Cozy up at home this winter and learn traditional fiber arts from Vesterheim Folk Arts School. Each instructor is an expert in their craft and skilled at instructing people of all levels online from anywhere in the world. Find out more and register today.

Knit a Norwegian-Inspired Hat with Kate Running, January 6, 2024.
Knitting Selbu Mittens with Jane Addams, January 7, 2024.
Exploring Hardanger Embroidery with Shan Rayray, February 6, 2024.
Introduction to Tapestry Weaving: Level 2 with Laura Berlage, February 8, 2024.

Take an Online Fiber Arts Class: American-Swedish Institute

The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, offers in-person and virtual Nordic handcraft classes. These virtual fiber arts classes are coming up.
Wet Felted Soaps with Kayla Ann. December 10, 2023.
Felted Folk Ornaments with Kayla Ann, December 13, 2023.
Needle Felted Gnome with Laura Berlage, December 15, 2023.
Stamped Tea Towels with Kayla Ann, January 18, 2024.

Reproducing a Patterned Silk Fabric takes Strength

Åse Eriksen is known for her research into Viking-era textiles. She described a new project from a different time period in a Facebook post on September 16. Be sure to watch the video she made – it take muscles to weave the silk fabric! She wrote, “Project: Making a pull loom to replicate a patterned silk fabric woven in Italy in the 13th century. In Norway, a few fragments of this material are preserved in churches, and now in museum magazines. A “pull-loom” in the Middle Ages was handled by several people. A project to study the weavers of the past, how they worked and produced the most incredible fabrics with completely different tools than we have. It has taken time to collect equipment and materials for the project, and a lot of trial and error to find good solutions. The most important equipment is a harness board (inherited by Sissel C.) and metal heddles with 10 gr weights, which enables me to pull/pull the pattern which is around 8 kg (thanks for help Julie H.). If I manage to attach a small film, you will see that I both push the harness warp for the pattern weft and pull the same warp for the bottom weft, [in the past] this work was shared by a “draw-boy” and a weaver. It was fun to weave as I found the rhythm of the work and became friends with the thin silk threads.”

Happy holidays, and thank you to everyone who helps support the Norwegian Textile Letter with donations to cover expenses. Your financial support is crucial and very much appreciated. Thank you for being a subscriber!

Robbie LaFleur

Here is the easy-to-use link to donate:

Nordic News and Notes (November 2023): Bunads

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Webinar from Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

Making Folk Costumes w/ Barbro Storlien: History of Craftsmanship, Patience & the Love of Traditions (via the Vesterheim YouTube channel) November, 2023.

From the Vesterheim website: Barbro Tronhuus Storlien grew up in a community strongly influenced by folk art and has made a living out of folk costumes and cultural intangible heritage. She is a certified maker of folk costumes, a writer, and the chairperson of Norges Husflidslag, the Norwegian Association of Arts and Crafts. In 2019 she published her first book, Barbro broderer [Embroidery by Barbro], and she will publish her second book this year. Storlien has her own studio and teaches the art of embroidery and the making of folk costumes.

Barbro Storlien had a large audience for this webinar and the Q & A and chat boxes were continuously scrolling with comments and questions. Obviously there is wide interest in traditional Norwegian costume.

Storlien is passionate about the value of bunad traditions and preserving knowledge of the handcrafts necessary to make them. “In a time when we spend too much time on our phones and our computers and still manage to complain about lack of time, we need to take a deep bow to generations before us and pick up our tools, especially our needles, in their honor.”

Norwegians wear their bunads for special occasions such as weddings, christenings, and school graduations. “And sometimes at your father’s 80th birthday party,” she noted. Every folk costume has two stories: the one we can see, and the one that has to be told. The one you can see immediately is the style and embroidery, the place it was made. There are over 450 varieties. Equally important are the stories that are not evident — who made it? Who used it before you? So the costumes are both beautiful and practical; Barbro noted, “As long as the bunad is clean and well-fitting, you always have something to wear and something to talk about.”

In the last century bunads have been used primarily for festive occasions, but some costumes based on folk dress were used as everyday clothing up to more recent times. The Hallingdal bunad was worn up to the 1970s. The shirts underneath might be a patterned fabric for everyday; white shirts were for formal wear. Barbro heard that many patterned shirts were made from fabric sent by American relatives after the war. “There was even a Micky Mouse shirt, I was told. Sadly, I haven’t seen it.”

In the 1970s Barbro knew she wanted to do something practical that would occupy her hands and her mind; an office job seemed unappealing. She discovered that she could get a diploma in the handcraft art of making bunads, combining her love of history and tradition. “There is so much feeling and history in these costumes,” Barbro explained.

Will the bunad tradition continue? If you ask a woman over 60 where her bunad was made, she could likely tell you who made all the various portions. This was a time when bunad-making skills were passed down through families. These days, when manufactured bunads are purchased and not made at home, the bunad has less meaning as a form of community and connection.

Yet, Barbro is optimistic. When she began teaching embroidery and bunad-making skills around 2007, her students were primarily grandmothers working on costumes for their families; now she is seeing more mothers, and even young people in their 20s who are making their own bunads. Barbro related that today at least 80% of adult Norwegian women own a bunad, and 20% of men, and the tradition is getting stronger for men. “It’s about belonging. It’s a love affair with the bunad.”

BBC Culture Article on Gender-neutral Folk Costumes

Tyril Skaar retained a woman’s blouse in their gender-neutral bunad. Photo: Tyril Skaar

“The Scandinavian Folk Clothing Right for Now,” by Matilda Welin. BBC, January 23, 3023

The article profiles Norwegian and Swedish attempts to find non-binary forms of folk costume that both honor tradition and are more inclusive of gender-fluid wearers. In Norway, Tyril Skaar, who is non-binary and transmasculine, had a woman’s bunad since confirmation, but it sat unused in their closet. Skaar developed a new bunad that incorporated portions of their old bunad, with a more masculine presentation. They were worried that traditionalists might be critical of change, but received positive feedback.

In Sweden, Fredy Clue collaborated with artist Ida Björs to develop the Bäckadräkten unisex folk dress. They researched historical clothing, traveled to culturally-rich areas in Sweden, and held focus groups with five young, non-binary people.

The article includes much more. The title seems appropriate, “The Scandinavian Folk Clothing Right for Now.” It struck me that nothing seemed radical. All of the new variants of meaningful costume are beautifully tailored and thoughtful — both in the incorporation of a regional and national expression, and in skillful construction and quality of the materials.

Traveling Exhibit from the Nasjonalmuseet

Márjá Karlsen. Screenshot from the Nasjonalmuseet YouTube video about her project.

Skakke Folkedrakt [Queer Costume]. Oslo, Nasjonalmuseet. In various locations.

From the website:” Many Norwegians feel a close attachment to folk costumes like the bunad and the kofte. These traditional garments can generate a strong sense of belonging, but also of alienation. They carry messages about where the wearer comes from and what they stand for, but they can also be worn in the quest for acceptance and inclusion.”

Six artists are participating in the multi-year project. One artist of Sami descent, Márjá Karlsen, is deeply researching kommagband patterns. The designs in the bands used in Sami gáktis (the traditional Sami dress) reveal the region and family of the wearer. But how can she reclaim the patterns for her family, who moved from Sweden to Norway generations ago, abandoning their ties to traditional Sami dress? In her project “Láigecála” [yarn script], she is using handcraft as a personal and political tool to reclaim the culture of her origins.

Read about all the artists, and watch short videos about their projects, here.

One More Article about Bunads

Marthe Mølstre, who also owns a traditional bunad, in a festdrakt of her own design. Photo: Marthe Mølstre

“Folk er positive til festdrakter: – Det som er artig, er at det er ingen regler.” [People are positive towards festive-costumes, and the fun part is that there are no rules.] NRK Nordland, May 9, 2022. In Norwegian.

This article was published shortly before Syttende Mai in 2022, when Norwegian were looking forward to gathering for the annual National Day celebration after two years of covid isolation. According to a survey by NORSTAT, four of ten women planned to wear a bunad, and one in ten men. Others were planning to wear festdrakt – festive, creative costume that didn’t follow the traditional, formal, geographically-based rules of traditional Norwegian bunads. Interest in creating festive-costumes with a personal touch is becoming more popular, often inspired by the fantasy-bundads from Eva Lie Design.

Is this a problem? A threat to the strong bunad tradition in Norway? Perhaps not. Barbara Tronhus Storlien, Chair of Norsk Husfliden [Norwegian Handcraft Association], commented, “Some people think it is wonderful to have a bunad that reveals where you are from. And then there are some who would like festive dress that expresses them personally, a dress in which they can put their own creativity and fantasy.” Bunads continue to be important, Storlien said, and many people value bunads passed on through generations. She stressed that when bunads are used, attention should be paid to using the proper accessories.

In the survey, 69% of respondents said they didn’t think the new creative festive-costumes would water down the bunad tradition. 23% answered that they were worried.

The article ended by quoting Marthe Mølstre, who had sewn a festive-costume with silk from Thailand. She also owns a traditional bunad from Sunnhordland, and plans to keep wearing it. “It’s the finest clothing I own. But it’s also fun that I can mix it up.”

November 2023. Happy holidays!

Thank you to everyone who helps support the Norwegian Textile Letter with donations to cover expenses. Your financial support is crucial and very much appreciated. Thank you for being a subscriber!

Robbie LaFleur

Here is the easy-to-use link to donate: