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Weaving and Fiber Classes at Vesterheim Folk Art School

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By Robbie LaFleur

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa, has offered weaving classes since Lila Nelson, former Curator of Textiles, taught her first class in 1970.  Appropriately, the weaving studio is named after Lila. That means that  2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Norwegian weaving education at the Museum and Folk Art School. 

In addition to American teachers steeped in Norwegian techniques, instructors from Norway are on the roster nearly every year. The first Norwegian instructor in 1978 was Elsa Eikås Bjerck, and the most recent instructor was Marta Kløve Juuhl in 2018. Marta’s 2013 classes in warp-weighted loom weaving were so popular that she returned in 2018 to teach another set of students. Marta is likely responsible for the building of many warp-weighted looms since her classes.  In particular, Melba Granlund from Minneapolis, Minnesota, has become very proficient and is teaching warp-weighted loom classes at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota and the American Swedish Institute. Vesterheim Folk Art School has been deeply influential in building a strong base of Scandinavian weaving expertise and interest among American weavers. 

Elsa Eikås Bjerck was the first Norwegian instructor to teach weaving at Vesterheim. This piece replicates an early bed pillow from Jølster in Sogn, Norway, in plant-dyed wool on linen. The mittens were done in nålbinding, an ancient looping technique. Photo: Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

Vesterheim Folk Art School typically offers eight or nine weaving classes each year. Many students return for classes frequently. Besides excellent instructors, students appreciate the museum collection; it’s a special perk to view many historical artifacts woven in the technique you are studying.

This is one of my favorite tapestries from the Vesterheim collection that I show to my Billedvev students. Photo: Robbie LaFleur

Students are asked on their evaluation sheets, “What brought you to Vesterheim and what keeps you coming back?“ Many people write a variant of this comment: “the beauty of the museum collections, the buildings, and lovely Decorah.” Decorah is a friendly, walkable town with great restaurants, surrounded by beautiful walking and biking trails. 

Weaving is core to the Folk Art School, but other fiber class offerings have been growing. One Norwegian instructor for 2020, Kristi Nilsen, will be teaching a knitting class. 

The Nordic Knitting Weekend actually consists of two separate tracks of four classes each.  Class offerings that weekend include Introduction to Sámi Knitting, Norwegian Hat, Singlade Balls, Faroese Footlets, Introduction to Norwegian Knitting, and Boat’s Bow—A Sámi Mitten. 

Class enrollment for 2020 begins on December 9; visit vesterheim.org for class details, and sign up early! 

Further reading on Vesterheim classes:  

Granlund, Melba. “Warp-Weighted Loom Classes at Vesterheim, July 2013.” Norwegian Textile Letter, November 2013. 

Granlund, Melba. “Warped (or Wrapped?) in Time.” Norwegian Textile Letter, August 2018. 

LaFleur, Robbie. “Marta and the Potato Analogy,” robbielafleur.com, August 24, 2013.

LaFleur, Robbie. “Traditional Icelandic Rya Knots: A Contemporary Adaptation.” robbielafleur.com, August 20, 2013.

 

A Forgotten Artist Remembered: The Tapestry Weaving of Pauline Fjelde

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Editor’s note: This article appeared in 2004, when The Norwegian Textile Letter was only published in print–in black and white. (Vol. XI, No. 1, November 2004). To celebrate the end of the first quarter-century of the newsletter, it is appropriate to revisit this article by Lila Nelson. Lila was the long-time Textile Curator at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, one of the founders of The Norwegian Textile Letter, and a mentor to many weavers in the Scandinavian tradition. Lila would love the fact that her words can now be accompanied by many inspiring photos.

By Lila Nelson

Pauline Fjelde. Circa 1900. Photo from the Minnesota Historical Society. 

Pauline Fjelde (1861-1923) deserves recognition and remembrance beyond the circle of family and friends who recall her with love and admiration. Her strength, kindness, and generosity alone make her a special human being. But, in addition, her skill and artistry in embroidery and weaving were of the highest level. Unlike her talented brother Jakob, however, a sculptor whose works are recognized even beyond the Norwegian-American community, Pauline has been largely forgotten. Many Minnesotans know Jakob’s bronze statue on the grounds of Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis, for which he won a medal at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. But very few know that at the same exposition Pauline and her sister Thomane were similarly honored for the first embroidered depiction of the Minnesota State Flag.

Minnesota’s first state flag, embroidered by the Fjelde sisters. Photo from the Minnesota Historical Society. http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10335604

Norwegians in America, published in 2002, for example, mentions Jakob as well as his talented son Paul, but ignores Pauline and Thomane. Attention should be given to the significant production of the Fjelde sisters, who from around 1890 to 1918 supplied the important families of Minneapolis with exquisitely embroidered domestic linens of every kind.

Fjelde Sisters receipt. Photo provided by Charlotte Nordstrom.

They also produced many banners for Norwegian organizations as well as regimental and state flags.

The Luren Singing Society, which is North-America’s oldest male singing society, was formed in 1868. Owned by, and photo provided by, the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.

And they taught their skills to niece Amy, who continued an embroidery shop in downtown Minneapolis until 1959. This article, however, will focus its concerns on the weaving of Pauline, with the re-entry of Thomane as a partner who, near the end of Pauline’s life, completed a final section of her sister’s most famous work.

A number of factors in Pauline Fjelde’s early life were important to her future development. The role of her family was significant. The sixth child of Paul and Claudine Fjelde, she grew up in a modest but comfortable home near Aalesund, Norway, supported by her father’s furniture business. Known as an accomplished cabinetmaker and wood carver, he must have set a high standard of craftsmanship for all his progeny. Pauline showed an early interest in drawing and painting taught in her grammar school, and she liked working with bright colored yarns while learning handwork from her mother. The family appears to have remained close-knit even as an ocean divided it when emigration to America began.

From left:  Mrs. Claudine Fjelde (wife of Paul, Pauline’s mother); Herman Fjelde; Pauline Fjelde (back); Jakob Fjelde, and Thomane B. Fjelde Hansen (front). Date: ca. 1890. From the Minnesota Historical Society. http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10783197

Another factor, unfortunate in itself, affected Pauline’s early life. Around the age of twelve she caught what the family called a “crippling disease” that spread through her home valley. The result was a permanent curvature of the spine and a general physical frailty that made drawing, painting, and embroidery likely interests for her to develop.

The family began dividing in 1871, when the oldest son Oswald left for America, followed shortly by father Paul, who hoped to relocate his furniture business. But his death in 1873 from smallpox left a wife and seven children in Norway. Oswald remained in the United States, moving to Minneapolis in 1881. Prior to this time, the talented fourth son Jakob left to study in Oslo and then at Copenhagen’s Academy of Fine Arts. During his Copenhagen study, he helped establish Pauline as a needlework instructor in Copenhagen and met his future wife Margarethe Madsen. In 1887, after Jakob had studied in Rome and Pauline had probably returned to Aalesund, the two immigrated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, preceded slightly earlier by Henry, another brother. And a year later, they were followed by sister Thomane, brother Herman, and mother Claudine.

Minneapolis, a rapidly growing city with a Norwegian population of over 12,000, was becoming a cultural center for Norwegian-Americans. Already in 1888 Pauline was listed in the City Directory as an embroidress for a Mrs. Emma Snodgrass, where Thomane also worked while brother Herman attended the University of Minnesota. Only two brothers, Thomas and Klaus, remained in Norway; but regular letters kept them in close touch.

Fjelde Sisters business card. Photo provided by Charlotte Nordstrom.

These ongoing family connections were undoubtedly significant throughout Pauline’s life. In 1890, sister Thomane and Pauline began an embroidery business that continued in various locations until 1918. From about 1910, however, much of the work was done by their niece Amy Fjelde, daughter of brother Oswald. Amy took over the business around 1918, maintaining a shop in downtown Minneapolis until 1959. Other nieces at ages eleven and sixteen, Pauline C. and Fredrikke Fjelde, lived with “Tanta Paula” when their father Herman died. Recollections by the children are of a kind and loving person who was also intelligent, well read, and lively. Her generous nature evidently extended beyond the family, however, because she welcomed others into her home and had a wide varied circle of friends. It appears likely that the family connections must have been invaluable when Pauline began her more and more consuming interest in tapestry.

To begin the story of that development, I would like to quote directly from Gail Aanenson’s unpublished 1971 masters thesis on Pauline Fjelde (Chapter 2, Pgs 17-18):

In December of 1910, Pauline Fjelde returned to Europe again. A writer in the Minnesota Posten in 1965 states that Pauline Fjelde went to Europe at that time to study weaving. She had two aims: one was to create a monument to the American Indian and the other was to begin an arts and crafts movement among the Norwegian-American people comparable to the one in Norway. 34 (“Famous Minneapolis Tapestry at Norweg. Museum for Harald’s Visit,” Minnesota Posten, November 18, 1965)

Miss Fjelde wrote in a Norwegian-America publication, Kvindens Magasin, that for a long time she had wanted to make a large tapestry. She went to Copenhagen where she gave the Danish painter Hans Andersen Brendekilde the assignment of making a preliminary sketch of the tapestry which was based on a theme from Longfellow’s poem, “Hiawatha.” She had earlier embroidered figures of Hiawatha and Minnehaha. 35 (Pauline Fjelde, “Kunstvavning,” Kvindens Magasin, 6:3 March 1915).

In Denmark, she saw the Gobelin weaving made for the Ridersalon in the palace at Fredriksborg and immediately set out to study this weaving in Copenhagen. Later she went to Paris to inspect the weaving at the Gobelin factories where she studied with a Mr. Gabriel Gonnet. She was particularly impressed by the tapestry “Vertumne and Pomone” done by Gorguet which she saw at the Luxembourg Palace. 36 (ibid.)

While in France, she ordered from the Gobelin factory all the yarns she needed for the Hiawatha tapestry. Miss Fjelde had sent to Minneapolis over 500 shades of yarn to be used for the work.37 (Gudrun Hansen, personal interview, Minneapolis, November 1969; Pauline Fjelde Pratt, personal interview, Grandin, North Dakota, April 1970; Florence Fjelde, personal interview, Minneapolis, April 1970)

After studying Gobelin weaving, Miss Fjelde traveled to Norway to learn Norwegian billedvavning (Picture Weaving) techniques. It is not clear where or with whom she studied, but she made reference to Frida Hansen, a Miss Christensen and Karen Meidal in the article written for Kvindens Magasin. 38 (Pauline Fjelde, “Kunstvavning,” Kvindens Magasin, 6:4, March, 1915) From Norway also she had a loom and large quantities of yarn sent to the United States. 39 (Pauline Fjelde Pratt, personal interview, Grandin, North Dakota, May 1970)

Miss Fjelde’s stay in Europe was one and one half years. When she returned to Minneapolis she immediately began weaving.

Pauline’s years of work with embroidery undoubtedly were helpful when she turned to weaving. Even so, her progress in an area requiring different tools, materials, and techniques was impressive. (A 1994 article about the Hiawatha Tapestry in the April Sons of Norway Viking mentions in passing that Fjelde studied “embroidery and weaving” in Copenhagen when living there in the 1880s, but there are no indications that she was weaving at that time.) Within a couple of years of her return from Europe she had produced several worthy pieces and possibly had already warped her large upright loom for her most ambitious work.

We know of two weavings which probably preceded the Hiawatha Tapestry, but we do not
know on what loom they were woven. The first, reproduced in a black and white photo (Figure
54, p. 65) in Gail Aanesen’s thesis, (18-14” x 26-1/8” with fringes on the long sides) appears to be a table runner or possibly simply a study in the type of traditional Norwegian tapestry weaving
sometimes called “rutevev” or square weave, popular especially along Norway’s west coast for
coverlets in various geometric designs. Colors were joined through various ways of interlocking, producing sturdy and often reversible objects. Typical designs were variations of crosses, diamonds, squares, and eight-pointed stars. Whereas many of the older pieces had an all-over design, Pauline, who may have originated her motif, chose a central focus, mirror-imaged on either side. It appears from the photograph as if joins are in double or single interlock.

Photo from the Minnesota Historical Society, “Interior of Pauline Fjelde’s home, 4715 Fifteenth Avenue South, Minneapolis.” No date given. Perhaps the square weave piece on the chair to the front right is the piece described? The cartoon of Hiawatha by Brendekilde can be seen on the far wall and Pauline’s loom to the left of it. http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10704164

The “Eider Duck” tapestry (55-1/2” x 69-1/2”) was designed by the Norwegian artist Thorolf Holmboe, and marked a turn from the traditional rutevev to the “billedvev” (picture weaving) tradition, which introduced other techniques to solve new problems. (Aanenson thesis, Figures
59, 60, 61, pages 71-73) Non-geometric designs could not be woven across the loom but had to
be built up in specific areas, making other types of color joins essential. The Eider Duck does have a woven “frame” which would have necessitated an interlock or sewn join along the sides where the frame joined the central motif. All other lines, however, are exuberantly curvilinear and probably were executed by the Gobelin slit technique. The printed photographs give evidence of slits. Whereabouts of this tapestry are unknown, but it had in the 1970s
showed evidence of damage from dry cleaning and exposure to light.

“The Eider Duck.” Photo provided by Charlotte Nordstrom.

The materials for the previous two tapestries, which I have not seen, are described by Aanenson as linen and wool. My own recent examination of Fjelde’s later works reveal warps of “fiskegarn,” the tightly spun seine cotton used for this purpose by some tapestry weavers in Norway since the 1900s and possibly earlier. The wefts, about which I will go into detail later, are a fine two-ply wool, which Fjelde combined in three strands for rich color variations.

If the Hiawatha Tapestry was begun in 1912, the Animal Kingdom and the Nisser tapestries,
supposedly woven about 1913 and 1915 respectively, must have been done on another perhaps smaller loom. There is no mention in any sources, however, of other looms. (Claudia Pratt, a descendant of Pauline Fjelde’s brother Herman, owns an upright loom given her by her grandmother Pauline Claudine Henchen Fjelde Pratt, who died in 1978; but it probably dates from the thirties and, according to Claudia, was too small for executing the Hiawatha tapestry.) Both of these were designed by others, the Animal Kingdom by Thorold Holmboe and the Nisser by an unknown Norwegian painter; and both incorporate billedvev as well as Gobelin weaving techniques.

Nisser Tapestry

The Nisser tapestry (36” high plus 4” fringes each side, and 25” wide) was woven as seen, from bottom to top. [The tapestry is owned by the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, cataloged as “The Elves.”] Warp is 12/9 “fiskegarn” [seine twine] set about 10 ends per inch and tied off with overhand knots. The weft is a fine two-ply wool, used usually in three strands, with about 17 picks per inch. All ends have been needled back into the work, so the tapestry is reversible; in fact, the reversed woven initials of the weaver indicate that the side viewed as the front at present was originally the back. Perhaps the extensive fading of colors on the “right” side was the reason for this change.

Photo from the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.

The Nisser has a childlike appeal, depicting twoof the tiny Norwegian beings who guard the
family farm but resort to mischief if not provided with bowls of porridge. Here the magpie is
taunting them by stealing the spoon from their bowl. The flat background gives way to an impression of perspective and depth, and the large areas of snow are more in evidence than the usual stylized design elements in billedvev. However, the dark outlining of all major objects is typical of billedvev. This outlining, as well as the woven side borders, is achieved through single interlock. Short slits are also used as design elements. While an effective use of color and outlining and a general competence is alrendy evident, some exposed warps and slight
awkwardness in facial delineation makes me surmise that this might have been one of Fjelde’s
earliest tapestries.

Animal Kingdom Tapestry

This detail from “Animal Kingdom” shows a charming fox. Photo provided by Charlotte Nordstrom.

“The Animal Kingdom” (67” high with 6” fringes, 55 ‘4” wide, sett about 10 ends per inch, about 17 picks per inch) portrays whimsical and almost childlike animal figures–a fox, a resting bear and a monumental owl–in a realistic fashion but set against a flat ground filled with stylized mushrooms, flowers, and trees. [The tapestry is owned by the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum; the record is here.) The colors, now very faded, were once bright and warm. These elements relate to billedvev, but they are rendered in primarily Gobelin techniques. There appears to be no evidence of the dovetailing or broad hatching techniques typical of billedvev. Like The Nisser, however, weaving is vertical with top and bottom knotted warp fringes and is completely reversible. Brief slits are much in evidence, but longer joins are single interlocked, as is the occasional dark outlining of motifs.

Photo from the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.

Of particular and previously unmentioned interest in “The Animal Kingdom” are, along the
lower border, its two woven signatures. To the left are the familiar joined P and F of Pauline
Fjelde. But on the right are a T joined to a lower H, and these must surely identify Thomane Fjelde, married in 1894 to J. Martin Hansen. This makes much more plausible the family’s
information that Thomane completed a final unfinished portion of The Hiawatha tapestry either before or after Pauline’s death in 1923. The skill required for that complex work could hardly have been developed without some considerable prior experience.

Both the Nisser and Animal Kingdom tapestries are in the collection of Vesterheim, the Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa.

The Hiawatha Tapestry

While a few Norwegian immigrant women were weaving tapestries during the arts and crafts
movement at the turn of the 20th century, most were in the style and techniques of geometric designs as found on earlier rural Norwegian coverlets. Fjelde instead expressed her interest
in the American Indian through a pictorial tapestry which combined elements of both the
Gobelin and billedvev traditions. Her subject, based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem
The Song of Hiawatha, depicts the young warrior returning to the wigwam of Nokomis and his
beloved Minnehaha with a slain deer over his shoulders.

Photo from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Pauline Fjelde’s bobbins. Photo provided by Charlotte Nordstrom.

The 8 1/2 x 10 foot tapestry is woven with a warp of 12/9 fiskegarn sett at 13 ends per inch and a weft of fine 2 ply wool used in three strands on standard pointed wood bobbins. The warp is very likely to be of Norwegian origin, but the source of the weft is as yet undetermined.

When the Scottish weaver Archie Brennan, once director of the Edinburgh Tapestry Company, examined a sample of the yam in March 2003, he speculated that it might be from Gobelin because it was similar to yarn from that source used in Edinburgh. Attempts are being made to follow up on his suggestion. Family members have indicated a palette of 500 weft colors, which seems somewhat dubious until one recognizes the mathematical possibilities for mixing of initial colors were even fifty or less. Woven on a high warp loom in the typical side to side continental fashion, the weft becomes the vertical hanging element. It is not known if Fjelde wove with the front or the back facing her, nor do we know the nature of the cartoon supplied by the designer Brendekilde. Ends are cut short on the back; some are knotted and others are carried as far as two inches from one motif to another. Border warp fringes on the sides are secured with overhand knots. The piece has two signatures in the lower right, the woven letters “PF” and the embroidered full name “Pauline Fjelde.”

Photo provided by Charlotte Nordstrom.

The style of the main subject is realistic and painterly, faithfully and expertly reproduced in
yarn by the weaver. The sun and shade dappled forest background is achieved through subtle color blending, hatching, and effective line emphasis through open slits. Awareness of perspective is evident in the large figure of Hiawatha, right foreground, turned toward the small figures of the women before their wigwam, and the muted colored Minnehaha Falls behind
them.

The strong four-sided, six-inch wide woven border of the tapestry adds immeasurably to its total effect. It consists of 43 vignettes depicting in stylized silhouetted shapes scenes from the
everyday life of the Indian. All are in a soft grayed brown against a lighter ground with simplified uncluttered forms, giving a sense of ritual importance to each. Seemingly simple in execution, they are framed by narrow single-interlocked borders on each side plus an additional border of stepped diagonals.

Photo provided by Charlotte Nordstrom.

Further, the scene is identified by the expertly woven words from Longfellow’s poem:

Photo provided by Charlotte Nordstrom.

Through their thoughts they heard a footstep,
Heard a rustling in the branches,

And with glowing cheek and forehead,
With the deer upon his shoulders,
Suddenly from out the woodlands,

Hiawatha stood before them.

Reverse of “Hiawatha,” provided by the Minnesota Historical Society. Curator Sondra Reierson wrote, ” The reverse was most useful for establishing true color – fading from light exposure is limited, but noticeable in direct comparison.”

Leg detail; photo provided by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Displayed numerous times in Midwestern museums, including the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Walker Museum as well as Vesterheim in Decorah, lowa, Marion Nelson also considered the Hiawatha Tapestry a perfect work for his NORSK I AMERIKA exhibition in Hamar, Norway, in 1988. “It represents,” he said, “Norwegian craftsmanship applied to a distinctly American subject. It is truly Norwegian-American.

As we recognize the broad renewal of appreciation and respect for tapestry weaving in much of our world today, we can also laud Pauline Fjelde for her mastery of the traditions of medieval Europe as well as the billedvev tradition of Norway and for skillfully making them both her own.

Editor’s Addendum:

Special thanks to Sondra Reierson, curator at the Minnesota Historical Society; Charlotte Pratt Nordstrom; and Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum for the photos in this reprint.

The Hiawatha Tapestry has been acquired and conserved by the Minnesota Historical Society with funds from the Paul D. F. Pratt and Marguerite Olson Pratt Fund at InFaith Foundation. Paul Douglas Fjelde Pratt was Pauline G. Fjelde’s great nephew, Pauline C. Fjelde Pratt’s son, and Charlotte Pratt Nordstrom’s father.

Charlotte Pratt Nordstrom, a relative of Pauline Fjelde, added information that reinforces the challenge of this huge tapestry. “Pauline worked on her tapestry for 10 years, from 1913 to 1923, and passed away just before it was completed in 1923. Her sister, Thomane, completed the unfinished portion of the border.” 

Information on the Hiawatha Tapestry will be available on the website of the Minnesota Historical Society via Collections Online in the coming months (item 2018.73.1). It is not on view currently.

William Becker wrote an article highlighting Pauline Fjelde in Minnesota History: “A Theory: The Origin of the Minnesota State Flag,” Spring 1992, p. 3+. There aren’t definitive answers to why the design of the state flag was chosen, but it is undisputed as to who embroidered it. “…flag was created for the Chicago World’s Fair, where it apparently “adorned the platform of the Woman’s Building, [and] was admired by all.” In fact, its silk embroidery brought a gold medal to Norwegian immigrant sisters Pauline and Thomane Fjelde of Minneapolis, who had been commissioned to make it.”

On the Road With Vesterheim: Appreciating the Simple Loop

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By Kate Martinson

In the early 70s, when I began my real love affair with fibers, I thought that weaving and spinning were the end-all, but as the decades flip by I find ever more techniques to be delighted by. The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum has been a great asset and support in my explorations and research.  The 2019 Vesterheim Textile Tour was an overflow repeat of the 2017 itinerary, with a variety of visits in Denmark and Southwest Norway.  The experience literally “threw me for a loop.”

Loop History

Simple blanket stitch from “A Stitch in Time” (link below).

I will wager that for many of us, one of our first textile experiences included simple embroidery. I recall the blanket stitch as part of my first attempts with a needle and thread. I am not alone in this entry experience. Little did we know we were using one of the oldest textile techniques humans created—the blanket stitch, a form of simple looping. This basic stitch predated even the invention of the needle, which archaeologists suggest was at least 61,000 years ago and was discovered in Sibudu Cave, South Africa. That first blanket stitch, probably done using fingers and fiber strands or sinew, has a whole family of variants.  It was surprising to me to see all the simple looping that kept showing up as we traveled across Southern Scandinavia.

Textile specialists and curators alike define looping using Irene Emery’s book The Primary Structure of Fabrics.  Looping is a single element thread. Emery states that looping is “a technique that has a ‘curved enclosing boundary.’ It is an active element which doubles back on itself to form a complete closed loop.” The single element, or thread, goes through a loop by means of sewing or netting and continuing on to create and sew through adjacent loops. It includes a variety of categories from half hitch in rope work to the blanket stitch used to edge woven fabrics, from a sewn edging for warps while on the loom to simple and complex cutwork embroidery lace in Asia and Europe. This stitch is a global work-horse.

If you are in need of a quick but good review, take a look at “A Stitch in Time: The Buttonhole Stitch and Blanket Stitch.”

Inspiration from Ancient Textiles

Our first full day on the trip found us in Copenhagen at the National Museum of Denmark, at the Viking and Middle Age textile exhibitions. We were introduced to a variety of clothing pieces, jewelry, etc. in two separate galleries. One of the pieces given special note was the Viking Mammen Mantle. 

We were able to take a peek at the fiber strips from a key burial find from the winter of 970 to 971 AD. The high status owner wore these strips either as decorative bands or as a form of headwear.  Discovered in 1868, there has yet to be consensus about use but materials are principally silk and silver and gold thread, and techniques include cardweaving and nålebinding, in Danish. This flexible and complex looping technique is more advanced than the simple looping of blanket stitch, as the needle passes in a variety of directions in the work. The fabric can be made more dense, variously shaped, thin but strong, and flexible with these sorts of variations. Since there were others on the trip who practice this complex looping technique to create items such as hats, mittens, cowls and socks, it was exciting for many of us to see this important and high status archeological find. For those aware of nålbinding, the “mammen stitch” in current nålbinding is named for the work on these strips on display in Copenhagen.

In the late 1980s I was able to study these and other nålbinding items at this museum but because of rarity, these treasures are behind glass and impossible to photograph.  The easiest way to see these pieces up close and to learn more is on the National Museum website.

Looping at the Greve Museum

The courtyard of the Greve Museum…many years ago.

After adventures in Copenhagen, we headed into the countryside and the Greve  Museum, notable for its collection of Hedebosom. This white on white embroidered cutwork is special to the rich farming area of Hedebo. The group toured the farmstead and its extensive and varied collection of the local cutwork. We also had an option to participate in an introductory class with a local teacher. Having the opportunity to study a variety of examples up close and to try our hands at the technique reinforced that looping appears in a variety of forms and uses. In one piece the looping might hold together the decoratively strands of cut fabric, and in another the loops are connected to look like lace.

Hedebo lace from the Greve Museum

Edi Thorstensson, a participant on the 2017 Vesterheim trip to Denmark, wrote about her time at the Greve Museum for the Norwegian Textile Letter.  To learn more about Hedebosom, see her article on the collection and class at the museum with Laila Glienke, “Hedebosyning at Greve Museum.”

Going Back in Time

The Vikings used looping along seams.

Getting off the bus, who knew that in a few hours we would travel back in time through rural 18th century Denmark, to Viking times, and to Iron age living and the mysteries of the stone age?  We did all that at Sagnlandet Lejre, Land of Legends—and with time out for lunch!

This museum-like park is developed as a place to explore experimental archeology, especially in the workshops, including a pottery, textile workshop, and smithy.  There trained staff strive to study, experiment and reproduce handcraft from the past. No surprise that our group enjoyed the various historical clusters of houses and farms. However, the real treat for us was time spent in and around the textile workshop.  

Reconstructed Viking skirt with looping along the seams

We entered when the workshop was very busy, among other things, outfitting some teens in Viking garb for their stay at the park. In my quest for looping, I asked the staff at work around a big welcoming table. One excited specialist led me to shelving along one wall of the busy workshop where samples were arranged to illustrate basic joining techniques used from Viking times onward. The handspun cloth pieces included different applications for the blanket stitch and its loop cousins to create neat, firm, sometimes elastic, and often visually pleasing seams. Imagine finding such interesting uses of simple looping when I had hardly hoped for it!

To get more of the flavor of Sagnlandet, refer to Solveig Pollei’s article, “Sagnlandet Lejre – the Land of Legends (and Textiles).” 

End of Year at Skals

Before leaving Denmark our group had an inspiring experience at the year-end celebration at Skals Design og Håndarbejdsskole, the High School for Design and Handwork, in the small town of Skals.  The day-long celebration included a student fashion show, an outdoor craft fair for local artists, tours of studios, and displays of student work.  We spent hours soaking up the fine design and technical work of these proud students and craftspeople.  While the fashion show was avant garde, much of the student work represented techniques easy to identify from our own fiber work and exploration. Where to start? Weaving of all sorts, knitting, dyeing, printing, spinning, and embroidery were on display. The items were well made, using mostly traditional practices, with a focus on good design.  We were inspired by the work of these mostly young students. As for looping, it was wonderfully represented in a variety of elegant nålbinding articles.  In addition, various forms of embroidery, both plain and cutwork of loops and regular stitches, were on display, looking fresh and new. For those wondering about the future of folk art and handcrafts, this visit was an inspiration.

On to Norway for Hands-On Classes 

Taking the ferry to Norway signaled the second part of the trip and the adventures ahead. Our Norwegian  adventures included an optional half day of ‘hands-on’ work on the 17th of May.  To miss as few of the festivities as possible, early in the day a number of us gathered to attend mini classes organized by our leader, Laurann Gilbertson. Finger woven bands, Singlada balls and Hardanger embroidery classes were offered.  Two of the three options were based on the use of loops, although a quick look at the balls or embroidery would not automatically make the association with a needle formed loop.  

Vesterheim Curator Laurann Gilbertson tries her hand at Hardangersom.

Barbara Berg led the intrepid Hardanger class. Though the technique carries a place name from Norway, its origin comes from much farther south, from India and Persia to Italy, where it evolved into Reticella and Venetian Lacework, Dutch and Danish cutwork, Ruskin Work and many more—including the famous Norwegian drawn work, Hardanger embroidery. Among the many stitches and techniques included in Hardangersom, the classic and important single loop is seen. One of the most important stitches in cutwork is a buttonhole stitch, which keeps the cut edges from raveling. It can also help by filling in the shapes that have been removed with a lace-like look. As in Hedebosom and other techniques in this family, the thread closely stitched in this way also adds texture and shine to the pattern.

Making Singlada balls was another choice.  In northern Europe and southern Scandinavia, the ancient detached blanket stitch was used to cover handfuls of yarn scraps to create a toy ball for a child. A needle and scrap yarn are employed to make a covering for the ball, usually employing decorative geometric patterns. The detached blanket stitch was used in the same manner American natives used when constructing the bottoms of arrow quivers, and prehistoric folks used to make bags to carry their belongings. Medieval English over-decorated clothing with this same technique in silk gold and silver threads. Making a singlada ball is one of a wealth of applications of the simple loop. That day I taught them to squeeze thrums into balls, wrap and tack their ball shapes with scrap yarn and add colorful yarns using the detached blanket stitch needle-looped into a fabric coverings for their balls. Our group, while trying a new technique, were helping to protect and popularize this tradition and become familiar with new textile options.   

While two classes involved looping in some form, the third class worked on finger-woven sock garters, hosebånd, with Ingeborg Monson, our Norwegian tour leader. While no loops were involved in that project, note the book mentioned last on the information list below, for a great compendium of using loops and other sewn stitching in woven projects.

Factory Time

Our stop at the Sjølingstad Uldvarefabrik in Mandal allowed a tour of a living history textile factory.  Built in 1894, in it its day this mill spun yarn, dyed wool, wove cloth and finished that fabric in a variety of ways. It still carries on many of those same activities,  but it cannot exist with that revenue alone. It has been designated as a national monument for the textile industry in Norway. In a spinning and weaving mill one does not expect ‘exotic’ textiles like simple loops—so I thought.  However, around one corner in the finishing department were hung decorative blankets that had been spun, dyed and woven. Before it would be a soft, warm, long lasting item two additional steps were needed. The blankets had to be finished or “fulled” by brushing with teasel heads and lastly, the edges of the fuzzy fabric needed to be treated for longer wear. A sturdy looped blanket stitch is sewn on as the last step before sale and use in a fortunate home.  

Oleana!

The Oleana factory is also a mecca for those who love color.

A Norwegian ‘mecca’ for those who love good design and high quality fibers, The Oleana factory at Ytre Arna was an important stop on our journey.  What is the connection to looping? Well, naturally, knitted garments are made with loops. However, as most of us are aware, knitting and crochet have structures wherein one loop is pulled through another. On the other hand, simple looping passes a thread, rope, wire, agave fiber, etc. through a loop and on to an adjacent loop with fingers or a needle. Knitting ravels, looping does not. Knitting uses long lengths of fiber but simple looping has shorter lengths because the entire length passes through each loop. Many on the tour purchased irresistible machine-knitted garments while at the shop. They may eventually find themselves wearing their garments while using an eyed needle, looped techniques and short yarn ends to create or embellish a piece of fiber work.   Thus they will be connecting the earliest f techniques with the most current methods of fiber work. 

Time Flies By

One of our last adventures found us traveling to the Osterøy Museum, which included a beautiful bus ride out of Bergen into rural Norway. This folk museum is a busy place with a contemporary building for classes and a large hall for events as well as storage, offices etc. We had coffee and the local sweet, stompekakad, and then enjoyed a presentation by Marta Kløve Juuhl on the museum, and on teaching and writing about the warp weighted loom.  (A few tour group members returned a few days later for a class on warp weighted weaving.)

Looped blanket stitches on a blanket at Osterøy.

The museum has collected a number of buildings from the island and arranged them into an open air section that illustrates architecture from different eras. Tour members enjoyed walking through these old, restored buildings, and discovering what life might have been like in this place.  As I entered an upstairs bedroom of a wealthier farmhouse, I heard another loop-wise tour member exclaim “Look, FINALLY, blanket stitch is being used in a real bed!”  In the corner was a beautifully painted built-in bed with stone age loops strengthening and decorating the edge of the bedding it contained. It is one of my favorite memories of the trip, during which many of us became ever more aware and appreciative of simple loops in our textile work and lives.

In Conclusion

Readers can imagine how much of the excellent tour has not been included because of space. It is impossible to express all that was learned, the places visited, conversations shared, food enjoyed, landscape admired and people cherished. 

The loop is a device to organize and make items useful.  So are travel and learning when well done. Readers have missed the tour experience itself, but now have a chance to be more aware of and excited about the history and potential for the simple loop.

Participants in the 2019 Vesterheim Textile Tour

Kate Martinson’s tea cozy in nålbinding.

Kate Martinson is Professor Emerita of Art at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where she taught  weaving and a variety of Scandinavian fiber techniques. In addition, she taught bookmaking, papermaking, and art education, and developed study abroad experiences.  She has taught spinning and other textile-related classes throughout the United States and in Norway at Rauland Academy, and is known for introducing nålbinding to many American fiber artists. Kate is an enthusiastic supporter of Vesterheim Museum.

Additional Information:

Collingwood, Peter. The Maker’s Hand: Close Look at Textile Structures. 1987 (various editions).

Emery, Irene. The Primary Structures of Fabrics: An Illustrated Classification. Thames & Hudson; 2nd edition, 2009.

Hald, Margrethe. Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs and Burials: A Comparative Study of Costume and Iron Age Textiles. Copenhagen : National Museum of Denmark, 1980.

Hoskins, Nancy Arthur. Universal Stitches for Weaving, Embroidery and other Fiber Arts. Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub. Limited, 2013.

National Exhibition of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition, 2019

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Each year the ribbon-winning weavings are published in The Norwegian Textile Letter, for those not lucky enough to visit the National Exhibition of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. 

Laura Demuth, Gold Medalist
Decorah, IA
Best in Show



This is a traditional Rutevev Wall Hanging. I simply love to sit in front of my loom with yarn in my hands creating a textile. Weaving rutevev is particularly pleasing, involving simple geometric patterns and an appealing rhythm. The weaving process offers a certain peace and structure to any day. I have been weaving and working with wool for over 40 years. I am especially drawn to traditional textiles. Although I am not Norwegian, I greatly appreciate Vesterheim’s textile collection as a continual source of inspiration. Laura Demuth

Wendy Stevens
Decorah, IA
People’s Choice


This is a 6-shaft danskbrogd weaving. I have been weaving since 1976. I have been fortunate to have taken numerous classes at Vesterheim including Jan Mostrom’s class in danskbrogd last fall. Renting an 8-harness loom at Vesterheim for the month of January allowed me to continue to experiment with this technique. Wendy Stevens

Lisa Torvik
St, Paul, MN
“Better than Lawn, My Garden”
White Ribbon


This contemporary wall hanging is done on a warp set up for traditional tavlebragd (monk’s belt) technique with traditional treading and untraditional use of inlay color.  This piece is inspired by a painting of our house done by my husband. When I sat down to work on this warp, I got the idea of weaving our yard, front to back. Starting at the bottom with the rain garden on our boulevard, through plantings of tulips, lilies, cone flowers, crabapple trees, various iris, coral bells—-well you get the idea. Then our tiny back lawn through the seasons and our back gardens with hosta just about everywhere. I am a native of Decorah, grew up running around the museum and was exposed there and elsewhere to traditional and contemporary textiles. I started weaving, knitting and sewing when I was young, took some classes here and studied weaving for a year in Norway. Now, finally, I have time to weave again. Lisa Torvik

Carol Culbertson
Evansville, WI
Honorable Mention


This traditional piece was woven to be a 32.5” x 16” table runner. This is an example of danskbrogd bound weave. The inspiration from this work came to me while taking a weaving class at Vesterheim in July 2018. One of the students had an example of Danskbrogd with her. I was instantly drawn to this technique. By the time I finished the class, it was time to make a table runner for the Christmas holidays. After experimenting with patterns from class and others I had seen at the museum, this piece emerged. My 4 year old great-granddaughter saw this weaving on the loom and excitedly announced “Christmas” so it is called “Grace’s Christmas” in her honor.  After weaving in the Navajo tradition for 10 years, I was introduced to weaving in the Norwegian tradition 4 years ago when given a wall hanging by a family member. Since then I have been driven to learn more about Norwegian traditional weaving techniques. Carol Culbertson

Carol Culbertson
Evansville, WI
Red ribbon


This piece was woven to be a 27” x 14.5” table runner. It is an example of krogbragd bound weave. My inspiration for this piece comes from weaving I have seen in the museum’s collection as well as weaving brought into classes by other weavers. It was an experiment on my part of using only three colors with single point krokbragd pattern elements. Several trials of a variety of patterns were tried before this sequence was determined. It was a challenging process turning the multicolored patterns into the three color runner I wanted. Carol Culbertson

Corwyn Knutson
Roseville, MN
Red ribbon


This contemporary handwoven, hand knotted rya is based on northern Norway Boat Rya Wall Hanging. I studied with Syvilla Bolson of Decorah and at College of Art and Design in Toronto. I’ve been weaving Norwegian textiles for 20 plus years. Corwyn Knutson

Helen Scherer
Shawnee, KS
White ribbon


This traditional woven wall hanging or åklæ, is in a single interlock square-weave tapestry technique known as rutevev. The overall design was created by arranging several major traditional motifs, including eight-petaled roses, knots, a lily, and crosses with a hint of overall diamond, plus rows of crosses (korsbord), lightning (lynild) and hag’s teeth (kjerringtenner). The motifs were described in Katherine Larson’s book, The Woven Coverlets of Norway, and other elements in written documentation by Lila Nelson. I took a Rutevev class as part of Vesterheim’s 2011 Textile Tour and having discovered how slow and frustrating it could be, wanted more practice and familiarity with the traditional elements. Weaving has been a hobby for over a decade, and weaving in the Norwegian tradition is a very pleasant way of remembering my mother, who was quite skilled in both weaving and knitting. Helen Scherer

Lisa-Anne Bauch
Bloomington, MN
Honorable mention


Nordic folk arts are simple, using basic materials found in the Northern environment. However, they are also complex including a thousand variations on traditional colors and materials, motifs and techniques. My goal in weaving “Colors of the North II” was to express both aspects. I chose three primary colors—red, blue, and yellow—found in folk arts throughout the North, including Scandinavia, Finland, and the lands of the Sami peoples. The colors are bold, cheerful, and almost childlike in their simplicity, but the small variations in the size of the stripes and placement of the colors hint at a potential complexity. Although woven in a contemporary style, this rug is my homage to the folk artists of old. I am a weaver whose work explores traditional Nordic weave structures in a contemporary color palette. I have studied traditional techniques at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota, where I am a member of the Scandinavian Weavers Study Group. Lisa-Anne Bauch

Primstav and Textile Production in Scandinavia

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By Lisa Torvik

It is easy to forget that appointments, schedules and drop-dead deadlines did not begin with the modern industrial age, not with wall calendars, Daytimers and certainly not with Palm Pilots or Blackberries and other relics of the near past.

Textile enthusiasts of today, especially those exploring spinning, dyeing, weaving, knitting, and other hand arts and the growing, cultivation and gathering of fiber and dye sources, realize what an enormous amount of work went into covering bodies and “civilizing” homes with various cloths in the not-so-distant past.  Both the Norwegian proverb “need teaches a naked woman to spin” and our English version “necessity is the mother of invention” acknowledge and imply a female bent to innovation for everyday requirements.  An appealing thought for those of us who try to carry on such traditional work.  

And things that must be done today to secure a need of tomorrow are the essence of the agricultural year, everywhere in the traditional world.  We will look today at accounts of how people, in this case in Scandinavia and particularly using some Norwegian artifacts, marked time and met their needs by heeding age-old traditions related to textile production within each passing year.

One related relic is called a primstav in Norway and Denmark, in some parts of Norway known as a ringstav and in Sweden as a runstav.  It is generally a flat stick, held in the hand, on which every day is marked with a notch and special days also marked with a related symbol.  The primstav as it exists dates only from about the 1200s and is directly tied to the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia, a development much later there than elsewhere in Europe.  No older instruments have survived but the stick calendar tradition likely carried over from pagan times.  Holy Days that had to be observed were many and even into the Protestant era Catholic saints’ days were noted on the stick and often associated with seasonal work long after their religious affiliation was forgotten.

This primstav, from 1566, is from the collection of the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. See: https://collections.vesterheim.org/virtual_galleries/calendar-stick-lc0291/

Detail of the Vesterheim primstav.

A common interpretation of the name primstav is that it comes from the Latin prima meaning “first” and the Norwegian word stav meaning “stick.”  In old Norse, prim also meant “new moon.” The stick had a winter side and a summer side, each half year turning at the October 14 and April 14 notch.  These were traditionally the days on which rural business such the start or change dates for hired help on farms went in effect.  In pagan times, those dates were two of the three major dates of great sacrifices, the third being January 14, midwinter.  Local conditions would necessarily dictate slight variations in adherence to the traditions, but generally all surviving examples appear to record the same dates of observance.

A few dates on the stick stand out because they are associated with agricultural year and our main interest – textile production.  They are the dates to sow, till and harvest and the dates to shear.  In Scandinavia, that would mean sowing flax along with edible grains, and shearing sheep, the main source of wool fiber.  We can acknowledge the importance of cotton and silk elsewhere in the world in traditional cultures, but they were and are still imported fibers in Scandinavia, and were associated with wealth and status.  Those fibers, now commonly used in making festive national dress, i.e. bunad in Norway, folkdräkt in Sweden and stadsdragt in Danish, were not widely available there before the late 19th century. 

Symbols marking the pre-Christian and Catholic feast days are the special feature of the primstav and here are ones of particular interest, along with their traditional associations. The accompanying sketches are taken from three sources, and show marvelous variation. In each box, the left-hand symbol is from Alfred Miller’s The Primstav Explanations, Norwegian Legend Lore & History; the center sketches are from F. E. Ekstrand’s The Ancient Norwegian Calendar Stick (primstav), and the right-hand images from Einar Haugen’s “A Norwegian Calendar Stick in Wisconsin.” (Full citations are at the end of the article.) 

April 14 – First Day of Summer.  Hired help could renew their obligations to the farmer.  Shepherds refrained from eating meat as it was thought that would harm their flocks.

April 16 – St. Magnus’ Day. Time to begin cultivating the fields.

May 3 – Mass of the Holy Cross. Time to shear the sheep.

May 15 – St. Hallvard’s Wake. If grain not planted by this date, could not expect it to ripen before the first frost.

May 22 – St. Bernard’s Wake.  Also known as “Bear Wake.” All seed must be in the ground.


June 24 – St. John’s Wake known as “Sankt Hans.” Time to gather herbs.  All plant dye stuffs would be picked throughout the summer at their peak for that purpose.

July 2 – St. Swithin’s Wake known as “Syftesok.” Weeding of the fields began.  St. Swithin was the patron saint of Stavanger.

July 8 – St. Sunniva’s Day. Haymaking begins.  St. Sunniva was the patron saint of Bergen.July 22 – St. Magdalene’s Day. Time to put up the (first) hay.  Depending on the weather, another round of haying usually followed in August.August 24 – St. Bartholomew’s Wake. Time to slaughter the rams.

September 8 – Nativity of the Virgin Mary. With the rams slaughtered, time to shear the rest of the sheep.  Harvest occurred as different crops matured.

October 14 – Winter Day , the first day of Winter. Hiring of new servants or change of service in rural areas.October 21 – St. Ursula’s Day. No work should be done on any implement that turns, such as a spinning wheel or mill.

November 25 – St. Catherine’s Day. The symbol for this day is thought to be a wool carder and St. Catherine was often depicted at a spinning wheel.  This day the spinning of wool for winter’s clothing production was begun.

No work could be done on part or all of feast days, or especially throughout the Christmas season.  With the late summer, fall and early winter used to prepare flax and wool, weaving would commence after Christmas and continue with other handwork until spring came again, with its many outdoor chores.

Source List

The Primstav Explanations, Norwegian Legend Lore & History © 2006 by Alfred Miller, Middlebury, CT 06762  [Note:  Though acknowledging assistance for research and proofreading, Mr. Miller does not cite any particular sources.  Some of his text is identical, however, to text found in The Ancient Norwegian Calendar Stick, see below.  Miller’s pamphlet is sold by Vesterheim in their Gift Shop.]

The Ancient Norwegian Calendar Stick (primstav) © [no date] by F. E. Ekstrand, Welcome Press, Seattle, WA 98109

“A Norwegian Calendar Stick in Wisconsin”, by Einar Haugen, Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 31, Nr. 2, December 1947, pp. 145-167.

Bondeliv, Samrødor og song etter Ragndi Moen, Gamal Valdres-Kultur II, by Knut Hermundstad, Norsk Folkeminnelag, Oslo, Norway, 1940.  

Ættararv, Gamal Valdres-Kultur IV, by Knut Hermundstad, Norsk Folkeminnelag, Oslo, Norway, 1950..

Addendum: A Modern Primstav at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

A most vivid modern interpretation of the primstav exists today.  Norwegian artist Sigmund Aarseth’s modern rendition graces the Gathering Room of the Amdal-Odland Heritage Center at Vesterheim in Decorah, Iowa.  Working with fellow rosemaler Sallie Haugen DeReus, Aarseth turned the room’s walls into a continuous depiction of the seasons of the year, marking certain dates of the primstav and illustrating them with images and related proverbs from various parts of Norway.  Kathleen Stokker has written a wonderful description of this work and history of the primstav in her book, Marking Time: The Primstav Murals of Sigmund Aarseth. (See also this YouTube video: “Vesterheim’s Gathering Room: Primstav Murals.”)

Lisa Torvik credits early influences of her mother, grandmothers, aunts and friends in Norway for her knitting, sewing, embroidery and weaving interests.  She spent a year in her youth studying weaving at Valdres Husflidsskule in Fagernes, Norway and now focuses on projects in traditional Norwegian techniques and more contemporary applications.

More Handmade Underwear: From Norway to the Dakotas to Vesterheim

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Editor’s Note: The article about historical underwear reminded me of another set of Norwegian underwear I’ve seen. The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum owns a pristine set of handwoven long underwear, by way of a Norwegian mother concerned about cold Midwestern winters. Robbie LaFleur

Vesterheim Curator Laurann Gilbertson wrote:

The long underwear belonged to Nikolai Knudson Farestveit (1899-1980) of Modalen, Hordaland, Norway. His brother Knut was the first in family to come to the U.S., and farmed in western North Dakota. Nikolai (Nick) worked in an orphanage in Norway and heard that Knut had done well, so he immigrated in 1923. He worked as a farm hand near Beresford, South Dakota, then as a finish carpenter in Grand Forks and Northwood, North Dakota. Nick’s mother, Anna Helland Farestveit, made the long underwear for him to pack in 1923. She carded and spun the wool, wove the fabric, and sewed the garments. According to Nick’s daughter, he could not tolerate wool next to his skin, so the long underwear are barely worn. (Gift of Carl and Arlene Farestvedt Evanson, Vesterheim – 2010.026.001)

The Baldishol Tapestry–The White House Replica and Others

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By Robbie LaFleur

Hermund Kleppa delved deeply into the story of generous Norwegian-American women who wanted to celebrate their heritage by presenting a replica of the Baldishol Tapestry to Mrs. Calvin Coolidge.  Dream big!–they wanted their gift to hang in the White House, no less. Read this addendum after enjoying “The Baldishol Tapestry in the White House” by Hermund Kleppa.  

The Baldishol Committee was formed following the Norse-American Centennial in 1925, to arrange the gift to Mrs. Coolidge.  The Coolidges had raised the profile of the Centennial with their visit. Those of you who are familiar with the Twin Cities in Minnesota will find it entirely logical that while other states might be represented as a whole, in Minnesota it was necessary to have both a Minneapolis and a St. Paul subcommittee, with the names of the members on each side of the letterhead. 

Records of the Baldishol Committee were given to the Minnesota Historical Society at the Minnesota History Center. (A list of the file contents) The file includes a beautiful hand-penned journal listing the finances; here are two pages of expenses. 

Nearly 5000 Norwegian-American women donated money for the tapestry; some donations were as little as a dollar, a few were in the hundreds. Kristi Sekse Meland was paid $1500 for the replica. Three beautifully bound books listing the donors were made–one for Mrs. Coolidge, one to stay with the tapestry at the White House, and the third for the committee.  The committee copy is at the Minnesota History Center. (The introductory pages are here.) From the forward:

They have felt that no memorial could be more in keeping with the sprit of the centennial than a copy wrought with exquisite care and workmanship of the famous old Baldishol tapestry from the last years of the twelfth century. They have chosen this because it embodies in a form of rare beauty and interest the evidence of the ancient civilization from which they have come and the inheritance they have brought with them into American life. 

Perhaps your relative was among the donors? The full list from the commemorative book is here. 

After the tapestry was delivered to Minnesota, the Committee arranged for a local viewing and a “splendid program”–for 35 cents.  

Hermund Kleppa wondered whether the translation of Hans Dedekam’s book about the tapestry was delivered to the White House.  When Mrs. Bothne wrote to Mrs. Bryn (wife of the ambassador) on May 19, asking whether Mrs. Coolidge would be able to receive the delegation on June 8, she mentioned the Dedekam book.  Mrs. Bothne asked, “Has Mons Breidvik finished the translation of the French “Resume” which is to be inserted in Hans Dedkam’s [sic] book and will it be in Washington before we arrive?”

I don’t think the Dedekam book or translation was delivered. It isn’t mentioned in the committee records that describe the festive activities around the presentation.  From the Baldishol Committee records: 

Mrs. Bothne and Mrs. Kylle were chosen to present the tapestry on the first anniversary of the centennial, June the 8th, 1926. Madame Bryn held a great reception at the Norwegian legation for these two members of the committee and Mrs. Reque, representing the New York Auxiliary, on June 7th. And on June 8th Madame Bryn gave a luncheon for them to which the wives of Congressmen and Senators of Norwegian descent were invited. Afterwards the whole party was transported to the White House and presented to Mrs. Coolidge by Madame Bryn. Mrs. Bothne then presented the tapestry to Mrs. Coolidge voicing the gratitude of the Norwegian women for her honoring them by her presence at the Centennial celebration. As a gift to her personally she was also given a beautifully bound book containing the names of all those who contributed to the tapestry and also the Centennial gold medal.  A similar book similar to the [one] given to Mrs. Coolidge was given to the White House to be kept together with the tapestry.

It’s sad that the White House Baldishol has remained in storage, but in the summer of 2020 you will have the opportunity to view another copy of the Baldishol Tapestry, also believed to be woven by Kristi Sekse Meland, at Norway House in Minneapolis. This copy, one of three full-sized replicas owned by the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, will be lent to Norway House as part of the show, The Baldishol: A Medieval Norwegian Tapestry Inspires Contemporary Textiles. 

Replica believed to be woven by Kristi Sekse Meland

At one point Vesterheim Director Marion Nelson thought that the copy owned by Vesterheim was perhaps the one given to the White House, and in 1976 wrote to Den Norske Husfliden (DNH, the Norwegian Handcraft Association).  Synnøve Tidemand responded that the Vesterheim Baldishol was woven by Kristi Sexe Meland for DNH and sold through Husfliden. Vesterheim Curator Laurann Gilbertson said that information fits, because the donor acquired other textiles from Husfliden, some of which were donated to the museum. (See the letter.)

A second copy of the Baldishol Tapestry was woven in Norway and donated by the Baltimore Seamen’s Church when it closed in 1985. 

Replica woven by Maria Mundal

The third Vesterheim replica was woven by Alma Amalie Guttersen of St. Paul, Minnesota, who studied tapestry weaving in Norway and had the yarns dyed there.  Alma was on the planning committee for the Norse-American Centennial in 1925 and was inspired to learn Norwegian weaving after seeing the Baldishol copy that was given to the Coolidges.  Alma was born in 1865 in Trondheim, immigrated to Minnesota in 1866, and died in 1966 in Florida.  

Replica woven by Alma Guttersen

If you would like to see the original tapestry, 2020 will also be the year, when the new Nasjonalmuseet (National Museum) opens in Oslo.  

Almost a century after the Norse-American Centennial and the celebration of the Baldishol tapestry through the White House gift, it’s a good time to look at the history of the tapestry and its inspirational qualities. Mark your calendars for the opening of The Baldishol: A Medieval Norwegian Tapestry Inspires Contemporary Textiles, June 26, 2020.

Thanks to Laurann Gilbertson, Curator at the Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum, for information on the museum’s copies of the Baldishol Tapestry. 

Updated, April 2024

National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibit 2018

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If you were not able to make it to Decorah, Iowa, for the year’s National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibit, here is a digital next-best alternative. Krokbragd is very popular these days; seven of the thirteen entries featured the technique. This is the first year that the entry forms requested information about the pieces and the weavers–a marvelous addition for our annual article celebrating the exhibition. 
 
Nancy Ellison, Zumbrota, MN
Krokbragd and Rya Stole
My favorite weaves of krokbragd and rya are combined in this piece. Stitching uncut rya lengthwise on the weft floats on the back of the Krokbragd is my creative idea. It has the effect of sheepskin backed weaving without a sheep having to give up its hide. I enjoy spinning the natural undyed colors of sheep in my flock. Each sheep is a much loved pet as well as my cats and dogs.
 
The first weaving class I took was at Monica Skolen in Oslo in 1968. I’ve enjoyed half a century of weaving since then, taking classes at Vesterheim and elsewhere. 
 
 
 
Melissa Brown, Decorah, IA
“Darlene said, ‘Trondheim!’” Danskbrogd and Krokbragd Table Runner
Last winter was dark and cold, inspiring me to weave with black and gray wool. Rear taillights brought the use of red, thinking of cars driving down a snow packed Water Street at night in Decorah. The yellow represents Christmas lights along the street.
     
I have been weaving for 44 years. Weaving in the Norwegian tradition is my respite from production weaving of scarves and table linens.
 
 
 
Rosemary Roehl, Gold Medalist, St. Cloud, MN
“Winter” Figurative Bound Weave  
“Winter” is a wall hanging in a figurative bound weave using a rose path tie-up. The design is my own and I have included the more colorful aspects of winter. The blue represents the awesome Minnesota blue sky which makes up for the dirty grey snow and cars. “Winter” is the third season that I have represented in a weaving. I have found figurative bound weaves fun to work with.
 
I am a self-taught weaver in the Norwegian tradition. I fell in love with Norwegian weavings during my first trip to Norway in 1979. Soon after I took a community education course in St. Cloud, MN to learn about looms. I started competing in the Vesterheim National-American Folk Art Exhibition in 1992. I enjoy exploring different ways to use the traditional techniques and color. My mother’s ancestral relatives lived on farms on the Nordfjord. The bunad for this area has more weaving in its national costume than most. It was very satisfying for me to weave my own apron and the numerous decorative bands for the dress and apron.
 
 
 
Carol Culbertson, Evansville, WI
“Brita Remembered” Krokbragd Wall Hanging
Honorable Mention Winner
This piece was inspired by a large wool wall hanging given to me by a family member in Norway. The colors and design are those used in the original. I have woven in the Navajo tradition for about ten years. After receiving the wall hanging, I wanted to learn how to do weaving in the Norwegian tradition. I have been weaving this style after teaching myself three years ago.
 
 
Kathryn Evans, Lena, IL
Card Woven Poncho
Blue Ribbon Winner
This piece is inspired by the wide, card-woven bands used with women’s Telemark folk costumes, especially the beltestakk. I’ve used cotton cordonnet instead of wool for the card weaving due to availability and sturdiness in withstanding the twisting that is inherent in the card weaving process. I wanted something wearable so I added the crocheted sides to create a poncho-like garment. The weaving pattern is original and is based on belts that use close combinations of reds and pinks. Note that the single turning line marks the shoulder seam. 
 
 
Peg Kroll, Suttons Bay, MI
“Stash” Krokbragd Rug
I was inspired to make this krokbragd rug, woven with assorted wool available in the closet, by rugs seen at the Stalheim Hotel in Stalheim, Norway, featuring kyrve and bordgang pattern motifs. I had fun trying to identify the patterns in the pictures from the Stalheim Hotel and chose two, kyrve and bordgang to try to replicate.
   
I started weaving about 18 months ago, so I’m quite a novice. I am enthralled by the textiles I encountered in Norway, which has inspired the leap from knitting and spinning to weaving and hopefully tapestry. I resurrected my mother’s old leClerc four harness loom from the garage where it sat for 40 years and cleaned it up.
 
 
Meredith Bennett, Free Union, VA
“Break on Through” Rya and Wedge Weaving
I wanted to combine two very different techniques- rya and wedge weave- to get a pointillistic effect in the overall design. Both techniques lend themselves to this effect using the variegated yarn but the textures are opposite. I’ve been weaving since the early 70s. I’m attracted to ethnic art but I like to make my own designs based on these techniques and designs.
 
 
Ann Vonnegut-Frieling, Dyke, VA
Telemarksteppe-Style Wall Hanging 
White Ribbon Winner
This wall hanging is woven in a Telemarksteppe style with the loops on the selvages. It is a style from the Telemark area of Norway. The design was inspired by Laura Demuth, a teacher that taught at John C. Campbell Folk School in March of 2017. I wove this during the summer of 2017
     
My inspiration came to me when I saw the blues and greens together it reminded me of water, and the oranges, browns, and deep red reminded me of autumn and the circles reminded me of round leaves from the redbud tree falling into the water. 
     
I have been weaving for 10 years, but only recently started weaving with the Norwegian techniques of Telemarksteppe and danskbrogd. I took a class with Jan Mostrom at Vesterheim last fall. I am enjoying weaving and learning about the different Norwegian styles and techniques.
 
 
Robbie La Fleur, Gold Medalist, Minneapolis, MN
Danskbrogd Wall Hanging
This weaving was inspired by the graphic X patterns found in coverlets from the Vest-Agder region of Norway in danskbrogd technique.
     
I am a handweaver of contemporary textiles inspired by Scandinavian folk textiles. The language of my looms is based on centuries-old techniques, learned in weaving school in Norway. The core graphic impact of old folk textiles drives each new weaving, in a search for balance, color and boldness. Even when the planning process is computer-assisted, or a technique is done at a new scale or in unusual materials, I honor the fine craftsmanship of the past.
 
 
Judy Ann Ness, Gold Medalist, Eugene, OR
“Playa: Impossible Sky” Krokbragd and Tapestry
“Best in Show” Award
Playa: Impossible Sky” is a fusion of krokbragd and tapestry techniques. It was woven after an artist’s residency at Playa Summer Lake in the eastern desert of Oregon. Linen warp wool, mostly hand-dyed, rayon, silk weft.
     
I was inspired by the stark beauty of an alkali lake only present in the winter and spring. The dry season comes with the heat and the lake disappears until the next season of hard rain and wind. It looks empty but is full of wildlife. It’s free space, still wild, and an inspiration for the art and the heart.
     
My heritage is Norwegian-all four grandparents immigrated from southwest Norway in the 1850s. In exploring Norwegian weaving techniques I began to try and blend krokbragd and tapestry techniques around 1998. Still working on it.
 
 
Laura Demuth, Gold Medalist, Decorah, IA
Doubleweave Pick-Up and Rya Blanket
I wove this blanket as a gift for my son, Gabriel Oak, when he completed his Ph.D. It is a delight to weave for Gabriel because he appreciates the skill and practice of handwork. This one is for him.
 
I have been weaving for over 35 years, and enjoy all aspects of textile production, from raising sheep to taking a finished piece off the loom. I especially enjoy traditional weaving and have found Vesterheim’s textile collection to be a continuous source of inspiration.
 
 
Helen Scherer, Shawnee, KS
Sæterjentens Søndag Wall Hanging 
Red Ribbon Winner
This is an åkle wall-hanging primarily in krokbragd technique. The design was inspired by Jørgen Moe’s lyrics to Ole Bull’s classic violin piece, Sæterjengen’s Søndag (The Herdgirl’s Sunday). The herdgirl wished she could be walking to church and singing, but must tend the cattle at the mountain dairy. From the top we have:
1. Ole Bull’s 400+ bottles of French wine
2. Snippet of Sæterjentens søndag music
3. Sun peeking over the mountain at dawn; trees
4. Herdgirls in work dress carrying milk buckets
5. Mountain pasture full of cows; more trees
6. Churches in the valley
7. Women in Gudbrandsdalen festbunads walking to church 
8. River at the bottom of the valley
My mother, Marit Nordheim, had been a weaver in Øyer, Oppland, Norway before immigrating to the USA in 1953. So I grew up with a floor loom in the house and shared her love for textiles.
 
 
Veronna Capone, Gold Medalist, Brookings, SD
“Connecting Cultures” Krokbragd weaving
The inspiration for this piece was a woman’s buffalo robe in an exhibit called “Lakota Emergence” at the South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, South Dakota. I’ve been weaving for over 40 years and enjoy working in wool from Scandinavia and learning techniques from Norwegian textiles and studying their use of color.
 

Krokbragd Tapestry

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“Playa: Impossible Sky,” 2016

By Judy Ness
August 2018

Editor’s note:  This year’s Best of Show weaving in the 2018 National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibition was Judy Ann Ness’s “Playa: Impossible Sky,” an intriguing combination of krokbragd and tapestry techniques.  She won Best of Show for “Playa: Summer Lake, 2014” in 2015. (Read more here.) Now seemed a good time to ask her more about she combines techniques in her signature style.  

 

Why, oh why, would one want to do this technique? I do not know.  It began to develop in 1996 during graduate school in textile arts/weaving at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. The interest in Norwegian textiles began much earlier, probably 1968 or so, when I saw a pair of a Norske immigrant’s giant white mittens knitted and felted displayed at Vesterheim during Nordic Fest. I was a local kid from Lake Mills, Iowa, just northwest of Decorah. You never know when something will spark, take hold and stay, lurking for years until it surfaces with meaning and intent. 

Let’s look at the details using krokbragd and tapestry techniques. 

KROKBRAGD

Krokbragd lozenges

Traditional krokbragd is mostly woven as small interlocking patterns of almost infinite possibility. It has some constraints being a bound rosepath: 3 lifts repeated over and over again: 1-2, 2-3, 1-3. Using the same color on the same lift repeatedly produces a pattern of three vertical, solid color bars. The magic comes when the colors are changed. The treadling goes forth without variation, and the pattern is varied simply by the choice of color change. I’m particularly fond of making lozenges with a lacey black outline. Be assured, at some point in exploring the basic krokbragd, a weaver will start to see and understand what color changes will create a specific pattern.

TAPESTRY

Tapestry is two-shed plain weave warp: 1 and 2 on a vertical loom. If using a horizontal loom in a straight draft, the lift would be as for tabby: 1-3, 2-4. It’s plain weave with two lifts. The business of how the weft is woven is the substance of the tapestry technique. We won’t go into this here except to say the weft weaving controls the imagery. 

A COMPARISION & A SOLUTION

Krokbragd pattern is loom controlled and tapestry is outrageously free of control.  To combine them is interesting and time consuming. After years of trying to find an elegant solution to the interlock portion of tapestry on two lifts marrying with the loom controlled three-lift action of krokbragd, I failed. Absolutely.  The more complex method was replaced by reverting to a simple clasped weft technique. (Reference: Peter Collingwood’s excellent The Techniques of Rug Weaving.) The solution was to use the krokbragd treadling with the clasped weft technique. It offered a choice of tapestry or allowing the krokbragd patterning to emerge.

Melding these techniques created a chimera, a beast of two different parentages that combine making something new. As you will see, the early work expressed krokbragd more distinctly with later efforts merging both the krokbragd and tapestry personalities. Curves, depth, and imagery become more possible to achieve.

“Midnight Sun,” 1998

“To the Ghosts Who Sleep in the Land Childhood Lost,” 1998 (in the collection of the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum)

“Resolution,” 2000. (In the collection of the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum)

“Playa Summer Lake,” 2014

“Playa: Impossible Sky,” 2016

Judy Ness is a tapestry weaver from Oregon with special interests in Norwegian and Navajo weaving. She has shared her knowledge and love of textiles as an instructor in weaving, spinning, and dyeing since 1995.

 

Virgin Tapestries and the Bridal Theme

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By Randi Nygaard Lium

Editor’s note: The most-woven motif at the peak of medieval Norwegian tapestry weaving was the biblical story of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.  The two rows of virgins with a highly patterned background are emblematic of Norwegian billedvev (literally, picture-weaving) and recognized by museum-goers worldwide, like this version owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA). Why did this image resonate with weavers of the era?  We are grateful for permission to present this translation of Art Historian Randi Nygaard Lium’s expert analysis, which appeared in her new book, Tekstilkunst i Norge (Textile Art in Norway). 

The most popular Norwegian medieval tapestry motif is, as earlier mentioned, the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins. The fundamental basis of the image is a representation of virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom. The background text is from Matthew, Chapter 25, Verses 1-13.  

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 “But at midnight * there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour. (These verses in English are from the New American Standard Bible.)

The motif was used in European visual art in the Middle Ages. When it became popular in Norway, the image spread through prints. In all the tapestries the virgins are woven in two horizontal lines, with the wise virgins uppermost and the foolish virgins below. The wise virgins proudly hold up their lamps. The foolish virgins hold handkerchiefs to dry their tears; their situations were difficult.  They couldn’t have known beforehand how much time it would take for the bridegroom to arrive. This image shows the high demands made of young women. To be pure and innocent when the bridegroom arrived was not enough; they also needed to be alert and vigilant. 

Along with the ten women in long dresses, men are woven in as side characters. It is interesting that the bridegroom is Jesus. In several tapestries the oil seller is placed in the lower right hand corner, and one tapestry even has the inscription “eros kiøbe” (eros purchase). This male figure has associations to something completely apart from virginity and purity.  It is as if to purchase extra oil could be interpreted as having to do with prostitution. Therefore there are many layers of meaning to this theme. The tapestries were used as bedcovers, and as a beautiful covering for the marriage bed it was a reminder of moral demands.  

In the oldest virgin tapestries from around the middle of the 1600s, the women are dressed in festive renaissance dresses, jackets with a high waist, and pleated collars. They often have crowns, and the long dresses are richly detailed, with a center section that resembles an apron. Behind the upper women you see architecture that looks like a city. The women are woven in two horizontal rows, one over the other, with a border between. 

In the tapestries from the 1700s you see stylization and abstraction, which results in figures that are increasingly ornamental in their expression.  The skirts, upper parts of their clothing, faces, and crowns create an ornamental whole. The inscriptions disappear, as well as the extra figures. The architecture behind the row of wise virgins is gone, replaced by decorative elements. The virgins’ lamps and handkerchiefs have disappeared, and with them much of the meaningful symbols of the story. Perhaps the message was forgotten over time, and when weaving a bridal coverlet the weaver perhaps followed a pattern she inherited. 

Three original coverlets from 1760 from Bøverdalen have been preserved.  The weaver was called the “bibelsprengte” weaver (the weaver who broke with the Bible), because she interpreted the motifs in her own style. Her unique tapestries included her rococo tapestry, Kristi forfedre (“Christ’s Ancestors”), and three identical Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins tapestries, which included a whole row of accompanying figures.  The three virgin tapestries were gifts for three sisters. 

1760, Bøverdalen in Gudbrandsdal. Nordenfjelske Kunstindustrimuseum. Photo: Dino Makridis

 

Above the upper virgins is a whole new row depicting from the left: Joseph, Mary and the Christ Child, and the three Wise Men. On the right is Jesus, the heavenly bridegroom. Beside the virgins Jacob stands to the right in the upper row, and Joseph to the right in the lower row.  The names of Jacob and Joseph are woven in. 

This is an innovation of the virgin motif. The three tapestries from Bøverdalen aren’t rigid in the same manner as the other 1700s coverlets. Now the figures are freer and more lively, and they are clothed in elegant rococo clothing. “Christ’s Ancestors” is quite special, with many elegant men placed in diagonal rows up the tapestry.  They wear a rococo costume with a long, narrow jacket in brocade, knee pants, and knitted stockings. The women have beautiful dresses—narrow in the middle, with a skirt bustling over a form. The weaver was well-acquainted with fashion of the day.  In “Christ’s Ancestors” we find a rhythm and liveliness that is new in tapestries from Gudbrandsdal. Rococo playfulness and feminine elegance have made their marks? 

Tapestries with the virgin motif were woven in the western part of the country, too, but were not as common as in the valleys of eastern Norway.  The western virgin tapestries also had a unique expression, and were seldom the main motif of the tapestry. Virgins were often placed in the center  of the tapestry, surrounded by borders and ornamental designs. The virgin motif was persistent in the area, and was woven all the way to the beginning of the 1800s. 

A west coast virgin tapestry from the collection of the Norsk Folkemuseum. https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023130651/teppe

Virgin tapestries from Valdres and Trøndelag have been preserved, too.  They echo the Gudbrandsdal tapestries, which shows that work from that area was an inspiration for weavers in both Valdres and Trøndelag. Many fine tapestry pillows from the 1700s are also found in Oppdal (in Sør-Trøndelag). 

The virgin tapestries were used as wedding coverlets, and their symbolism signals moral expectations of the bride. That was indisputable and universally known. But it is less known that during that time marriage between a man and a woman was also a symbol of a woman’s bridal relationship to Christ, a marriage with spiritual meaning.

A young, god-fearing woman could enter into a spiritual marriage with Christ, dedicate her life to religion. In this way the purpose of marriage was both earthly and spiritual. Therefore Jesus was the heavenly bridegroom—and woven into the coverlets. The coverlets were religious beyond having just a moral point: they symbolized Christian purity and faith. 

Marriage was holy and formed the basis of the church’s moral requirements. Among other things, there were rules about when a couple could make love. The rules were strict and difficult to abide by, resulting in guilt. The couple were not supposed to have sex on weekends or during holidays, or during pregnancy. The function of sexuality was procreation and furthering your family, not unfettered intimate relations; that was sinful. 

At that time there was often a close relationship between individuals and the parish minister. The worship service was a time away from work and an occasion that helped support people in holding themselves faithful to God. The minister had a double function.  From the pulpit on Sundays he was an authority who admonished those who listened about a Christian life without sin, and at the same time he was a spiritual provider from whom people sought guidance in difficult times. Perhaps it was also the minister a woman might visit to seek consolation when relations with her husband had been too lively or moving toward the forbidden. The guilt was difficult to bear alone, and her husband may not have been the easiest one to confide in under those circumstances. 

Young women also had the opportunity to write a letter to the minister, called a “virgin letter.” However it wasn’t only unmarried women who confided in a minister; in Iceland a written confession is preserved from a young married woman who felt guilty because, according to church rules, she had an overly active sex life with her husband.  The minister learned the most intimate details of the couple’s relationship in this confession. 

Through his presence a minister was a sort of psychologist of that time. He gave penance and forgiveness for sins, and that helped women with issues they struggled with alone. 

When we examine the many preserved coverlets with the virgin motif, we come to understand their meaning is about more than just the requirement to be a virgin when entering marriage. It encompasses also a holy marriage that required one to lead a religious life.

A Wise and Foolish Virgins tapestry owned by the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. http://collections.vesterheim.org/items/show/561

Randi Nygaard Lium is a textile artist, author, and curator. Educated in Denmark, she has a degree in Art History from Aarhus University and studied weaving at Det Jyske Kunstakademi (Jutland Art Academy). She is the Senior Researcher at the Museum for Decorative Arts (Kunstindustrimuseet) in Trondheim, Norway.  She was the Director of the Trondheim Art Museum (Kunstmuseum) from 1998-2011, and the Head Curator at the Museum of Decorative Arts, Trondheim, 1986-88.  She has written several books on textile art, including Tekstilkunst i Norge (2016 and Ny Norsk Billedvev – Et Gjennombrud (1992). Her work has been shown in many exhibits in Norway and other countries, including a solo exhibition at the Design Museum Denmark in Copenhagen (2006). Her work is represented in several museums and in commissioned work in public buildings.

Book excerpt translated by Robbie LaFleur, who constantly runs into more depictions of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.  

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