By Lisa-Anne Bauch

In May 2023, a group of Minnesota weavers made the trek to Bergen, Norway, to study weaving at Bergen Husflidslag [Handcraft Association], taught by renowned instructor Ingebjørg Monsen. 

It was a busy week in Bergen, crowned with rare sunshine. (Bergen is the rainiest city in all of Europe, but it only rained for half our stay.) We arrived toward the end of Sytennde Mai, the Norwegian national holiday, a celebration that goes on several days. On Sunday, May 21, many young Norwegians celebrated their rite of Confirmation in local churches, accompanied by family members, most wearing their bunader [national costumes]. 

In addition, the local football team Bergen Brann (“Heja, Brann!”) became the champions of Norway, and ten thousand fans thronged the streets to celebrate. The Bergen International Festival, Norway’s largest music and theater festival, was in full swing, and to cap the week, King Harald V visited the city to christen a new cruise ship. Perhaps best of all, the flowers and flowering trees were in full bloom, and university students sprawled in the grass soaking up the warm sunshine. 

Likewise, Bergen Husflidslag was a warm and welcoming space painted a sunny yellow. Our teacher was equally welcoming. After working as an engineer, Ingebjørg is enjoying a second career in textiles. Ingebjørg teaches classes in both weaving and sewing and specializes in constructing men’s bunader. She is a familiar face to those who have taken Textile Study Tours presented by Vesterheim.

“People ask me if I miss engineering,” Ingebjørg said. “I tell them I’m doing engineering [in weaving] all the time.” Proper technique is crucial, and something as basic as winding a bobbin can affect the quality of the final weave. Despite her meticulous approach, Ingebjørg stressed the joy of weaving, encouraging students to “feel the pleasure first,” rather than focus on perfect technique. 

It was indeed a joy to work on the sturdy looms with beautiful Norwegian wool and linen yarn in a rainbow of colors. (Another hint from Ingebjørg: “If there is a color you hate, pair it with a color you love.”) The looms were warped and ready to go, so students were able to weave samples of traditional Norwegian structures, including dreiel, tavlebragd, skillbragd, krokbragd, and a twill pledd (blanket). Those new to Scandinavian-style weaving were introduced to the ease of weaving on a countermarch loom, the technique of creating good selvedges without the use of a temple, and clever knots for repairing broken warp threads. In turn, American visitors introduced Ingebjørg to the joy of peanut butter and banana sandwiches during our many coffee parties.

During the week, students visited Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, a Norwegian spinning mill founded in 1898 and run by four generations of the Myhr family. One of the few working mills still open in Norway, the factory produces weaving and knitting yarn and carded wool for spinning and felting. Some of the original machines are still in good working order, and visitors are encouraged to visit the factory floor to learn about the qualities of Norwegian wool and the process of sorting, cleaning, carding, dyeing, and spinning. Needless to say, the yarn shop is a weaver’s dream.

Students left Bergen with a new appreciation for Norwegian weaving tradition and a final bit of advice from Ingebjørg, delivered with her typical dry humor: “There is a new law-giving in Norway,” she explained. “If someone disturbs a weaver while she is warping her loom, she is allowed to murder them. This is especially true of husbands!”

October 2023

Lisa-Anne Bauch is a Minnesota-based weaver whose work explores traditional Nordic techniques in a contemporary color palette. She is an active member of the Scandinavian Weavers Study Group of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota and also writes about Scandinavian textiles and textile history.

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