By Robbie LaFleur

Many weavers who encounter coverlets in flesberg technique ask, “But isn’t that the same as the well-known Swedish bunden rosengång på tre skaft (bound rosepath on three shafts)? Yes, it is.

Gunnvor Johansson describes three-shaft bound rosepath in her book, Heirlooms of Skåne: Weaving Techniques. 

In Skåne, the popular terminology for bound rosepath with three shafts is treskaft or tresolv (“three-shaft” or “three-heddle”). It is a very old technique, found in ancient Egypt and worldwide. The oldest preserved bound rosepath weavings in Sweden date from the beginning of the 1700s and were woven with three shafts…The treskaft weaving technique was used to create the backs of cushions that featured more elaborately woven front sides.

Johansson describes two types of threading for three-shaft rosepath. The v-punkt solving (v-dot threading) is the equivalent of the Norwegian flesberg technique. The spetssolvning (pointed threading), in Norway, would be considered a three-shaft krokbragd threading. 

You can see many examples of Swedish coverlets in bound rosepath on three shafts by searching the Swedish digital library, digitaltmuseum.se. Search the collection with the key words “bunden rosengång tre skaft.”

Swedish Digital Library identifier: 1M16-96661. Coverlet used as a car and horse cover. Woven in bound rosepath on three shafts.

The Nordiska Museet in Stockholm published a compilation of beautiful Swedish weaving in 1925, Textilt Bildverk, edited by Emelie von Walterstorff. The English version, Swedish Textiles, came out in 1925. A digital version is available here. In the section on rosengång, or rosepath, #102 is a three-harness rosepath with the same tie-up as the Norwegian flesberg coverlets.