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

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

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.

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

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.  

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.  

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!

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.)

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.

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.