Translator’s note: Norges Husflidslag (the Norwegian Handcraft Association) is working on a four-year project to increase the knowledge, use, and availability of Norwegian wool, titled Ullialt (Wool in Everything). This article originally appeared in Lokalhistorisk Magasin (No. 1-2, 2016), and is translated and reprinted with permission. Robbie LaFleur 

By Sølvi Westvang, Project Leader

Norwegian wool has saved lives. It has given us a national identity and proud stories from the extreme climate of Norway. Sixty percent of all Norwegians have wool in their closets, in contrast to almost 0% in the wool-nation of England.  In Norway you don’t see children in nursery school between November and April without wool clothes, and when we have time off we pick up our knitting needles. When we handle wool we assume it is from Norway—but that is rare.

As the country’s largest organization for handcraft and textiles, we know both the users of wool and the market well. Misleading labels and difficult to find information on the wool we use has made the need for a better labeling system and broader knowledge of Norwegian wool apparent. 

For that reason Norges Husflidslag (the Norwegian Handcraft Association) arranged a national meeting in 2014 and has undertaken a focus on wool for the period from 2015-2018, under the project name Ullialt (wool in everything). 

Economic cornerstone in a meager landscape 

Norwegian wool has created cornerstone businesses in Norwegian towns and communities, and through generations it was the basis of demanding work for untold numbers of women in their homes, both in connection with home and animal care, and with handcraft.  Children and husbands must be kept warm, and women required the skills and knowledge to create everything that was needed.  Communities developed as a result of the need for wool products. But then imports began to increase, factories were bought out, and production was taken out of the country.  Knowledge of the past disappeared.  Long ago. 

Today’s environmental focus, a “green wave,” has contributed to a change in our attitude as consumers.  We want to know how our products were made, how the animals were treated along the way.  We want insight into the environmental costs of their production. “Local” has positive connotations. Today there is status in purchasing items produced close to home. Designers, handcraft producers, and consumers are placing pressure, and manufacturers have just started to respond to these demands.

Is is Norwegian? 

But there is one way to go, and today labeling of wool products is one of the biggest challenges. The rule seems to be: The bigger the Norwegian flag there is on the tag, the smaller chance there is that what you hold in your hand is made of Norwegian wool.  

Ask about the origin when you are shopping! Many powers are pulling the in same direction to identify Norwegian wool. The National Institute for Consumer Research has the ball now, while several subject specialists contribute opinions and knowledge during the project.  During the project period we hope to see the contours of a label regulation that will help knowledgeable consumers purchase correctly: clothes and yarn with deep roots in our local and national history. 

You are what you eat

That is true for sheep, too. A good life with good food from the Norwegian landscape and nature gives our 2.5 million sheep good meat and fine wool (when the sheep choose themselves, they eat herbs.) 

4500 tons of wool are produced in Norway annually.  Barely a third of this becomes yarn or textiles for you and me. The rest of the wool is exported or discarded. 53,000 tons, or about half, of all the textiles sold in Norway are made of cotton that has traveled halfway around the world one or many times.  Our average use of cotton is three times as big as that of the rest of the world. Norwegian wool travels a short way and has been minimally treated with chemicals. Our sheep are healthy, and their wool is renewable and environmentally friendly.  Norwegian wool is a resource with huge potential! 

Through the Ullialt program Norway’s Handcraft Association has taken a leading role in disseminating information on Norwegian wool.  From April 20-23, 2017, we held a conference in Stjørdal under the the project’s name: Ullialt. In the course of four days almost 200 participants received insight into politics, land use, handcraft techniques, environmental labeling, design, and a number of other facets concerning wool. The project will include several initiatives during the project period.  We will especially try to reach children, young people, and farmers. It is important to root our knowledge here, because this is the future for Norwegian wool! 

Translator’s note: There is much more information on the project on the Husflid website, at www.husflid.no/fagsider/ullialt, including: an inspiration page listing many books on spinning, knitting, and weaving with wool; several knitting projects featuring wool; and a page featuring several methods to knit heels of socks (!).  Ullialt sponsored a “warm feet” contest, and published the winning sock knitting pattern, designed by Synnøve Smedhus (pictured). If you would like to see any of the other sections translated for the next Norwegian Textile Letter, let me know, at: lafleur1801@me.com. The images in this article are from the Ullialt pages.

When I contacted Sølvi Westvang about my translation, she enthusiastically updated me:  

So much is happening in the Norwegian wool industry right now! Consumers growing consciousness is forcing through clearer marketing, more products and an increased focus on ecology. Most products are not labelled “eco” or “ecologic”, but our sheep grazes in the forests and mountains all summer long. They live free and eat ecologically most of their lifes. Norwegian farming is one of the safest and most transparent in the whole world. Every country in Europe use more antibiotics than we do on our farms!

In September there is a big festival in Seljord, Telemark. It’s calles Dyrsku’n and was traditionally a place to meet, show, sell and buy cows, sheeps etc. Today it is much more, and here you find arts and crafts, music, lectures, wool, Norwegian culture + + +. This year wool is the main theme of the handcrafts exhibition. Well worth a visit for all who’s interested in that sorts. https://www.dyrskun.no/

On our Facebook-page we update our followers on news from Norwegian wool: https://www.facebook.com/tydelignorskull/

I know that I and many of my fellow weavers in Minnesota appreciate Norwegian wool.  For example, here is one of many skeins I ordered this month for a weaving. 

Robbie LaFleur