Norwegian knitting (''strikking'') has a history dating from the 16th century.
History
Knitted garments found in Norway have been dated as far back as between 1476 and 1525. Some of the most well known sweater patterns attributed to Norwegian colorwork knitting are the
Setesdal
Setesdal (; older name: Sætersdal) is a valley and a traditional district in Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes.
The Otra river flows through the ...
Lusekofte and the
Fana
Fana is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the southeastern part of the municipality of Bergen. The borough was once part of the historic municipality of Fana which was incorporated into Bergen ...
Fanacofte patterns.
Selbu
Selbu is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mebonden. Other villages in Selbu include Flora, Fossan, Hyttbakken, Innbygda, Selbustrand, Trøa, Tømra, and Vikvarvet.
T ...
in
Trøndelag
Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...
county is also well known for the
Selburose
In Norwegian knitting, a ''selburose'' () is a knitted rose pattern in the shape of a regular octagram. It is traditionally used for winter clothing such as the Selbu mitten (''selbuvott'') and sweaters ('' lusekofte, lopapeysa'' and '' mariu ...
pattern motif. Selbu mittens first appeared as a vertical column of two snowflakes on the front side of the mittens. The origin of these mittens is attributed to a young girl named Marit Emstad who in 1857 attended church wearing what we now know as Selbu mittens, effectively sparking the imagination of knitters at the time who had never seen anything like it before.
Today there are over 300 registered mitten patterns attributed to
Selbu
Selbu is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mebonden. Other villages in Selbu include Flora, Fossan, Hyttbakken, Innbygda, Selbustrand, Trøa, Tømra, and Vikvarvet.
T ...
. There are several brands of Norwegian yarn available today for knitters, including
Dale of Norway and Rauma Garn.
Dale of Norway has been a manufacturer of ready wear sweaters which have been worn by Norway's Olympic athletes since 1956.
Many of their sweater patterns most closely associated with knitted ski sweaters have been published in English by the manufacturing company.
The heritage of Norwegian knitting has been preserved, documented and translated into English language history and pattern books that are available to modern knitters, mostly notably by the author Annemor Sundbø. The yarn factory Rauma Ullvarefabrikk has also released a substantial number of Norwegian knitting patterns translated into English.
See also
*
Selburose
In Norwegian knitting, a ''selburose'' () is a knitted rose pattern in the shape of a regular octagram. It is traditionally used for winter clothing such as the Selbu mitten (''selbuvott'') and sweaters ('' lusekofte, lopapeysa'' and '' mariu ...
*
Mariusgenser
Marius sweaters ( no, Mariusgenser) are Norwegian-style knitted sweaters with patterns inspired by traditional Setesdal sweater ( no, Setesdalsgenser), but without lice, a type of pattern. While the traditional sweaters used the natural colors of ...
*
Lusekofte
References
Other sources
*
*Annemore Sundbo (2001)
* Annemore Sundbo (2001)
* Annemore Sundbo (2007)
* Annemor Sundbø and Carol Huebscher Rhoades (2010) {{cite book, title=Strikking i billedkunsten - Knitting in Art, publisher= (Torridal Tweed), isbn=978-8299465755
External links
Fair Isle and Norwegian Knitting: Lets Get Started(used by the Solveig Hisdal in her book "Poetry in Stitches".)
Knitting
knitting, Norwegian
knitting, Norwegian
Textile arts of Norway
Norwegian culture