Customer Reviews

Norwegian Handknits: Heirloom Designs from Vesterheim Museum

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love this book for the photographs of the museum-quality knitted items in the Vesterheim Museum's collection. (I would love it even more if the photographs of the historical items were larger than thumbnails--they average about 2" x 2.5".) I also love the historical photographs of Norwegians in traditional dress, and the photos of some of the people who actually wore the original knitted items.

The patterns that interest me least are the ones that are "inspired" by motifs lifted from items in the collection. For example, there is a "Reindeer Headband" pattern that uses a standard reindeer motif found on an embroidered pillow cover that was made in 1937; and there is a "Rose or Bridal Whimple" pattern that seems to be a modern design with only a row of stylized roses (or a row of stylized man and woman clasping hands) taken from a motif found on Selbu mittens.

However, there is a pattern for a "Dancing Hat", charted for 35s/37r to 4" that allows you to make a hat that is fairly close to a museum replica of the original. There is also a pattern for "Cross Country Ski Socks" in blue and white, charted at 34s/40r to 4", that produces an absolutely stunning pair of socks sporting an eight-point star motif, with patterned calf gusset and alternating blue and white stitches on the sock sole, that is virtually indistinguishable from the original. The "Ruth's Cap" pattern, for a baby hat, is, unfortunately, written for a much larger gauge than the original, but the information about the original knitter's concept would enable an experienced knitter to reproduce the orignal in a fine-gauge yarn.

In addition, there are instructions for making (1) "Nisse Hats", the pointed stocking hats worn by Norwegian folklore elves, (2) Kumihimo braids, (3) needle-felted Rosemaling motifs to attach for decoration, (4) "shag" that creates a sort of furry embroidered decoration, and (5) "Decorative Felt Balls" that can be attached to drawstrings or scarves or anything that needs bobbles to look finished. There are patterns for traditional Norwegian patterned mittens, an adult "Sami Sweater", two intricately patterned adult "Voss Sweaters", a fringed "Voss Shawl", and a delightful "Work Day Shawl" with a garter stitch center and a swirly sawtooth edging. There is even a recipe for Norwegian "Krumkake".

The whole book is beautifully presented, with lovely photos of the finished items. The text is informative, well-written, and places everything in historical context. This is a book for knitting history buffs to treasure. Because knitted items wear out, and are hard to preserve, there are all too few photographs available of historical knitted items.

I just got my copy of Norwegian Handknits and I love it. It's everything I hoped it would be. According to the introduction is has "30 patterns for colorful folk mittens, socks, scarves, hats, wristers, handbags, knapsacks and sweaters all inspired by traditional knits housed in . . . the premier center for Norwegian-American heritage" in Iowa.

The book contains a history of Norwegian knitting, stories about what inspired the handknits, 30 patterns, beautiful photographs, and lots of folklore and traditions.

The book is divided into four primary sections with patterns included in each: Knitting Techniques, Simple Knitting and Embellishments, Two Color Knitting, and Adventurous techniques.

I especially liked the Ruth Hat which is simple yet lovely and the 2-Thumbed Dancing Mittens. As a sweater knitter primarily, I went ga-ga for the Adult Voss Sweaters, the Sami Sweaters and Voss Family Sweaters. As with most Norwegian knitting, the patterns contain a lot of multi-colored knits.

My primary reason for learning to knit was to learn to knit Norwegian sweaters. Looking at this book, I am reminded of why I first picked up knitting needles and went to a class.

The title states, "Norwegian Handknits: Heirloom Designs from Vesterheim Museum." Well, what kind of knitted heirlooms would you expect from Vesterheim? Norwegian sweaters, perhaps? Apparently, this book could only cough up two adult sweater designs: a decent Voss pattern, which looks like something Meg Swansen designed ten years ago, and a Lapp-inspired Sami, which looks rather bulky in its design. Not terribly satisfying. Yes, there are enough socks, mittens, hats, a backpack and a clumsy whimple, but I don't consider these under the heading "Heirloom Designs." A better title might have been, "Norwegian Handknits: Quick Projects Inspired from the Vesterheim Museum."

The book is nicely written. The information and photos about Norwegian immigrants is appreciated but if you had any hopes of a solid meat and potatoes book about real Norwegian knitting, which would include substantially more sweater patterns, this is more like a stick of beef jerky and a bag of potato chips.

To me it is a very lovely book, the extended patterns based off "Ruth's" knitting are pretty mundane though. In this publication the authors chose to design their patterns from beginner to advanced, limiting the space for detailed sweater patterns. The Voss sweaters at the end are impressive though.
The ski socks, hats, mittens, and felted embroidered purses are inspiring to me. While some of the pillow patterns are quite lovely, such as the "Foolish Virgins", it is irritating that they included a stereotypical Viking ship pillow. Why ?
There are many publications dedicated to traditional Norwegian sweater patterns, so to me, it is nice to have one which mainly provides smaller projects. I love the historical references.
Despite the few uninspired patterns, I am quite happy to have added this book to my Nordic knitting collection.

The authors and editors of this book seem to have fallen victim to the assumption that today's knitters want to make mostly small items--hats, mittens, scarfs, and so on. Norway has been and is still the source of gorgeous designs for sweaters: see the endless stream of pattern books published by Dale of Norway and SandnesGarn and the literally hundreds of free patterns available for download from the Web site of Garnstudio/DROPS Designs.
Granted, these sources do not offer anything in the way of knitting history or examples of historical pieces; that is this book's strong point. The illustrations are very nice, and the historical writing is interesting. Basing the book on the holdings of one museum does give the book's authors an excuse for limiting the designs they offer.
But if you want to knit Norwegian patterns--small items as well as sweaters--this book offers a very limited selection, especially of the latter. You will do much better, both for traditional Norwegian designs and contemporary ones, to use the sources I have cited above. Dale's and SandnesGarn's pattern books are not free, although they are not expensive, either, but these include, for example, not only sweater designs developed for over the years for the Winter Olympics but also some of the most adorable knitting patterns ever produced for babies and young children. If your resources are limited enough that you do not want to buy pattern books, you could still spend several lifetimes knitting the free offerings of DROPS Designs and not exhaust that archive.
Too, there are some technical errors in the book: for example, the boxed section on "steeks" shows not steeks but the Norwegian method of cutting directly into a circular tube of knitting to create spaces for armholes, cutting through some of the stitches of the garment's design. A steek, in contrast, is created while the garment is being knitted by adding extra stitches, not part of the garment patterning, that bridge armhole and neckline openings. The extra stitches form a pathway for the cutting that is done when the garment is finished, and their use insures that none of the garment's design is lost in the cutting.

I have been knitting for 55 years. I have lots of knitting books. This one is like no other I have seen. The patterns are extremely varied, although a bit heavy on mittens for my taste, and are based on artifacts found in the Vasterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. That museum is now on my list of places to see, although it is over a thousand miles away. They have taken these artifacts, every day items, embroidered shawls, some knit items, and used them creatively to produce interesting knits. The Voss sweaters are based on an embroidered head scarf, they are of two colors, mostly, like so many Scandinavian sweaters, but the pattern is like no other I've seen in Scandinavian books, or Fair Isle books. The sweaters look like they are on the bias. The entrelac sheep are adorable. And, since they have taken things and used the pattern in another way, the patterns in the book are a starting point for more creativity. Use the mitten motifs in a sweater. Use the cross country ski socks as the basis for a whole outfit, socks, hat sweater, perhaps even mittens. Not only does this book have a wide variety of patterns, it also sets an example of using motifs from other art forms in knitting patterns. What a great idea. In addition, there is a lot of Norwegian American history thrown in, with pictures of the original artifacts used for inspiration with short histories of some of the owners. The designers should be very proud of the accomplishment of this book.

1. Beautiful presentation, lovely and helpful photos in sizes large enough to catch the details
2. Projects of varying time commitments
3. Finishing techniques that make the items look special, not average
4. Great balance between historical notes/actual patterns
5. Items meant for different skill levels, nothing obviously "tacky" for the beginners
6. Great balance of many types of projects
7. Enjoyable, friendly tone, including some authentic recipes for holiday treats
8. Just too hard to put down! Excuse me as I CO!!

This book is beautifully and artfully published. The photos are so nice and I especially enjoy the inclusion of traditional Norwegian recipes. I recommend it very highly, especially because the price is very reasonable for such a lovely book.

The book is just that - lovely, especially if you like to learn some history as well. The couple of patterns in the beginning are rather stupid though. Do you really need 5 pages of instructions to knit something like the Ruth hat? I don't think so. Not all things are that useful, but at least they are pretty, which is much more than other knitting books present us with.

My new favorite knitting book. I have a knit shop in New Prague, MN. and found this book so fascinating and interesting. I already have chosen several projects to make. Interesting history and beautiful patterns.
Bonny - creative fibers