Selbu Patterns

by Anne Bårdsgård

Gorgeous contemporary garments rooted in Norwegian knitting tradition. Anne Bårdsgård grew up in Selbu, and has always had a close relationship with her hometown and its rich knitting history―her relentless interest in the traditional mittens that made Selbu famous worldwide became the groundwork for her first book, the stunning all-in-one historical reference, design compendium, and mitten pattern guide Selbu Mittens . Now, she's delved into the wider realm of sweaters, cardigans, socks, and hats, with this companion over 450 motifs that can be adapted and combined using any of the foundational garment patterns included, based on extensive and thorough documentation of photographs, drawings, and preserved samples of historical knitted items from Selbu. The result is a unique and unequaled look into the traditional knitting culture of the Selbu region―and an endlessly inspiring pattern resource.

Genres: Knitting, Art, Crafts

296 pages, Hardcover

First published July 28, 2020

Reviews

[Horus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic coffee table sized book with excellent illustrations. Upon release of the Selbu Mittens book, the author realized they had enough material for a more generalized look at Selbu knitting. There is a brief history of Selbu and its knitting traditions as well as discussions about the wool and pattern types. There is a brief section with patterns for socks, hats and sweaters (not generally for the beginner I’m afraid and if you want mittens you need the other book), and then the remainder is all graphed patterns and historic photos. An absolute treasure trove of both history and creative ideas. There is almost too much there to choose from to knit (or embroider, or weave etc etc).

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible, fascinating compilation of the usually black and white stitch patterns used in Selbu knitting. Not only are there pages and pages of these designs, but photos of sweaters and socks, along with the history of Selbu knitting. Excellent. A book every knitter would want to own.