Selbu knitting and the Selbu mitten

“Selbu knitting and the Selbu mitten”
The history of the Selbu mitten with two strands of different colours, generally in black and
white, is more than 150 years old. However, this knitting technic dates back even earlier in
Scandinavia and in Norway as well. For instance in Telemark and in the south-western part
of Norway this technique was already well known when the adventure started in Selbu.
Nevertheless – it is the Selbu mitten with the eight-point star that is considered the national
mitten in Norway. In Selbu this pattern is called the star-rose.
The Selbu mitten soon became “the national symbol” of Norway. It spread rapidly all over
the country and about 1900 Selbu knitting became a very important export article all over
Europe, America and Canada as well.
Today, mittens for sale, are standardized and
stereotypical, mostly knitted with two eight-point stars.
However, in foreign times, the mittens used a wider range
of design. The patterns were more flourishing and richer
than today. Both the homespun yarn and the pins were
thinner.
Typical Selbu mittens in 2014.
Marit Emstad, the “mother” of the Selbu mitten
In the summer 1956 Marit Guldseth, (1841-1929),
worked for the farmer Jo Kjøsnes. Another girl who
also worked at the farm had made a pair of stocking
with black stitches snaking up the leg. Jo asked Marit
if perhaps she could do the same, and so she did.
A cold winter Sunday in 1857 the sixteen year old
Marit, entered the church with her two sisters, and
they all wore two-strand mittens with eight-point
star-roses, knitted by Marit. The three sisters
caused a sensation, and from that day on, Selbu
mittens were born for real. The two-strands
technique got extremely popular, and it spread
rapidly from farm to farm and soon became
common in the little community.
Patterns
Inspired by Marit, everybody in Selbu wanted to knit mittens in two colours, and they also
wanted to create their own pattern. The motifs therefore often have names after farms or
persons: The Kallarstrø-rose, the Heggset-rose, the Emstad-rose, and so on. Some patterns
were developed and copied from older motifs used in embroidery, tapestry and wood
carving, and some were named after nature and things from everyday life: the coffee bean,
the snowflake, the spider, the clot of spittle and pine bough pattern. Some patterns also
were called The Endless-rose – never ending pattern. There is also a significant pattern called
Værhornros, Ramrose, which is inspired from the antlers of the ram.
The two ladies from the farm Kallarstrø, Petrine
Kirkvold and Kari Kallarstrø, with their typical
knitting baskets.
A pair of male gloves with the Kallarstrørose and the big hook on the cuff..
The ram-rose is a significant pattern, and the rose is made
from the antlers of the ram, here, on the photo, surrounded by
flowers. The dancers on the thumbs are more decorated than
those on the cuffs. The palm is decorated with leaves.
The initials Ole N. Kallar belongs to the owner, and the mittens
were knitted in 1923 by one of the ladies from Kallarstrø.
There are some typical characteristic features which make it easy to know how to separate
Selbu mittens from other mittens in white and black pattern. It is a distinct difference
between the patterns on the back of the hand and the palm, and the two different patterns
are separated with a literal dividing line. The patterns on the thumb are also different, and
the mitten and the thumb both have a distinct tip.
Very typical of Selbu mittens, are the distinct difference between male and female mittens,
marked by the cuffs. Mittens for men are always knitted with short stranded cuffs all
covered with patterns. Female mittens have longer cuffs without patterns, mostly ribbed
with stripes.
Female mittens with
Ram-roses
Female mittens with endless-roses
Male mittens, knitted by Marit
Emstad.
In Selbu there is registered over 400 different patterns used in knitting.
A collection of the some other used patterns in Selbu:
Verhånnrosa: The
ramrose
Kinntyrrillros: A pattern
from when making
butter in old times.
Appelsina: The orange
Snøkrystall: The snow
flake
Enkle dansere: Simpel
dancers
Åttskjænnros: The eight
pointed rose/star with
eight stitches in the
blade.
Seksskjænnros: eight
pointed star with six
stitches in the blade.
Mothjart: opposite
hart-rose
Trienn: Two rosepatterns with the
number 3,
Storkroken: The big
hook
The Endless-rose is patterns which has no ending, suitable also for stocking and sweaters.
Some variations of the The endless-rose, consisting of eight-point stars, snowflakes and pine boughs.
For some periods mittens in colours were very popular, and often in combination with
animals, mostly reindeers, dogs and elks.
Male mittens with national animals, the elk
and the elk-dog, in national colours.
Female gloves and mittens with reindeers.
In Selbu there were quite common with inscriptions on the knitting. Many of the mittens
have initials and inscriptions.
The male mittens to the left, have the
inscription forering which means
present/gift. The inscription is
surrounded by flower-pots, and there
are dancers and leaves on the cuff.
The male mittens to the right have the
inscription lykkelig brudepar which
means happy bridal couple and in the
middle, the big H
I spite of all the different kinds of patterns, it is the eight-point star that is the most famous
and well-known motif on Selbu mittens today.
It is well known that the eight-point star is a universal symbol which has existed through
many ages as well as in diverse places, and in just as many cultures and religions around the
world. The motif is used in different ways in all kinds of handicraft in embroidery, tapestry,
wood carving and of course knitting. Although the eight-point star is a well-known and
worldwide symbol existing for thousands of years, in Norway, this star is mostly known as
the “Selbu-rose”.
The history about Beret Aune
In 1882 Beret Aune immigrated to USA with her husband and little son. They came to a small
community in Minnesota. The inhabitants had neither school, nor teacher or Church. Beret
very soon came up with plan to achieve those things. She was a very good knitter and she
taught the other women how to knit. They sold the knitted products in the nearest town and
soon the income could pay a teacher for the children as well as a school building. Later on
she made an agreement with the men and if they built the church, the women should raise
the money. The group of women was called “The women Missionary Federation”.
In 1893 the family went back to Selbu and Vikvarvet. To
get to the shop and church Beret always had to travel by
boat and cross the river Nea. She thought by herself: “If I
could organise fundraising for a school, teacher and
Church in America I could as well organise the women
and raise money for a bridge across the river”. The
Bridge association became a fact and soon after the first
Teigen bridge became a reality. Today there is a
nameplate on this spot. Beret Aune lived to be 102
years. The last ten years she was ill in bed, but she
knitted mitten till the last day. She specialised on a
curtain rose that you can see here on the mittens below.
Beret Aune, (1856-1958) knitting, 102 years old.
Gathering over coffee
From the middle of the 19th century the women in Selbu were
knitting almost in all their spare time. They knitted on their way
along the road, to the shop, while they were herding animals, on
the bus – everywhere that it was possible to produce a few
stitches, and they also gathered round a cup of coffee. In hard
times knitting was a lifesaver for many families. Also many men
and children had to knit.
Early commission agents - Birch and Christophersen
Except for Marit Emstad, there were two men who have the honour of spreading the Selbu
mittens from the first beginning. Fredrik Birch and Axel Christophersen were both great
businessmen, and had hold of the millstone industry and also the export of the millstones.
Export of millstones was the largest and most important industry in Selbu for hundreds of
years. It began around 1500 and lasted till about 1930. When this industry ended the
knitting adventure was ready to take over. Birch and Christophersen had contacts all over
Europe. And in the trade with knitting, these contacts were indeed very useful.
Knitting for sale started around 1890, on a modest scale. Both of them, Birch in particular,
were very good in marketing and had long experience in promoting and selling products. The
export of Selbu knitting benefited from this. Already in 1883, when Birch attended an
industrial exposition in Oslo, he brought with him some pair of mittens. Birch and
Christophersen bought mittens from local knitters for resale, or traded them for
merchandise.
Selbu Husflidcentral, the craft association
In the late 1920 and 1930 the quality of knitting went down. The knitting suffered from the
pressure of demand and mass production. Big profits were tempting. The result was: Loose
knitting with coarse needles and coarse yarn as well as sloppiness with patterns. This could
not go on and the Industry had to go through a control institution. Selbu Husflidcentral or
craft association was therefore established in 1934. It was a union of shops and producers of
craft articles in the district. The products came mostly from Selbu but knitters in the
neighbour community, Tydal, were welcome as well.
The Husflidcentral had the quality
control and a seal of approval was
fastened to the articles that met the
standard for sale. The best motifs
were copied out as patterns for the
producers; specific requirements
were made for shape, measurements
and Weight. The association entered
into an agreement with a yarn
factory for supply of a particular type
of yarn.
Although the local craft association in Selbu exported millions
of mittens since the sale started about 1890, the people from
Selbu took very good care of their mittens and they used them
until there was no pattern left.
Out in the world
Once the sport of skiing came into fashion in the Nordic
countries and in Central Europe, the Selbu mitten very soon
became an important export product. The mittens were sold
all over Europe and also in America and Canada. Belgian
expeditions to the South Pole and American forces in
Germany were also equipped with Selbu mittens.
Norwegian sportsmen and women were and are still
outstanding ambassadors for Selbu mittens. The Olympic
teams of 1960 and 1964 were both equipped with Selbu
products.
Wedding traditions
As in many other places, knitting took a particular part in the wedding traditions in Selbu. In
earlier days, it was not at all simple for a girl to get married, and a betrothed girl had to start
knitting well in advance. The bride had to knit handsome stockings for the groom and his
brothers, the father of the groom and the brothers-in-law as well as the godchildren. The
mother and sisters-in-law had to have fabrics for dresses and blouses, and the bride traded
her knitting for these articles in the local shops.
All male guests also should take home a pair of mittens. However, these mittens were not
the bride’s responsibility. They were knitted by women guests and delivered a few days
before the wedding and hang on a cord or a rod in the bridal loft. The bride had to make
sure that all the men got the mittens that their wives had knitted. If the bride messed it up,
she looked like a fool.
The weddings lasted for three days, and during these days hundreds of knitted mittens and
stockings could be on display for the guests in the bridal loft. It was important to make a
good impression, and the knitters really made an effort in delicate and intricate patterns.
Hundreds of articles were
exposed for the wedding guests
in this way, and it was a great
opportunity, special for the
unmarried girls to show their
skills for the unmarried boys. It
was important to make a good
impression and the knitters
really took effort in delicate and
intricate patterns. Much due to
the wedding traditions, the
patterns in Selbu developed
richer and richer.
The bridal loft in the knitting exhibition in Selbu Bygdemuseum.
Red was the colour for festivity and big occasions, and to
weddings many mittens were in red. They were knitted in
black and white and then coloured red.
There were also knitted scarfes and collars for men. A pair
of red mittens could often be a gift from the bride to her
groom.
The bridal loft in the knitting
exhibition in Selbu Bygdemuseum
In the Guinnes World Records
In 2008 knitters in Selbu
began to knit a huge pair of
mittens. The adventure
came through, and the
record was approved in 2014
by the Guinnes World
Records: the biggest pair of
Selbu mittens in the world.