"Selbuvotter" by Anne Bårdsgård

Mittens from Selbu and the traditional Selbu patterns can be found almost everywhere in Norway. Anne Bårdsgård grew up in Selbu and she has now written a fantastic book about the Mittens from Selbu.

This book tells the history of the Selbu mitten tradition from 1850 until today. The oldest of these mittens were fine gifts often made for the bridegroom and his family. The mittens were examples of an advanced craft regarding the skill required for knitting them but also regarding the sorting and spinning of  the wool to get the yarn. The patterns were often elaborate and there are many examples of advanced pattern construction.

This book also has thorough and educational chapters on how to knit mittens such as these, the different groups/types of patterns (all chartered) and their variations (also all chartered) and background, the yarns used and  the stitch count. 

In short, everything you need to design your own Selbu mittens according to the Selbu tradition. If you are not fond of making your own patterns there is also an entire chapter of chartered mittens with presentations of the knitters that provided them.

It is rare to find a knitting book this well written and that provides this amount of useful information. "Selbuvotter" was  released this year and at the moment it is only available in Norwegian. But it deserves to be read also  by other knitters than the Scandinavian ones. Just under 300 pages and propped with knowledge it is one of the best books on knitting that I have read.

"Selbuvotter" by Anne Bårdsgård
© MUSEUMSFORLAGET Trondheim 2016
ISBN 9788283050370
www.museumsforlaget.no