“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 A pair of male gloves with the Kallarstrø- Kirkvold and Kari Kallarstrø, with their typical rose and the big hook on the cuff.. knitting baskets.

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 Female mittens with endless-roses Male mittens, knitted by Marit Ram-roses 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 rose-patterns 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 Female gloves and mittens with reindeers. and the elk-dog, in national colours.

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.