Selbu: Knitting Norway with Lorilee Beltman

From 9:00 am until 4:30 pm

At Brigid's Loft

$350 + materials

Class Fee includes lunch on both days, a pattern handout; a goodie bag; and a slide show of Lorilee's trip to Norway. We have all the yarn and supplies required for the class for purchase in the shop. Registered students will receive a list of suggested supplies.
 
Level: Intermediate. You must have experience knitting in the round; colorwork experience is helpful.

A knitting tradition can rarely be traced back to a known person—Marit Gulsethbrua Emstad, an exact time—1857, and an exact place—Selbu, Norway. Young Marit knitted three pairs of striking black-and-white mittens with bold rose designs (which look like snowflakes) on the back of the hands. She showed them off at church, and the garments became a hit. By the 1930s, Selbu townsfolk were knitting 100,000 pairs annually, selling mittens to France, Austria, and the rest of Europe. 

During our two days together, we will explore the traditional Selbu mitten components--the motifs found on the back of the hand, the smaller “wallpaper” designs of the palm, and the edge pattern.

Day One: You'll learn the techniques by making two-sided coasters, using a handout that provides six design options plus a template for designing your own. You'll learn the Magic Cast-On; how to weave in ends as you go; two-handed stranded colorwork tips and tricks; working with the Magic Loop technique; working stranded inside out for perfect tension; reading color charts without fear; grafting in garter stitch; fulling and blocking.

Day Two: You may continue to make coasters (while listening to instructions for mittens), or move on to mittens. You'll learn to make a striped lace cuff and a thumb gusset and be able to choose from numerous charts for mittens.
 

Teacher bio:  Lorilee Beltman is a former yarn shop owner and is now a knitting teacher and designer based in Western Washington. She has taught at over 100 national events, where she packs her classes with extra content and useful tips.

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