Woven Coverlets of Norway FROM THE PUBLISHER
"The Woven Coverlets of Norway showcases one of Norway's most beautiful and enduring folk arts. A warm, thick cover has always been important during Norway's long winter nights, but coverlets also decorated the family bedsteads in one-room farmhouses, affording housewives an opportunity to display their talents. Coverlets were a central feature in the important ceremonies of a person's life as well, wrapping an infant at christening, providing a cover for the marriage bed, and draping the coffin as a last offering of comfort to a loved one." To explain the coverlet's importance as the pinnacle of the Norwegian weaver's art, Katherine Larson looks at the role textiles played in the lives of women prior to the twentieth century. She takes readers through the yearly cycle in rural Norway and relates it to the many steps of cloth production in a pre-industrial era. Larson describes traditional methods of preparing, spinning, dyeing, and weaving wool and flax, and the tools with which these tasks were performed. She devotes chapters to the different types of coverlets and their origins: tapestry, square weave, krokbragd, double weave, rya, and overshot. Numerous illustrations show patterns from ages past faithfully preserved in the coverlets of Norway. In addition, the book includes a wealth of bibliographic sources and a glossary of weaving terminology.
SYNOPSIS
This book about weaving techniques, patterns, tools, and materials is also about emigration and cultural heritage. It traces the centuries-old traditions of the Norwegian coverlet: decorative textiles that are both utilitarian and symbolic, used in ceremonies from christenings to funerals as well as in everyday living. Larson (a weaver and researcher based in Seattle) works in colorful bits and pieces about her own Norwegian American background as she describes the steps of cloth production. The many beautiful illustrations (both b&w and color) include images of coverlets as well as weavers and the places where they worked. Oversize: 9x11.25".
Annotation © Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Coverlets were woven at home by Norwegian women from as far back as Viking times up until the last century. In this attractive book, weaver and independent researcher Larson presents an overview of the history of wool and linen yarn production and the function of the coverlets in rural Norwegian homes and fishing boats, illustrated with black-and-white photographs and drawings of tools and processes. She then examines various types of coverlets, organized into chapters according to woven structures. These are accompanied by detailed diagrams of the threads and multiple color photographs of each type of coverlet, taken mostly from museum collections. When possible, Larson points out analogous weaving types from other cultures and contemporary American craft weaving. This is a carefully constructed book that provides the fullest presentation of this topic to be published in English. Recommended for specialized collections. Kathryn Wekselman, M.Ln., Cincinnati Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Home
