I haven’t had a krokbragd weaving on my loom for a long time now, but I know it will happen again. So I examine each one I see — do I like that pattern? The colors? The symmetry or asymmetry? Do I like the zig-zags or crosses? One place I see many krokbragd weavings is the online auction site for Norway, finn.no. It’s not easy to order from finn.no outside of Norway. The only time I purchased a weaving, I had a friend order it, and I picked it up from her on a trip shortly thereafter. (See: “Skillbragd from Orkdal“) Still, it’s inspiring to see weavings for sale–some quite old ones, and many from the sixties and seventies. And I marvel that, in most cases, the yarn would cost more for me to buy than the finished pieces.
My quick search on the keyword krokbragd today brought up 29 weavings. Some pieces have detailed descriptions, and others have little background.
The piece shown below has two widths sewn together, and it looks like they match well, which is always an accomplishment. The description reads, in part: “Antique bedspread that is many, many decades old, maybe 100 years or more. It is probably from Bjørkedalen in Volda on Sunnmøre, or from Dalseth in Nordfjord. It is 119 cm wide and 215 cm long and woven in the krokbragd technique. This was called a “seng” [bed] many, many decades ago. A seng is a textile that is close to what we today call a duvet cover.” This large krokbragd costs roughly $150.
You can set up recurring searches on finn.no. Each day I receive email messages for my search terms: åkle, [a woven bed covering or coverlet, or more recently used as wall pieces], ull veggteppe, [wool wall hanging], and billedvev [tapestry]. Ull veggteppe includes some interesting weavings, but also an amazing number of embroidered hangings, no doubt made from kits.
The reason I chose to write this krokbragd post today was to share a set of articles I just saw on the Handwoven magazine site, “Brush up on Boundweave.” They are available “all-access,” to everyone. It’s like a holiday gift! I know that when I step away from the tapestry loom and get a chance to weave krokbragd again, I will review these articles.
I know that when I step away from the tapestry loom and get a chance to weave krokbragd again, I will review these articles.
And of course I will review Angie Parker’s beautiful book as well, Krokbragd: Contemporary Weaving with Color. (my post about it; review in the Norwegian Textile Letter) You should put it on your Christmas list!
I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.