Norway's Knitted Heritage

By Annemor Sunbo.

The History, Surprises, and Power of Traditional Nordic Sweater Patterns

Nordic knitting designs have long enchanted the world. What makes their allure and beauty so timeless? The answer is fascinating, and author Annemor Sundbø, known as "Norway's Sweater Detective," welcomes you on a wild ride to discover it. She's the foremost expert on the subject of these designs' history and evolution and reveals how the centuries of Norway's culture, prehistory, history, myths, and more have created the patterns we love to knit.

Now available in English for the first time, this book won Norway's prestigious Sørlandets literary prize in 2020. More than 800 images take you through the mountains and fjords of Norway with knitting in mind. As Annemor shows us, Norway's knits hold real-life tales of burial customs, royals wearing knits, nation building after the Napoleonic Wars, child labor, female role models and ski fashion, and the sustainability of knitting through history and today. How did folk costumes morph into hiking gear? What messages have the Norwegian myths left in the patterns we knit today?

Hardcover, 400 pages, published May 2023.