A Postcard from: Bohuslan, Sweden
Bohuslan is a Swedish province, located on the northernmost part of the country’s west coast. Similar to the other places we’ve called in on, there are islands involved! Bohuslan is an archipelago of more than 3,000 islands and 5,000 skerries which are tiny, rocky islands usually about an acre in size.
Our story today is one of developing an intricate, sought after knitting style. Unlike the other places we’ve visited, the Bohus Stickning (stickning is Swedish for knitting) tradition was created to sell high end, high fashion garments to consumers around the world. These sweaters were only available at Neiman Marcus in the US and high end department stores and boutiques elsewhere.
Blue Shimmer, designed by Anna-Lisa Mannheier Lunn in 1947, the most popular Bohus Stickning design ©MaryHenry
It all began in 1939 when impoverished women from Bohuslan approached Emma Jacobson, who was an Austrian-born botanist, art historian, and wife of the governor of Bohuslan. Since the economy was in such poor shape, they asked for help in establishing a cottage business, something they could do at home that didn’t require special equipment or specialized training.
Yellow lace collar designed by Karin Ivarsson in 1961 ©AngoraGarnett
Emma was eager to help and, after trying a few different home-made products such as dolls and Christmas decorations, they settled on knitting and Bohus Stickning was born. At first they made sturdy gloves and socks. They quickly realized that they could ask a higher price if they were embellished with embroidery. As these became popular, Emma used her fine-arts background and started designing sweaters. Fortunately Emma was a skilled designer and she also recruited professional pattern designers who were encouraged to be inventive.
#03 Fitted Hat, designed by Kate Gagnon Osborn © Soho Publishing
Emma had the highest standards for herself, the designers she collaborated with, and her knitters. Knitting courses were organized all over Bohuslan and agents were appointed who would act as liaisons between knitters and the Bohus Knitting Center which was in the governor’s residence. This all contributed to the success of Bohus Stickning, along with Emma’s tight control over the mystique of the brand. The designs had to be protected from imitation so all designing was done in-house.
The Grey Mist Rose designed by Kerstin Olsson between 1965-1969 ©AngoraGarnett
The gorgeous style that became coveted the world over was characterized by complicated multi-colored patterns (some with up to 5 colors in one row), angora/wool blend yarns, purl bumps, blurry color blending, a distinctive color palette, all knit at a tiny gauge. The designs were always about fashion and exclusivity, never ease of knitting, in order to demand the highest prices for the knitters. Emma’s goal was to improve their financial circumstances and she believed that creating high end fashion was the best way to accomplish that goal. This article goes into depth about the characteristics.
Unfortunately, Emma closed Bohus Stickning in 1969 when she was in her 80s. Changing fashions, reproduction of her her designs by unethical companies, and the introduction of easy-care fibers all contributed to the closure.
Lunenburg Pullover, designed by Amy Christoffers © Amy Christoffers
Fortunately for us, there’s been a movement to recreate the Bohus Stickning style. Pernille Silfverberg, owner of AngoraGarnet, an angora rabbit farm in Bohuslan, sells kits of approved, meticulously recreated designs, using the original colors of lace weight angora/merino yarn. If you’re not eager to make anything lace weight at a tight gauge, there are Bohus-inspired patterns on Ravelry. You could choose to add Mohair or Suri alpaca to your main yarn to add the halo effect.
There is only one more stop of our tour of knitting traditions around the world. Where will we be next week?
Happy knitting,
