Squares, Stripes & Lice: 25 Traditional Knitting Designs from Bergen, Norway

A wealth of stylish patterns, inspired by the textile history of Norway.

One of the oldest textile factories in Norway, Salhus Tricotagefabrik (1859-1989) operated outside Bergen for over 130 years, producing thousands of sweaters and other durable everyday clothes such as wool and cotton underwear and woolen socks. The technical limitations of the knitting machines of the day gave rise to timeless geometric motifs with strikingly distinctive features―motifs which inspired some of Norway's best-loved knit designers to come together and create this striking collection of all-new contemporary handknit garments, now translated into English for the first time.

• A detailed introduction to Salhus Tricotagefabrik
• Sweaters, jackets, skirts, home d cor, and more, for children and adults
• The best of both worlds: bold, dynamic, fashionably retro designs, and flattering contemporary shaping and cut
• Full-color photographs and step-by-step instructions, with patterns that include both complex finishing for veterans and simpler raglan shaping
• Featuring designs from Birger Berge, Kristin Wiola deg rd, Siv Dyvik, Berit L kken, and others

Ann Kristin Ramstrøm, editor, is head of The Textile Industry Museum in Salhus. Author Hanne Dale is the collections manager, and Author Siri Angela Gamborg works in education and is responsible for production and the museum gift shop. Their backgrounds are in various aspects of cultural and industrial history, arts, and crafts. Together the three women work to preserve and promote the industrial heritage site whether that means keeping a steady hand over the running of the museum as a whole, managing its collections or producing new socks and scarfs for the gift shop on our historical machinery.

About the Museum

Salhus Tricotagefabrik (1859-1989) was the first fully mechanized knitwear factory in Norway, and now protected as an industrial heritage site and museum. The factory was a part of the first wave of the industrial revolution in Norway and was known for producing durable everyday clothes: wool and cotton underwear, woolen socks, and not least, wool sweaters.

When the smoke from the factory chimneys stopped, Salhus Tricotagefabrik was protected as one of Norway's 15 national industrial heritage sites. Now the factory houses the Textile Industry Museum, which tells the story of the Norwegian textile industry. The museum still demonstrates the historical machinery and produces small quantities of woolen sweaters, scarves, and socks that are sold at the museum gift shop.

Since 2016 the museum has arranged Bergen Strikkefestival (Bergen Knit Fest @bergenstrikkefestival) a grand celebration of knitting during one weekend in late September.