Inspiration
Behind the Scenes at Vesterheim
Have you dreamed of visiting a museum and getting to peek behind the “Staff Only” doors?
Through the good graces of some knitting pals, I connected with Laurann Gilbertson, the chief curator of Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, and my dream came true. Laurann generously set aside some time to show us a few (!?!) of the textiles the museum doesn’t have the space to display.
Vesterheim is located in the Driftless Area town of Decorah, Iowa. It is one of the most comprehensive museums dedicated to a single immigrant group; it is lucky for us the heritage of this group includes lots of knitting!
Laurann told us that the museum likes to collect textiles with immigrant stories attached. Where did they come from? Who made them? Who wore them?
There were so many beautiful items with sweet or bittersweet memories tied to them that I can only highlight a few.
While not the oldest or most beautifully made item we saw, this sweater really touched my heart.
Did you know there was a large Norwegian community in Brooklyn up until the late 1950s? The sweater was donated by a man who remembered that every year during his childhood, he and his siblings would lie down on a large sheet of paper on the kitchen floor, and their mother would trace their torsos.
The paper went off to their grandmother Berentine* in Norway, and back came a sweater! I could picture excited children—or reluctant teenagers—lying on a worn linoleum floor. What memories.
These dresses were made for four-year-old twins Adelaide Noreen and Oral Blanche by their mother or grandmother around 1907.
It appears they used old wool shirts, but gussied them up for the girls with a knitted lace hem. Look at those buttonholes—OG upcycling!
It is amazing to see the work that went into the hand-knitted and quilted petticoats, especially assuming they were not really meant to be seen. These were quite heavy, and brought from the same region in Western Norway to their new homes in Wisconsin and Iowa.
I’m pondering a sweater featuring some of these motifs…
So many, many, mittens!!
These Pappa, Mama, and baby mittens are perfectly preserved because they were never worn!
They were made in the late 1930s for a family who had immigrated to North Dakota. The son was sensitive to wool and wouldn’t wear them. The daughter-in-law thought there were too nice to use, and wouldn’t let the child wear hers either. Like so many things that were meant to be used, they were put away to save “for good.” This was a bit sad to see.
I have to say I preferred seeing the mittens and socks that were much mended!
Another sweet (and clearly well-worn) pair were made for Ivar Aspebakken by his fiancée back in Norway. Mittens and sweaters often had recipient’s initials and year made knitted in. After Marit joined him in Montana, she knitted this pair for their newborn son. I love that these items live together in the same drawer!
In rural Norway, it was traditional to cover one’s hands in church, and Vesterheim has an astonishing assortment of these church mittens or mitts, beautifully made and embellished.
These short, fingerless mitts made it easier to turn prayerbook pages in church.
Fulled, two-thumbed fisherman mittens allowed the thrifty hardworking wearer to rotate the palm and thumb when they became too wet.
I loved seeing the stockings that had been re-footed, and clearly mended many times.
Although stranded knitting often comes to mind when thinking of Norwegian-style stockings and socks,
there were quite a few cabled and twisted-stitch stockings as well.
Has anyone seen this heel construction before? We were intrigued and took close-up photos to try to decipher later.
This sweater made me smile. Nicely knit by Ingrid for her brother Olav in the 1920s, it’s a reminder that even museum pieces show the human touch. Ingrid didn’t really worry about jogless knitting!
Vesterheim’s textile collection is extensive—woven coverlets, tapestries, clothing, and more. It offers virtual galleries along with in-person and online classes, so feel free to explore virtually until you can visit Iowa in person!
* I’ve used some of the names so the knitters aren’t anonymous, or because their old-fashioned flavor pleased me.
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This is a truly amazing gift – to be able to see these well- loved and preserved heirlooms. Thank you!
What a treasure trove of memories and history. Breathtaking! Thank you for sharing this with us.
The Norwegian habit of covering their hands in church was not based on religion but on necessity, churches in winter were icy cold. As Sunday service was a social event, it was also an opportunity to show off …
Excellent point!
Thank you for this. I grew up in Iowa and love all the Scandinavian influence, including my Danish grandparents who immigrated to Southwest Iowa (my grandmother taught me to knit). In that area is a wonderful Danish Immigrant Museum. I am so happy to see all the love-filled knits and to read the stories of them. Now I need to get myself to the museum when I get back to this beautiful area of Iowa.
Oh my goodness! I loved this so much!! The tracing of the children. I had my friend trace here children for me so that I could make special costumes for them in exchange for a trombone they weren’t using! And the church mitts and the mends. Wow! Thank you so much for this!
Wow! What a treasure trove! Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos! And I love that you shared the names of the makers as well!
Im thinking about the most beautiful dress my mom wore as a baby. It was 1947 and my grandmother made it from one of my grandfather’s blue work shirts that was worn out in the elbows. Making children’s dresses from men’s shirts is a style that I hope we never ever lose. Gorgeous and I think we have a new stop for our next trip through Iowa.
Loved this, thank you very much. I especially liked the amazing sweater with no concern for the jog….reminds me of….me!
I have fond memories of spending a day at that museum in 1967 as we drove from NY to CA. As a Swedish American, I would also recommend the Swedish museums in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Seattle for collections of Scandinavian handcrafts.
Great knitting journalism! In this age of up cycling and vintage clothing, it is so interesting to see these knitted items from Norway and how these styles and ideas became part of American culture!
Lovely story!
Laura Neel has a somewhat similiar heel on the Uncommon Dragon Sock.
Thank you!
Thank you for this superb article! My grandparents immigrated from Norway to North Dakota/Minnesota and my mother was an excellent knitter. She made sweaters with colorful flowers (knitted or embroidered?) on the upper arms and down the front. I must visit this museum-thank you!
Wow – fascinating!! (And here in Iowa!?) Making a trip to Decorah sometime soon to see this, even if some treasures are behind the secret doors. So cool.
It is a lovely spot. The museum has lots to see, including a whole wing built around a small sailing vessel! There is the Whippy Dip soft serve place and a FABULOUS yarn store The Blue Heron Knittery. https://www.blueheronknittery.com/
And if you’re interested in gardening, there’s the Seed Savers Exchange that works toward preserving heirloom seeds. I’ve never been to Decorah, but I’d sure like to visit there.
I did go to the Seed Savers! Too late to plant for this year, but I bought some seeds for next year. Grandma Hadley’s Lettuce is a favorite. So much fun to go there in person!
I’ve been to Decorah — what a great little town in such a beautiful area of Iowa. But I didn’t know about the museum — so I must go back. Thank you for the informative article!! How fun to get to go ‘backstage’.
What a heartwarming article to go with my morning coffee.
Wonderful and inspiring! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you MDK, for this wooly foray to Norway’s traditional knitting via a museum in Iowa.
Of course the 4 or 8 pronged star motif and stranded 2 colour knits are well known to a seasoned knitter everywhere, but white wool petticoats in lace patterns? They are totally fabulous and worthy of another, more ostentatious incarnation, say a shawl or a vest or a sweater.
I am not a sock knitter, but the white sock’s heel… very nifty.
This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing all the glorious knitted items.
I wonder if part of the heel may have been knitted flat, then folded over and stitches picked up.
That’s a thought! Thanks.
Beautifully written. I love the mittens and the concept of putting lace on the shirts for further use.
I especially love the petticoats! They remind me of ganseys. Feather and fan is such a beautiful pattern and to see it used in this way is just terrific.
My brother-in-law’s family were among those Brooklyn Norwegians! He has lived in suburban Philadelphia for decades but remembers their enclave.
Thank you so much! What a great view into the lives of these people. Does the museum have a book featuring their treasures? I love that the museum cherishes the human stories that accompany the items. Iowa just moved way up in my travel list as a place to revisit.
You can find knitting patterns for – and inspired by – Vesterheim artifacts in issues of PieceWork magazine (eg. Winter 2023) and in “Norwegian Handknits: Heirloom Designs from Vesterheim Museum” by Sue Flanders and Janine Kosel. Visit https://collections.vesterheim.org/vesterheim-archives/virtual-galleries/ to see a selection of Vesterheim’s collection, including knitting, weaving, embroidery, and other folk and fine art.
I loved seeing the collection through your eyes, Mary Lou!
LOVED this article! I visited the museum years ago but never had the opportunity to see these lovely works of art!
Thank you – a mitten knitter
I’m guessing a heritage road trip (Decorah isn’t /that/ far from where I live) sometime in my future!
So lovely! What beautiful items – and photographs!
Thank you for writing about Decorah. When I was a child my grandmother received the Decorah Posten Norwegian language newspaper by mail to her home in Wyoming so I knew it had a strong Scandinavian presence but was unaware of the museum.
The cabled sock photograph reminds me of the U Turn sock pattern.
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/janwinkler/u-turn-3/slideshow?fullscreen=1&start=95449385
Thanks, I’ll check that out!
Thank you for sharing these treasured knitted article. Losing those mitten, gloves, and socks would have been a tragedy. I have been there but it has been several years ago.
As someone who works with textiles and clothing in museums, storage is always a treasure hunt.
If only the pieces could talk!
Marvelous. Things even I have not seen as a long time tour guide. Laurann is an amazing curator and lovely person.
She is, and we felt so fortunate to get some of her time.
Thanks for your postcard from Iowa!
Beautiful knitting indeed – with great stories.
It looks like a variation of the balbriggan heel.
http://stringativity.blogspot.com/2009/05/balbriggan-heel.html?m=1
It does, I’m going to follow up on all these heel clues. Maybe another piece on the heel secret!
Wow!!! And thank you!! I’m gobsmacked by all of those pieces you shared. Such beauty. And I was charmed by the much worn baby mittens. The story about the kids lying down on the floor to be outlined made me laugh. What a picture!
Thank you so much for this! What amazing things. I must plan a trip!
That area of Iowa/Wisconsin is one of my favorite landscapes in the world. I’ve hiked and canoed a lot of it, but wasn’t knitting at the time or I would have visited the museum in Decorah (such a lovely town). Thank you for bringing the virtual tour possibilties to our attention as I don’t have plans to return any time soon.
Thank you for sharing this information about the museum. I had never heard of it before. My father was 100% Norwegian and he ours have been so happy to hear about the preservation of all things Norwegian. ❤️
As I write this I’m wearing a sweater I knit that has my initials hiding in one pocket & MMXXI in the other. I had no idea that my Norwegian ancestors had done that too! What a fun & inspiring article.
Mange tusen takk – S
Thanks for sharing about Vesterheim! My husband is on the board. I will be there November 9th for the ceremony of the new Visitors Center. The online classes are great fun. Their folk art school features many different crafts to discover. Always something new to discover at Vesterheim!
The Visitors Center is great!
Another place added on my bucket list! The photos and the knitted items are beautiful. Thank you!