A Norwegian Kofte

Kofte is the name for a knitted jacket with stranded work. Originally it meant just a garment made from thick wool, both woven and knitted sweaters and jackets, but now it is mainly used for jackets.

I found a wikipedia page about it (in Norwegian…), but I add here some photos of the kofte my mother made for me more than 15 years ago. It is quite similar to a traditional pattern from a part of Norway called Setesdal, but I am not sure where she found this variant. It has the traditional “lice” pattern with single white stitches on the dark background.  I am particularly fond of the embroideries she made; it makes it very special.

There is quite a huge interest in designing “novel” kofte patterns here in Norway at the moment. It has recently been a competition and several of the fabulous entries can be viewed in a  Facebook group! I did not enter but have had an idea for one a would like to make inspired by the yarn from a small Norwegian yarn company called Telespinn. They make high quality mohair yarn in wonderful colours! This is my first “sleeve test”, I want to have a white background and several colours in the pattern (but maybe only red “lice”). I am making some adjustments now and we’ll see how it goes! It might turn out to be too “noisy”, but it is worth a try!