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This thesis explores the publication, design, dissemination and use of patterns for knitting and crochet in Sweden in the mid-nineteenth century. It investigates why the mediation of patterns for knitting and crochet changed during this period and what these changes reveal about the handicraft skills of the target group and the social context for which the patterns were produced. 

Manuals and fashion journals containing patterns for knitting and crochet issued in Swedish between 1840 and 1865 are both the research object and the main sources; to situate them within a transnational context, they are compared with British and German counterparts. Through object-based study of extant manuals and fashion journals and quantitative analysis of bibliographic data, the development of different ways of giving instructions and presenting patterns is explored. A discourse analysis of the prefaces and other texts that frame the handicraft patterns reveals how the publishers used contemporary attitudes towards knitting and crochet to make the patterns appeal to a certain target group. Furthermore, a selection of patterns is tested in practice, thus examining how information is transferred and which skills were expected of the end user. 

In the design of the publications, knitting and crochet are feminised, popularised and commodified. By linking these needlecrafts to the ideals and social practices of urban culture, the publishers transformed the patterns into modern consumer articles for fashion-conscious and respectable middle-class women. A gradual development of new ways to transfer knowledge through words and images was facilitated by the technical developments within book printing. Frequent misprints and the omission of key instructions demonstrate that a fundamental understanding of knitting and crochet was expected of the target group, in addition to tenacity and creativity. 

The different ways of mediating patterns for knitting and crochet that developed in the nineteenth century were formed through an interplay between practices and innovations within book printing, translation customs, the organisation of the market, shifting fashions in handicrafts and changing perceptions of the target group’s habits and taste. 

The aim of this paper is to discuss the mobility of skilled labour within small and specialised guilds in peripheral Europe during the mid-seventeenth century. Based on archival records for passementerie makers and embroiderers in Stockholm, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark, the paper highlights conflicts brought on by labour mobility. What can these conflicts tell us about the situation within two small and specialised trades in Scandinavia, and how were they handled? The study examines examples of the actual implementation of both regulations and traditions associated with the crafts. This illuminates historical strategies for human resource management as well as economic relations between Scandinavia and the Continent. The results suggest a balancing act of negotiations between the needs of journeymen and masters respectively, paired with a pronounced need to align with their German counterparts. It also becomes clear that conditions differed between Stockholm and Copenhagen. Not only was the number of native artisans higher within the Danish guilds concerned, there was also substantial re-growth by apprenticeship. In contrast, Sweden was heavily dependent on immigration of skilled labour.

The use of fashionable dress played an important part in early modern dynastic politics. In this paper, the diplomatic efforts to engineer a marriage between Erik XIV of Sweden and Elizabeth I of England are used as an example of the interrelations of textiles and diplomacy. Parallel to their negotiations in London, the Swedes organised the production of luxury goods and set up temporary workshops on the spot. The study looks at the Swedish embroidery workshop in London, using written records to investigate its organisation and production, and to discuss artisanal skills and the transnational element in employment in a royal workshop. It is suggested that the entire enterprise was a diplomatic practice, designed to enable the Swedes to draw attention to their presence in London and make their consumption visible on all possible levels.

Producing foreign splendor in domestic workshops: The royal embroiderers at the court of King Gustav I Vasa of Sweden 1523-1560

A European Renaissance monarch was expected to live up to the standards of his peers. Dressed in rich apparel the regent aimed to create an image of magnificent kingship. In order to accommodate the need for opulent dress, it was necessary to have access to artisans working in different specialist trades. One such specialist trade was the embroiderers. This article investigates the work made in the Swedish royal embroidery workshop during the reign of King Gustav I (r. 1523-1560). Research questions focus on the production of embroidered dress. The number of artisans, their background and the organization of work are studied in relation to the clothes described in royal inventories and wardrobe accounts. The rise of a large royal embroidery workshop emerged gradually during the near 40 year-reign of Gustav I. The recruitment of foreign artisans, mainly from Germany and France, is seen in the growing numbers of embroiderers employed at court. The skills of these foreign artisans were passed on to Swedish apprentices in the workshop. By the time of the King's death, in 1560, more than ten embroiderers were employed on a full time basis. The workshop had then approached its peak in terms of size and would only increase slightly during the reign of Gustav's son Erik XIV. An overview of embroidered dress belonging to the members of the royal family 1539-1559 shows shifts in the use of different types of garments and embroidery techniques. The clothes described both in inventories and wardrobe accounts correspond to contemporary portraiture. This indicates that the Swedish royal embroidery workshop had capacity to supply the Vasa court with fashionable outfits. Furthermore, there is no evidence of imported garments having been more than a supplement to domestic production.

The study examines bobbin-made borders and edgings in gold and silver during the period 1550-1640.

The aim of the thesis is to study the technique of bobbin made lace and to place it in a historical, social and economic context. This is done by describing and analyzing samples of bobbin made lace in gold and silver manufactured during the period 1550-1640 and giving a picture of production, procurement, use and reuse of bobbin made lace.

The divided aim implies that the thesis has two paths. The earlier chapters investigate production, dealing with equipment, pattern books, techniques and patterns. The analysis and interpretation has its anchorage in deeply established practical knowledge and experience of bobbin lace making. The later chapters, dealing with procurement, use and reuse, are based on studies of portrait archives and preserved artefacts.

The study is built on object-based and archival research alongside portrait studies.  The primary sources are bobbin-made borders and edgings preserved on ecclesiastical textiles in Sweden, documentation from the Swedish Royal accounts, and dress and portraits found in European collections.

The principal aim of this dissertation, Rhetoric and Practice: A Study of the Handicraft Society of Gestrikland 1912-1930, has been to investigate how the rhetoric of the Society – in its early years, as well in the subsequent writings which relate the Society’s history – compares to its actual practices, and to undertake a critical review of the meaning and practical application of the Society’s official slogans. One area of focus is the way Gestrikland’s Handicraft society employed the motto of “helping people to help themselves” – the idea, that is to say, of generating income for the poor. Another focus is the concept of “local character” as applied to the most typical handicraft products for a particular region. Both concepts were central to the Swedish handicraft movement.

The study of archivial records as well as the analyses of textile objects, conducted from the point of view my own practical expertise, has led to significant new knowledge which clearly shows the discrepancy between the rhetoric and the reality of the early Handicraft movement. By problematizing and analysing the central concepts of the movement, “helping people to help themselves” and “local character”, I have been able to give a more relevant understanding of the practice. Specifically, I show that the origin of “local character” does not derive from the qualities of the surrounding natural environment, but rather from the creative initiative of particular individuals. Similarly, the idea of “helping people to help themselves”, which in the official rhetoric was understood to describe an initiative to supplement the income of the poorer folk of the countryside, has also in practice been shown to create occupation also for the women of the elite, and to help them find a place in public life. The handicraft movement thus became an organisation of middle-class women for women of all classes. One might say the organisation even existed to “help one’s own people help themselves”.

This master's thesis explores the continuity and change of the men's folk costume in Leksand parish, Dalecarlia, between 1770–1870. It also investigates societal changes as a reason for these changes and uses the theory of local cultural identity and tradition as explanatory models for continuity and change. Primary sources include probate inventories, extant garments, depictions and written records from the time.

The investigation reveals that the probate inventories show both continuity and change in the men's clothing possessions. New garments and materials appear during the latter period, 1850–1870, but the combined sources suggest a parallel usage with the more traditional garments and materials, for some time.

The lack of dating of the extant garments made the use of depictions crucial, to be able to see the small changes the garments have gone through over the years. In general, the extant garments and depictions show continuity as well as small changes.

The new garments and materials can be seen as the beginning of a transition into non-local, fashionable costumes. When comparing how this transition manifested in the neighbouring parish, Åhl, differences in time and process can be seen. Further comparisons are also made to other areas of Sweden, to highlight differences and similarities.

Since the beginning of the early 20th century bed rugs have been interesting research objects, but only in passing researchers have paid attention to rugs woven with rags. Noone has taken a closer look upon the reasons why people have woven these rugs. What does the materials of the rag – like recycled garments and interior textiles in the form of clothing rags – have to tell about the times when these rugs were woven? Did the rag rugs have any specific function or were the materials available and therefore used?

The main sources of information are 21 rag rugs from Roslagen in Uppland, with a varied amount of rags. They were woven during the latter half of 19th century, and estate inventories from Väddö- and Häverö Ship District have altogether given some answers to the primary question of this paper: in wich way can the examined bed rugs bear witness to the use and value of recycled textile materials and the view of these in the context of the community where they were manufactured and used?

This research doesn´t give an answer to whether these rugs have any particular function or not. Instead these rag rugs can be looked upon as representing a general development of the society towards an increasing amount of textiles surplus material. This being due an increasing consumption of factory-made clothing and textiles, manufactured in factories, as well as the paper mills development from producing paper made of cellulose rather than textile waste. To this we can add a principle lingering on from the 19th century, of domestic production and a thrift of resources. This resulted in an obvious recycling of discarded textiles. The home weaving of interior textiles was still strong by the end of the 19th century, and in Rosagen there was also a long tradition of weaving and of using rugs in the beds. At the same time there was, in the coastal regions of Roslagen, a local need for warming covers in boats and boat houses. This demand was related to the shooting of seals and other hunting in the coastal areas, as well as in the fishing- and maritime trades.

Syfte är att i essäform föra ett resonemang om egentillverkade föremåls position i minnen från slöjdundervisning. Varför minns vi föremål och vad kan bidra till minnens tillsynes starka position? Empirin består av skriftliga minnena, i form av ett urval omdrygt 200 brev från elever som deltagit i slöjdundervisning. Breven är resultatet av ett publikt upprop inför utställningen Skolslöjd vid Nordiska museet år 2012. Analysen är genomförd genom en kvalitativ textanalys av brevens innehåll. Som stöd i resonemanget kring resultatet av brevens analys används begrepp och tankegångar från litteratur och forskning med fokus på minnen av föremål och ett meningsskapande i samband med tillverkning av föremål. Utöver detta används även forskning om minnen från undervisning. Texten, analys och litteratur i samverkan, visar avslutningsvis att föremål kan hjälpa individen att minnas men attdessas betydelse påverkas av bland annat tid och kontext. Föremålen både formar och framkallar minnen. Elevens upplevelser (såväl positiva som negativa) av föremålet och tillverkningen av dessa tycks påverka de minnen som skapas. Empirin och den valda litteraturen bidrar tillsammans till förståelse om vad elever minns och detta bidrar till reflektion gällande föremålens roll i slöjdundervisning och undervisningens utformning. 

This article describes how the craftsmen at the workroom at Handarbetets vänner, Stockholm, learned their craft skills during the years 1948‒2012. What this knowledge consisted of and how the apprentices’ knowledge grows into skillfulness. Interviews with 15 weavers and embroiderers who have worked during the time period form the empirical material. The period of time was chosen according to the informants ́ times of employment.

The strategies for learning are affected by dialogue between the craftsmen, both a verbal and a silent dialogue. The dialogue is an important part of the learning even though the making is central. The workroom forms its own way of making textile art, a way of doing that is learned from master to apprentice. In this situated knowledge, the different masters have their own ways of for instance mixing color and material, all corresponding with core values. The learning is also affected by the artistic leader and the artist.

The learning within the workroom occurs in the making of objects, but never at the cost of the quality of the objects. The core values of the establishments, and the fact that there is a strive to be profitable, makes the circumstances. The collaboration with the artist in creating unique textile art is the primary goal; the learning is something that is taken for granted in order to withhold the competence in the establishment.

Perioden 2009–2018 har varit mycket händelserik för slöjdfältet i Sverige. Den svenska grundskolan har fått en ny läroplan inklusive ny kursplan för slöjdämnet. Lärarutbildningen har förnyats och reviderats ett flertal gånger. Antalet disputationer med anknytning till slöjdämnet har under perioden ökat jämfört med tidigare. I föreliggande text analyseras slöjdfältets utveckling utifrån ett utbildningsekologiskt ramverk och ur flera perspektiv. Ett läroplansteoretiskt perspektiv synliggör förändrade förutsättningar genom policy och olika styrdokument, vilka syftar till konsekvenser i praktiken inom såväl grundskola som lärarutbildning. Här riktas fokus mot de olika reformer som påverkat slöjdområdet, samt den nya läroplanens faktiska genomslag. Ett utbildningsekologiskt perspektiv bidrar till att förtydliga bilden av slöjdämnet inom såväl en pedagogisk, vetenskaplig som samhällelig kontext. Analys av tidsperioden visar att förändringar i lärarutbildning och ny kursplan för grundskolan kommit att påverka slöjdundervisningen, men att i policy avsedda förändringar inte fullt ut realiserats. Påståendet stöds bland annat av den nationella ämnesutvärderingen av grundskolans slöjdämne som genomfördes 2015. Verksamheten kan kritiseras för bristande likvärdighet i såväl grundskola som inom lärarutbildning. Det svenska slöjdfältet är ännu ett ungt forskningsområde som först år 2013 erhöll sin första professor. Efter att tio doktorander disputerat och ett förhållandevis stort antal studier publicerats inom fältet under den aktuella periodenhar möjligheterna till forskarutbildning minskat. Avsaknaden av ett gemensamt nationellt forskningsämne försvagar och försvårar nödvändig utveckling. Det sammantagna resultatet visar att slöjdfältet som helhet står relativt starkt, men att det också står inför utmaningar i såväl grundskola och lärarutbildning och gällande att realisera ett slöjdämne på vetenskaplig grund.

This study investigates the meaning of the creative process within Bohus Stickning. With the use of Actor-Network-Theory in combination with Material Culture Theory, a framework of actors and networks has been made. By utilizing different forms of material and spoken sources, the study uses specifically tailored methods to make sure to unlock the pieces that, the material can bring to the puzzle. To give a contextualized answer to how and why the creative process took the form it did, the investigative part takes the form of a chronological presentation of the actors that played an important part for the creative process. The results of the studies have shown that Bohus Stickning’s founder and creative director, Emma Jakobsson’s background played a significant part in the direction of the company and its creative output. Her choice to lead Bohus Stickning towards a more modern approach close to the way continental fashion and art was produced, gave the organization a unique brand unlike anything else in Sweden at the time. Not only did their unique stans make Bohus Stickning a worldwide known brand, but also their level of quality, a result of highly competent staff, who worked within the company, made a big difference.

The purpose of this thesis is to try and create a proposed method for object-based research, that can identify the presence of secular dress that have been repurposed in church vestments. By applying the basic principles of Material Culture Studies and current research methods for the fields of Textile Studies, a proposed model is developed in accordance with different process development strategies. The result of the study gives not only a new possible format for object-based studies within the research of repurposed textiles in a historical context, but also renders new data about a large quantity of chasubles in the collection of Statens historiska muséer. The results can shed new light on secular dress repurposed for liturgical vestments.

This theses will try to explain how the miners (bergsmän) were dressed in Ovansjö parish in Gästrikland in the beginning of the 19th century in contrast to the farmers in the same parish.

This is done by comparising ten estate inventories each for the two groups. Also by looking into other sources such as what has been written in litterature regarding textiles and miners and dialogue with experts within the fiels of textile and ethnology. Some information is found in old photographs and paintings from the period. The welvet costume at Ovansjö Homestead was available for an object analysis.

The conclusion is that during the period around 1840 the miners in Ovansjö parish did use their dresses of velvet as a mean of conspicious consumption. This was a way for the miners to differ themselves in the society and try to show themselves as more sophisticated and wealthier than the o rdinary farmers in the parish. 

What can knitted fragments tell you? A textile scientific analysis of marine archeological finds from the 18th century. The wreck of the ship Fyrspännaren is a time capsule that provides a unique opportunity for knowledge. The purpose of this study is to increase knowledge about knitted garments and their importance in the dress code for men and women during the 1770s. An additional purpose is to test whether the knitted fragments can contribute to the interpretation of the history of the wreck. The study uses the theory and method of Material Culture. The knitted fragments are the main source of information. In the analysis, additional sources are also used. 

It turns out that the silk socks in the late 18th century could look different from the white socks we often see depicted in paintings. There are at least eleven different types of silk socks in different colours and with different pattern knitting in the material. Most were machine-knitted, several were well-used and repaired. But they were still highly valued, according to inserted inquiries in the newspapers of the time. There were also knitted garments in cotton such as socks, hat and sweaters. 

The knitted fragments can also contribute to the interpretation of the history of the wreck. The study of the fragments confirms and strengthens previous conclusions that the passenger on the ship was relatively young, well-to-do and well aware of both male and female fashion. In summary, this study shows that marine archaeological finds of textiles, that are analysed with a textile scientific method and within a cultural-historical and economic-historical context, can contribute to new knowledge.

En studie av hur det traditionella dräktskicket i Leksand i Dalarna, förändras från mitten av 1800-talet till början av 1900-talet. Männens sätt att klä sig och förändringar i detta undersöks med hjälp av två dräktinventeringar som gjorts i Leksand 1923 och 1972. Hur sker dessa förändringar, när och på vilket sätt. 

Our whole society is affected by the digitisation process. The policies of the Swedish government encourage the cultural heritage organizations to strategically develop the digitisation of their collections. These strategies often aim to make the collections more accessible but there is not much research about how researchers who have use of the digital information meet with the digital collections. The intention of this thesis is to study four researchers in the field of humanities who have textile objects as source material, and their professional experience of the digitisation of the cultural heritage. The researchers were interviewed in a semi-structured qualitative way, and the interviews were recorded and transcribed for analyzation of the data collected. 

The main result of the study is that the digital access of research material represents an improvement of their work when it comes to getting a quick and easy overview of their research subject which also represent a chance to improve the research quality by being able to compare and search for similar objects all over the world without having to travel to the collections. It has also become cheaper because of less travelling. Being able to take digital photos is also a big improvement compared to analogue photographs that are expensive and takes time to develop.

One negative aspect that the study shows, is that the information in digital collections often lacks the quality that the researchers need, for example close-up pictures or relevant and reliable metadata. The researchers also experience an uncertainty in how to use the digital tools and computer programs in an effectively way and expresses a need for more knowledge about the different IT-systems.

This thesis shows that the research topics seem to change due to the digitisation, partly because of the technological possibilities that new methods offers. Digital humanities points to this as a possibility to develop the research in the field of humanities and explore new areas that cannot be done without the digital methods. 

This article discusses the embroidered skull reliquary on foot, kept in the Linkoping Castle and Cathedral Museum (SHM 3920:6). The reliquary was examined by Agnes Branting and Andreas Lindblom in 1928 and discussed in this journal by Axel Romdahl in 1929. Inger Estham describes the object in the 2001 publication on Linkoping Cathedral and suggests that it was a gift from Vadstena Abbey to the cathedral for the translation of Bishop Nils Hermansson's relics in 1515. Our analysis of the textiles, the embroidery, the traces of lost ornaments and the iconography has led us to believe that the assumed provenance from the hands of the nuns of Vadstena Abbey is correct. However, the decoration on top of the lid, forming a typical Birgittine crown, would not be correct for a bishop: it would instead be most appropriate for a Birgittine nun. Furthermore, the decoration and the execution of the embroidery correspond to textile production in Vadstena Abbey in the mid-15th century, not the early 16th. Finally, a description of the skull reliquary used at the translation of St. Catherine of Vadstena in 1489 fits rather well with what the Linkoping reliquary is likely to have looked like originally. We therefore dismiss the reliquary's association with the translation of Bishop Nils Hermansson in 1515 and instead suggest a date no later than 1489.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the production of flemish weaving done by the handicraft association Malmöhus läns hemslöjdsförening between the years 1960 - 1975. The thesis examines a group of flemish weaves to answer questions about how they were made, which material were used and how they were designed during the period. This study is supplemented ny a study of annual reports, which describes the associations work during the period. This is to put the flemish weaves into a wide context where the purpose and function of the flemish weave are analysed. The study also aims to discuss the development and ideas in the association, and how thoes thoughts changes shaped the use of the flemish weaves in the association. 

The result of this thesis shows how the production of flemish weaves during the period was influenced by variation and renewal. This is shown in the technical variation and a modernisation with abstract designs. The study has also shown the purpose of the weaves as products for mediation. In relation with the study of annual reports, the reports put the flemish weaves in a wider context as a popular technic for weaving courses in the association. In conclusion the results show a development, where new conditions and competition made the association strive for new products where "hemslöjd" was made into an important trademark. 

Local identity (Swedish: ortskaraktär) has played a big part in shaping the view of crafts in Sweden during the last century until today. This rapport investigates the history of local identity in the Dalecarlia region, specifically looking at local bobbin lace traditions. 

The work endeavours to see how the bobbin lace is made today, what importance the local identity has had on the survival of the craft, and how important local expressions within the lace remains today, as well as why it is still important.

To investigate this relationship between local identity and crafts the rapport makes use of primary sources in the form of interviews with active local bobbin lacemakers. The work also relies on archival material on order to put the interviews into a historical context. These archives range from the national to the regional and local level. The material is analysed using the theoretical base of authorised heritage discourse and performativity, and a hermeneutical approach informs the method of analysis. 

The rapport concludes that local identity, “ortskaraktär” remains a key factor to the survival of the lace making tradition. But it also recognises that to ensure the continued survival of the craft, a revival might be necessary. The rapport proposes recontextualizing the use of the craft, making it more popular beyond use in folk costume, or a recognition of the craft on the list of immaterial cultural heritages in Sweden. Official recognition might lead to resources being directed towards the preservation of the tradition.