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Estonia
The tradition of creating shawls in the town of Haapsalu on the west coast of Estonia
began about 200 years ago
When Russia ruled Estonia from the early 18th century until 1918, the town of
Haapsalu, on the west coast of Estonia, become a flourishing resort. To take advantage
of the tourist trade, the women began a cottage industry of knitting lace shawls that has
continued to today. Nancy Bush in her book, The Gossamer Webs Design Collection,
describes being told, "If you visit Haapsalu and see smoke coming from the chimney of
a house, there will be a woman inside, knitting lace."
The dozens of patterns reflect everyday life: Twig, Leaf, Ash Leaf, Birch Leaf, Blueberry,
Ligonberry, Lady Bug, and the distinctive Lily-of-the-Valley. The outstanding
characteristic of Estonian lace is the nupp or bobble, which is used to beautiful effect.
Most Estonian lace is knitted in stocking stitch and the pattern is worked on the rightside rows only. The basic method of creating a hole is to bring the wool forward and
then knit the following two stitches together to compensate for the loop just made. However, instead of following this regular procedure, interesting textures can be created
by varying where to place the “knitted-together” stitches. Reference: http://www.britishalpacafashion.co.uk/library/the-history-of-lace-knitting-6
Estonian Lace
Faina Letoutchaia
I do not think there is any need to introduce Estonia land of reserved northern beauty on
the Baltic seashore. I love Estonia, I have very fond memories of Estonia. I used to
spend my summer vacation in a small village of Narva-J suu, where the Narva River
brings its waters into the Baltic Sea.
Estonian knitting is very particular in its techniques and patterns. Nancy Bush
popularized Estonian knitting techniques in her book Folk Knitting in Estonia: A Garland
of Symbolism, Tradition and Technique. This book describes some very unusual knitting
techniques in color and texture knitting. Later, Nancy Bush published several Estonian
lace patterns. These patterns popularized the nupp technique, creation of a small flower
bud out of one stitch, and its most popular application Lily-of-the-Valley pattern. And last
year a book Maigl chen: Variationen eines Traditionellen Strickmusters (Lily-of-theValley: Variations on Traditional Lace Patterns) by Dorothea Fischer was published in
Germany. All these publications have brought to the attention of American knitters the
wonderful world of little known Estonian knitting techniques and patterns.
I would like to go a little bit further in this direction. For this article I am going to discuss
very particular lace knitting techniques and applications of these techniques for design. I
am not going to discuss the history of Estonian lace knitting because of the lack of
reliable references available to me.
The main source of Estonian lace stitch patterns and techniques is the book Pitsilised
Koekirjad by Leili Riemann, published by Kirjastus Monokkel in 1995; known in
American lace knitting community as Estonian lace book. Unfortunately, I learned in
January 2006, that the book went out of print. The book is in Estonian; stitch patterns
are charted using European chart symbols, different from what is standard in the US.
Merike Saarniit generously provided lace knitters with translations of symbols. You can
download the translation from this page: Estonian Symbol Translation
In the technique descriptions I am going to rely on my memories, since these
techniques were known in Russia, and descriptions from Russian knitting reference
book I have in my private knitting library.
The most prominent feature of Estonian lace knitting is the successful combination of
openwork and texture. The very basic technique is a familiar one making a nupp. To
make a nupp you knit a stitch, do not take it off the left hand needle; and then follow the
sequence *yo; k1* into the same stitch as many times as desired. You can make any
odd number of stitches, depending on how fat you want your nupp to be. On the next
row all the nupp stitches are knit or purled together.
Nupps
The nupps are used in combination with yarn overs and decreases, as in Lily-of-theValley, or on their own. For example, nupps may be used to outline some geometric lace
design, such as diamond; or nupps might be used to form diamonds in place of yarn
overs alternately with lace diamonds. This adds a new dimension to the simple lace
pattern and may turn plain pattern into a stunning design.
Nupps outline simple cross pattern.
Nupps are also used to add interest and enhance some organic, wavy lace designs,
they are added to leaf and flower lace shapes. These additions are not always charted.
The exact positioning of the nupps is left to the knitter. It gives a knitter a lot of
opportunities for creating her (or his) own variations.
Leaf pattern enhanced with nupps.
Nupps are also included in decreases k2tog, do not take stitches off the needle and
continue to making a nupp through two stitches. Nupps really look very lovely on a
background of the fine lace. They give an impression of pearls thrown on the lace.
Estonian knitters did not stop here. What would happen if we apply the same technique
of making several stitches out of one to a group of stitches? First, of course, if we start
making a nupp knitting three or more stitches together it will pull on the fabric. Then we
do not absolutely have to work all the new stitches together on the next row. Instead can
knit or purl new stitches one at a time. And we can always use this technique in
combination with decreases, or for increasing the number of stitches.
Interesting textural accents are created when a multiple of original stitches is made and
on the next row new stitches are decreased in groups. For example; nine new stitches
are made out of k3tog, on the next row these new stitches are worked as k3tog 3 times.
It makes groups of thick, raised purled bumps on the right side of the fabric. It may be
used as an allover pattern or to follow lace patterns in the same way as nupps.
Tiny flower-like shapes created by K3tog; (yo, k1)4 times.
On the next row (p3tog) 3 timesm
A number of interesting patterns are created just making 3 stitches out of 3; or 5 stitches
out of 5 and then purling all stitches on the next row. Depending on how many stitches
you use between these cluster, or star, stitches, you will have different look. If you use
needles much larger then you ordinarily use for the yarn, you will have lacy effect; if
your needles are relatively small for the yarn, you will have nice textured fabric. These
star stitches are also used as a background for lace patterns and included to fill spaces
between lace repeats or inside lace patterns.
Diamond filled with star stitches and outlined by nupps.
Estonian knitters use these star techniques to increase or decrease the number of
stitches in lace patterns. If you pull five stitches together and make only three new
stitches you have made a double decrease. If you have two yarn overs five stitches
apart, they will pull together quite close and end three stitches apart in addition to
forming a nice texture in the middle of this stitch combination. It adds more interest to a
simple diamond-like lace patterns.
Increasing with the star technique makes a very beautiful base for a flower-like lace
shapes. Most frequently nine or eleven new stitches are made out five and later these
four or six new stitches are decreased in a gentle curve.
Flower-like pattern. Bases for flowers are created using star stitch technique.
Edgings on Estonian lace also stand out. The usual techniques for the edging are either
to knit a more or less narrow strip of lace attaching it at the same time to the body of a
shawl or scarf; or to knit a lace strip separately and then to pick up stitches along the
selvage for a shawl. Usually edging is worked using garter or seed stitch as a
background for the lace. In Estonian lace, stitches for the edging are picked up around
the shawl and the edging is worked all around, away from the shawl. Lace pattern is
worked on the stockinette stitch background. Corners are mitered. All patterns for
edging in the Pitsilised Koekirjad are charted with corners. To prevent edging from
rolling, bind off row is worked with two or three strands of yarn.
Stockinette stitch edging with mitered corner.
I hope that these fascinating lace patterns and techniques will become widely known
and appreciated by American knitters and designers.
Acknowledgements.
This article will not be possible without participation and support of the members of Lace
Knitting Club, Okemos, Michigan. Swatches pictured in this article were knitted by the
Club members as a part of our group study of Estonian lace. I would like to thank
members of the Lace Knitting Club for participation, suggestions, editing, unwavering
support and just bearing on with me.
Bobble or nupp?
There are lots of ways to make knitted bobbles, and they show up in the knitting styles
of many countries. The bobbles that you see in Estonian lace knitting are about as
simple and graceful as a bobble can be—you don't have to knit backwards, you don't
have to turn your work. You just increase five or seven stitches in one stitch, and then
knit them all together on the return row. But what is really lovely is how Estonian knitters
have used this design element—they call it a nupp—in their patterns. Instead of isolated
bumps or tidy spaced rows such as you might see in Aran knitting, you'll see lovely
swirls and swags of nupps outlining areas of open lace..
How did they come to develop this lace style? There's a practical, almost funny story to
it. The women sold their lace shawls by the pound. Adding nupps—LOTS of nupps—
made their shawls heavier. So they figured out a way to do this while keeping the
delicacy of the design.
Greetings Knitting Daily Knitters!
I have been in awe of all of those knitter-bloggers out there, as it seems to me that there
aren’t enough hours in the day to get all the knitting I want to do done, let alone read
about it and write about it as well. But, now Interweave has given me this chance to see
what it is like, I am already having fun!
I love talking, writing and thinking about Estonia and Estonian knitting, so am delighted
to get the chance to share my passion on Knitting Daily.
http://www.knittingdaily.com/media/p/20908.aspx
Now that I know what I know about Estonian lace knitting, there are a few things I would
do differently if I was making this scarf again. This isn’t to say that it isn’t fine the way it
is, but I think all of us go through the moment when we realize that it could have been
done differently, for whatever reason. That is the place I am at today.
First, this scarf was inspired by a way of creating scarves and shawls in Estonia that I
consider ‘modern’. In the traditional way of making a shawl or scarf in Estonia, if there is
a lacy, scalloped edge it is attached by sewing. The center is knit first, set aside and the
edge is knit, usually in two pieces, and then sewn to the center piece. I was rather
horrified when I realized this, as the idea of sewing the edge to the center was not a
happy thought for me. This construction made sense, when I realized that the early
shawls were knit on short (9 or 10 inch long) single point handmade wooden needles.
The edges were made on these same needles (some edges can have 250 stitches - on
half!). In the original text for the pattern, I stated that the scarf follows the design of the
(traditional) Haapsalu rätik or Haapsalu shawl. This, I now know, is not true, as it follows
the design of a modern version of these traditional shawls, originally made in Haapsalu
(a town on Estonia’s west coast)
.
My first experience with knitting Estonian shawls was a lesson I had with a master
knitter in Tallinn, Estonia, my friend Hilja Aavik. She spent the day with me and taught
me how she made her wondrous ‘modern-style’ shawls. She taught me how to make a
nupp (button or knob - rhymes with soup) - a bobble-like feature in Estonian lace
patterns, and also how to add a lacy scalloped edge onto a shawl or scarf, by picking up
stitches and knitting the edge onto the center. I assumed this was how it was done,
countrywide ever since these shawls were first made in the early 1800’s. As I studied
further, asked questions and stared at shawls, I learned that this way of adding an edge
was ‘modern’ and logically was ‘invented’ (no one knows by whom) with the coming of
circular needles. These needles allowed all the stitches around the shawl to be picked
up onto one circular needle. Then the edge is knitted, circularly and the corners are
mitered (using increases) as the knitting progresses. The outer edge is bound off, with
doubled yarn for strength and stability.
If I was going to design this scarf today: I would first state that it is done in the ‘modern’
method used in Estonia, not the traditional one. I would begin it exactly as I did those
many years ago and knit the center in the same way. However, I would knit more rows
of the center, or make it longer by quite a bit, as I think 55 to 60" finished would be a
better length than the 46” that this one measures. Then, when picking up the lacy edge,
I would pick up more stitches than I originally did, maybe 10 stitches more across the
top and bottom of the scarf (so, instead of picking up 32, I might pick up 42 sts on each
if the scarf is being made to the original 46" length). I also would pick up more stitches
from the sides, maybe adding in an extra 20 sts total on each side (so 222 instead of
202 for the original length). If I were making a longer scarf, then I would of course need
to pick up proportionately more stitches--perhaps even more than 3 stitches picked up
for every 2 edge stitches. These added stitches will give a bit more ‘drape’ to the edges
and the edge will stretch easier in blocking.
I am happy to have a chance to think about this pattern again and to give it a ‘new life’
on Knitting Daily.
-- Nancy Bush