The next group warp for the Scandinavian Weavers will be Flesberg technique.

Flesberg is a style of three-shaft boundweave, named for the Flesberg area of Norway where it is popular. (See link below for more information.) In Sweden it might be referred to as treskaft or bound Rosepath. The technique allows the weaver to create curved motifs. 

Several members of our group have woven Flesberg, including Nancy Ellison.

“This was my weaving that I did for the Exhibit of the Flesberg Study Group in Decorah in October 2005,” she writes. “It was in natural colors of brown, gray, and black yarn from Shetland and Icelandic sheep in my flock a the time.” Nancy spun the white yarn from wool she purchased during a textile tour of Norway.

Nancy also wove the above sampler in a class she took from Katharine Dickerson at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.  “After weaving with the black, gray, and white yarn and drafts supplied in the class we were encouraged to try something on our own, so I wove a row of red covered bridges with blue sky and green grass as the covered bridge at Zumbrota, Minnesota is a local tourist attraction here.”

 Robbie LaFleur has woven Flesberg rugs, such as the one above, using seine twine as warp and Prydvev yarn as weft, both single- and double-ply.

Robbie has also woven Flesberg using strips of fabric as weft, as in the wall hanging below. It is her favorite piece in the technique.

Nancy Ebner wove the Flesberg wall hanging below, using instructions from the Norwegian Textile Letter, which devoted an issue to the technique in November, 2020. Nancy’s weaving is shown with her samplers of Swedish art weaves, which she cleverly made into pin cushions.

Those who have woven Flesberg say it is fun to weave but note that it is a slow technique, requiring patience and concentration. An inch of weaving per hour is a reasonable rate!

Given that information, we expect our Flesberg project to be on the loom at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota throughout 2026. In the coming weeks we will share project notes if you would like to weave along at home!

Link to Norwegian Textile Letter

https://norwegiantextileletter.com/issue/november-2020/