Bohus Stickning — FLORA & FIBER

Have you heard of Bohus Stickning? I had not until several months ago while I was listening to an episode of the Fruity Knitting podcast (more on that later). The following week, I heard the name again when I participated in an online knitting workshop called “Virtual Tour to Sweden”. Bohus Stickning is a delightful style that I thought you might enjoy hearing about.

Bohus Stickning is Swedish for Bohus Knitting

Click on the small arrow above for pronunciation.

Bohus Stickning was an iconic brand of beautiful, high style knitwear produced by a Swedish knitting cooperative, active between 1939 to 1969. Its founder, Emma Jacobsson, was a fascinating woman. She was an Austrian-born, doctorally-prepared botanist, an art historian, and the wife of the governor of Bohuslän (Sweden). In 1937, during the Great Depression, she was approached by a group of women who wanted to improve the economic opportunities for low-income families. In response, they set out to establish a cottage industry to find a craft that did not require special equipment and that most women in the province could perform without special training. They decided to manufacture handknit garments, and Bohus Stickning was officially founded on September 12, 1939.

In the first few months, the cooperative produced mittens and socks. Then, starting in 1940, Bohus Stickning added hats, tams, pullovers, cardigans, and gloves. These handknits were sold to department stores, boutiques, and fashion houses not only in Sweden but internationally. The brand was trendy in the 1950s and 1960s when royalty and movie stars worldwide began wearing their designs, including celebrities like Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly.

“A Bohus-knitted jumper is as luxurious as a mink coat” [press headlines, 1963)

The characteristic "Bohus Stickning" style became signature multicolored patterns, lightweight wool or angora/wool blend yarns, and a distinctive color palette. Changing any of these may result in a beautiful knit garment, but it will not be a Bohus Stickning garment.

By now, you are probably wanting to see some examples of Bohus Stickning. Here are links to some classics:

Röda Randen, The Red Edge, designed by Anna-Lisa Mannheimer-Lunn, mid-1940s
Stora Nejlikan, The Large Carnation, designed by Emma Jacobsson, early 1940s
Härskogen, by Anna-Lisa Mannheimer-Lunn, mid-1940s
Stora Svanen, The Large Swan, designed by Karin Ivarsson, 1966

Throughout its thirty-year history, Emma Jacobsson remained a designer and executive director of Bohus Stickning. It closed its doors in 1969 for various reasons, including changing fashion and the economy. Most of the patterns and unsold garments were donated to museums.

In the late 1990s, there was a movement to recreate Bohus Stickning and make the beautiful knitting patterns available to the public. The leader in this effort was Solveig Gustafsson, a master dyer. She worked with the Bohusläns Museum to source and dye yarns to recreate Bohus Stickning garments from the original pattern cards and instructions. Over the years, Solveig recreated 170 different colors and reconstructed 70 or so patterns. In 2013, she announced her retirement. Next in the line of Bohus Stickning drivers was Pernille Silfverberg, owner of AngoraGarnet, an angora rabbit farm.

As I mentioned above, I first learned about Bohus Stickning while listening to an interview on the Fruity Knitting podcast. This interview was with Pernille Slifverberg, now the authorized dealer for the original Bohus Stickning patterns and the yarn kits for the Bohus Stickning designs. Below is that interview. It’s well worth the view to learn more about the history and designs of Bohus Stickning past and present.

By the way, if you are not aware of the Fruity Knitting podcast, I HIGHLY recommend checking it out! It is a 90-minute video episode of textile-related interviews, yarn festival visits, tutorials, beautiful scenery and music, and inspiration. It is the one video podcast I NEVER miss an episode.

My venture into Bohus Stickning. I mentioned the Virtual Tour of Sweden workshop. Melissa Leapman created a "bohus-inspired" hat, Marstrand, as part of that weekend. Note, "bohus-inspired". Remember that only one of the original patterns and specific yarn colors must be used to label it Bohus Stickning.

My hat is knit with 100% Angora yarn in four colors.

Yarn Specifics: Belanger 100% Angora (heavy worsted weight; 10 g/33 yds); colors Charbon, Pearl Gray, Violine, and Victorienne.

It took a little bit of time to get used to knitting with the fuzziness of the angora, but once that was tamed, it was a fun project. The end result is a really cozy, cute little chapeau for the occasional cold winter days in South Carolina.

I hope you enjoyed this look at Bohus Stickning.