Selbu Votter

My first pair of Selbu Votter- fini.
Selbu votter originates from Selbu in northern Norway. Growing up in Oslo this is a staple of winter wear, commonly knit in red, blue, grey, black and white. At Christmas the dreaded "soft" package under the Christmas tree meant something knitted....usually wool and itchy, lovingly knit by our grandmothers and aunties.
The days before Gore-Tex and fleece, wool was the work horse- but not always ideal after a busy day of sledding in subzero degrees these woolens became frozen icy clumps that made our wet hands cold. Once home, they were hung on a wooden drying rack in front of the fireplace or radiator to dry, the smell of wet wool wafting thru the house, they would stretch into long woolen sausages as they dried. Happily used the next day skiing or sledding they would regain their normal shape once again.

I couldn't resist these, purchased in Geilo, Norway 2 years ago from an older women selling them at the market.

I knit many moons ago-now from a Swedish pattern and has been lovingly worn ....they have become slightly felted...it doesn't matter I love my Lingon berry mittens knit from "Gotlandska stick monster"

A big fan of fair isle I switched from knitting sweaters to mittens, in my opinion the perfect little project, colorful & quick...and you can show them off unlike socks. My first ones the "Dala Hest" mittens had no real written instructions besides the cuff- just a chart that I worked from. This was puzzling, since it was the first time, especially the " Norwegian thumb", though I could visualize it- quite confusing trying to knit without written instructions.

The first mitten was ripped out 5 + times I lost count after that, frustrated I kept my cool and continued I was determined to make it work...and it somehow did. Happy to have finally finished my first mitten the second one turned out bigger. How?
I did not like the fit either- they are way too big-
- who wants to wear a size "oven mitt " ?!


I consulted Leigh- she is a mitten knitter extraordinaire, gave me some great tips
you can be mused here by her work.

Hence my quest started  finding an easier pattern (written pattern) that broke the steps down and something that would have a better fit.






I also discovered the "magic" with using a magic loop- way better than the 5 needles that I used to knit with. Important to make sure the magic loop is not too big, I knit with a 24 inch.
Knitting with a smaller needle size helped me get the fair isle more even.
Using Latvian 2 ply wool that is textured, it's not smooth and not very forgiving like a 4 ply sock yarn and can break and untwist easily. I plan on knitting my next pair with my own yarn to see if that makes any difference- beside s it wicks moisture with the  nylon.

 I found that Elizabeth Zimmerman had the best pattern, very clear. She also gives a great tip on holding the thumb stitches. I found more simple patterns(written) online.

I have collected  a plethora of awe inspiring patterns

of mittens and fair isle on one of my Pinterest boards

 here is my board if you would like to see:

 Fair- isle

The second mitten is faster to knit, once you are familiar with both  the mitten pattern and the fair isle pattern its quick. Using markers help...a lot! Good to know where the thumb gussets starts and stops, once the sts for the thumb is set on scrap yarn- you're home free.
Usually patterns that have a 60-70 sts count work for my medium size hands, when searching for a pattern keep in mind, your hand size, sts. gauge and the yarn you want to use. Selbu Votter are knit in sport and fingering weight.
When washing I recommend drying flat- not the good 'ol wooden drying rack...unless you like wearing long wool sausages...he.he.

You can find a great a pattern in this book from Zimmerman.

I use these books a lot.
Note!  Norwegians have a more "relaxed" approach to knitting than Americans.
Not uncommon to see a pattern that reads something like: "cast on anywhere between 60 - 70 sts increase 10 or so sts....depending on your size hand."
- or so?

Grrrrr.....
I need more specific directions

This was one of our families favorite books and have been read to all my 4 children, very sweet.

My mom used to tell me the story of an 80 year man in northern Norway

that  knit a pair of Selbu Votter each day and sold them at the market.

Impressive, he must be knitting in his sleep.

Lastly....

in the end it all worked out - I found a beautiful pattern and the fit was perfect

Some resources I found along the way :

Look at this gal Natalia beautiful fair isle mitten pattern

A great graph to design your own mitten design
Generic Norwegian Mitten Pattern

The yarn I used was from Yarn Stories lots of variety, beautiful colors

I am learning,

- learning something new and fun, these are just my observations.

{ any tips or resources you might have please add them in the comments ~ thank you!}

Happy Knitting!

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Thank you all so much for your 

kind words 

and well wishes on my prior post

all is well

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