Classes in Decorah
Fiber Arts
Click here to download a 2010 class registration form
Doubleweave and Rya:
The Combination of Two Norwegian Techniques
Laura Demuth
Finnweave, or meråkervev, is a weaving technique in which two layers of fabric are interchanged to form surface patterns. Requiring only a four-harness loom, complex patterns can be achieved using a combination of loom-controlled threading and pick-up techniques. Although this form of doubleweave produces a fabric that is not reversible, finnweave produces smooth diagonal lines and is preferable for designs that include diagonals or curves. The doubleweave structure combines easily with rya, where the rya knots can be hidden between the interchanging layers of cloth. This results in a fabric in which one surface is patterned and the other is rya pile.
This class will begin with an exploration of doubleweave structure, weaving technique, and design. The process of incorporating rya knots into the doubleweave structure will also be studied. There will be an additional materials fee.
Level of instruction: Weavers who have worked at a floor loom and are comfortable weaving drafts.
July 10-14 | $318 members / $368 non-members
Laura Demuth A weaver for over 30 years, Laura enjoys all aspects of fiber production, from raising the sheep to taking a finished piece off the loom. Because she lives on a small acreage just seven miles northeast of Decorah, Vesterheim has provided a continual source of education and inspiration throughout her weaving career. Laura has focused on traditional weaving structures and techniques, and is a Vesterheim Gold Medal winner.
Beginning Weaving
Jane Murphy
Have you always been interested in weaving, but just didn’t know how to get started? This five-day class will give you a chance to learn the fundamentals of weaving with an emphasis on Scandinavian techniques. Students will weave projects in as many as four different loom-controlled techniques, including overshot, boundweave, rep weave, and lace. Students will learn to plan a project, warp the loom, read and understand weaving drafts, and, most of all, weave in a fun and supportive atmosphere. There will be an additional materials fee.
Level of instruction: Beginner.
July 17-21 | $318 members / $368 non-members
Jane Murphy is a Vesterheim Gold Medalist who has been studying and teaching weaving for many years. After moving to Wisconsin in 1996 and becoming involved with Vesterheim, she has focused mostly on the Scandinavian weaving traditions. Jane is also a spinner, knitter, and silversmith. She lives with her husband and three dogs in the log home that the couple built in rural Westby, Wisconsin.
Rogaland Applique Wall Hanging
Julie Baird
This year heralds the introduction of rosemaling-inspired appliqué designs. Join Vesterheim for an exciting week of learning rosemaling with fabrics that have been specially hand dyed for this project by Julie Baird. The basis for the class will be an original Rogaland appliqué design by Trudy Wasson. Students will receive instruction in both needleturn appliqué, invisible machine appliqué, and free motion machine quilting on their domestic sewing machine. Daily lessons include learning to shade scrollwork, creating perfect appliqué circles, embroidered stem stitching, creating flowers, and finishing techniques to complete this lovely wall hanging. Pattern and fabric/supply kits will be provided at a cost to be determined.
Level of instruction: All levels with some knowledge of sewing.
August 9-13 | $318 members / $368 non-members
Julie Baird of Plainfield, Illinois, is an award-winning quilter and teaches regularly at her local quilt stores. Julie is the daughter of Trudy Wasson, Vesterheim Gold Medalist in rosemaling, who passed away December 28, 2009. Trudy and Julie had planned to teach this class together. In 2006, Trudy and Julie formed a partnership, Generations Quilt Patterns, to provide traditionally-elegant machine quilting patterns with a rosemaling influence. In 2008, the line was expanded to include Beginnings, a line of patterns for the novice free-motion-machine quilter.
Norwegian Busserull
Carol Colburn
Norwegian Americans wear these traditionally-styled Norwegian shirts for heritage festivals, dancing, or enjoying outdoor life. Participants will sew imported vibrant red or blue and white striped cotton fabric to create a classic shirt to fit. Beginner to advanced sewers will be guided step-by-step from cutting to finishing. There will be an additional materials fee.
Level of instruction: All levels.
September 10-12 | $190 members / $240 non-members
Carol Colburn has studied Norwegian and Norwegian-American clothing at Vesterheim since 1974. She teaches, lectures, and publishes in the United States and Norway on the heritage of traditional clothing. She is co-author of the Vesterheim publication Handweaving in the Norwegian Tradition and has contributed chapters on Norwegian-American clothing to Marion Nelson’s books Norwegian Folk Art: The Migration of a Tradition and Material Culture and People’s Art Among the Norwegians in America. She is professor of theatre, costume history, and design at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls.
Norwegian Garden Basket—Hagekurv
Jean Schutte
This Norwegian basket is useful and simple to weave. The two-handled single-purpose basket was originally used for potatoes or coal. Jean has changed the rim and handles to make it more functional for everyday use. It will make a good hagekurv or garden basket. The basket measures approximately 15 inches tall and 11 inches in diameter. There will be an additional materials fee.
Level of instruction: All levels.
September 18 | $64 members / $84 non-members
Jean Schutte has been teaching basket weaving since 1986. She is mostly self-taught, but has studied with teachers in the Amana Colonies, Iowa; Winona, Minnesota; and Faribault, Minnesota. Jean has worked in many different media, including pine needles, red cedar bark, oak, birch, ash and willow. In most of her basketmaking classes she uses reed. For the past 19 years, Jean has been teaching classes at Vesterheim, Northeast Iowa Community College, public schools, 4-H groups, and her studio.
Cradle Loom Weaving
Nancy Ellison
The reproduction cradle loom is based on an 1849 loom in the Vesterheim collection. Over the last 30 years, many people have purchased and decorated reproduction cradle looms and they often ask, “what can be woven on them?” Students in this class will learn the answer to that question. Besides the original slit tapestry techniques, participants will explore a wide variety of possibilities, including the use of rigid heddles, string heddles, tablets, and shed sticks. Beginners may start with a plain weave. Traditional and contemporary pick-up designs can be fun and challenging for all skill levels. There will be an additional materials fee.
Level of instruction: All levels.
October 16-17 | $128 members / $178 non-members
Nancy Ellison took her first weaving class in Norway in 1968 and has since participated in numerous workshops at Vesterheim and elsewhere. This former home economics teacher does spinning, weaving, and felting, with wool from her sheep at Ellison Sheep Farm near Zumbrota, Minnesota. She is a dealer of several brands of new spinning wheels and looms and also has accumulated a large collection of antique Scandinavian spinning wheels and looms.
Norwegian Flag Quilt
Jill Amdahl
This quilt made by Jill Amdahl is a replica of one in the Vesterheim collection. The original serves as an example of the blending of the two cultures. Quiltmaking was not common in Norway during the years of peak emigration, so this quilt is American in technique but Norwegian in appearance. In this class, participants will learn how to measure and cut fabric, as well as how to piece by machine this replicate quilt. Basic hand quilting techniques will also be covered. There will be an additional materials fee.
Level of instruction: All levels with some knowledge of sewing.
October 22-24 | $190 members / $240 non-members
Jill Amdahl moved to Decorah in 1990 with her husband Dave. She has done lots of sewing in her life, including fancy bunads, busserulls, vests, and a Rogaland dress, all for family members. Jill took up quilting in 2003. She has been to Norway many times and has found recent interest in quilting taking hold in Norway. This interest led her to sew a reproduction of the Norwegian flag quilt in Vesterheim’s collection.
"Norwegian Handknits” Project: Rosemaled Shag Bag
Sue Flanders and Janine Kosel
Knit a project from the popular book, Norwegian Handknits: Heirloom Designs from Vesterheim Museum. Start knitting at home and then Sue and Janine, authors of the book, will teach you how to transform your knitting into a beautiful bag. Learn how to full a bag (full is the techneique of shrinking an already-formed object), and then embellish it with needle felting, wet felting, and embroidery. The bag features floral motifs seen on Hallingdal-style rosemaling and embroidered mittens and gloves. There will be an additional materials fee and some homework to complete before coming to class. A basic knowledge of knitting is required.
December 2-3 | $128 member / $178 non-members
Sue Flanders has been designing knitwear patterns for magazines and books for more than twenty years. Janine Kosel teaches knitting and tatting classes in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Their class is made possible by the Knitting Education Fund at Vesterheim, established in memory of Ann Swanson.
Metalworking and Knifemaking Classes
Norwegian Food Traditions Classes