{"id":8570,"date":"2022-09-17T07:31:53","date_gmt":"2022-09-17T05:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=8570"},"modified":"2022-09-17T07:35:18","modified_gmt":"2022-09-17T05:35:18","slug":"pasom-embroidery-wool-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/pasom-embroidery-wool-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"P\u00e5s\u00f6m embroidery wool journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This weekend I enjoyed the 2022 wool journey with my wool traveling club. The five members traveled from near and far to the small village of Dala-Floda where the p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroidery technique has its origin and bloom. Have a peak at the p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroidery wool journey!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wool traveling club started in 2014 and had its first journey in 2015 to Shetland for Shetland wool week. Since then we find locations we can reach without flying. This was the first time all five of us could make it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The p\u00e5s\u00f6m tradition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dala-Floda (or Floda which is the local name) is widely known for its traditional costumes and, especially for the very rich embroidery technique called p\u00e5s\u00f6m. “P\u00e5” means on or on top of and “s\u00f6m” means seam, so a seam on top of something. The something has traditionally been broadcloth and two-end knitted items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our teacher for the course, Anna-Karin Jobs Arnberg has a master craftsman’s diploma in embroidery. She is also very knowledgeable when it comes to the costume and textile traditions in the area. Her day job is as operation manager and antiquarian at the Dalarna museum<\/a>. She also teaches p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroidery, costume traditions and other textile techniques in her own business, Flodaros<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jackets, tie-on pockets, bags, mittens, suspenders, belts, cuffs, skirt hems \u2013 any available spot can be filled with abundant p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroideries. The mittens are two-end knitted, the rest of the pieces are broadcloth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The p\u00e5s\u00f6m technique is relatively modern, it came with the zephyr yarns and synthetic dyes in the mid-19th century. Embroidery was common in the area before that, but the yarns and the dyes marks a significant change in the expression of the technique. During the national romantic area women were hired as p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroideresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A sewing hook works perfectly as a resistance to pull the stitches against.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally p\u00e5s\u00f6m has not been practiced with embroidery hoops. Instead the material has simply been pinned onto the skirt of the embroideress. When I got home from the course I dug out my sewing hook<\/a> that worked very nicely with the broadcloth material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wool traveling club took a short field trip to the Dala-Floda costume parts second hand shop. It was the sweetest shed-sized store filled to the roof with cuffs, hats, suspenders, skirt hems, baby slings, tie- on pockets, jackets and watch pockets \u2013 all parts of the traditional Dala-Floda costume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The p\u00e5s\u00f6m yarn and the stitch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The yarn typically used for p\u00e5s\u00f6m is a very loosely spun 4-ply merino yarn in rich and vibrant colours. The stitch with the blooming yarn is supposed to fill out the motif and create a bulky, almost three dimensional look. As I was afraid to ruin the expression of the embroidery and as I am not a reliable dyer, I stayed away from trying to spin and dye my own p\u00e5s\u00f6m yarn. I use the Flodarosyarn<\/a> that Anna-Karin has dyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Double satin stitches (left) fill out smaller areas that together create an abundance in each and every flower.<\/em> The stitches show in equal abundance on the back of the project (middle). Stalks and borders are made with stem stitches (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nearly all the stitches for flowers and leaves are made in double satin stitches while the stalks and occasional borders are made in stem stitches. The surface underneath the satin stitch areas doesn’t show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Her royal Mossiness, queen of the conifer forest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sewing the airy 4-ply yarn with the double satin stitch results in a spongy, cushiony surface, like a patch of moss on a spruce stump in a newly rained conifer forest. I want to stop and gently soak my hands in it, greet and smell its royal mossiness, just like I do when I do get to the forest and find that sweet mossy spruce stump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transferring the pattern<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There is a set of flowers and leaves that have traditionally been used for p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroideries. Anna-Karin had made both templates and stencils for us to play with and find a composition that worked with the p\u00e5s\u00f6m expression and the embroidered item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anna-Karin shows us a way to sketch the winding stalks and the position of the flowers. Then she plays with templates of different flowers to build the bouquet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A wool surface can be very fuzzy in the world of a pen and difficult to stick to. Anna-Karin showed us how to first make a sketch on the surface and refine it with an erasable pen. Once we felt happy with the composition and placement we could mark the final pattern and inside lines with a permanent pen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I am copying my chosen templates onto the broadcloth with a white jellyroll pen (left and middle). When I am happy with the composition I follow the lines just inside the borders with a permanent pen. I also add any lines inside the flower or leaf (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The p\u00e5s\u00f6m nitty-gritty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

P\u00e5s\u00f6m has its foundation in a winding flower stalk. All the leaves, buds and flowers have a relation to that stalk, making the impression of a bouquet of flowers. The flowers \u2013 like dahlias, roses, pansies and lilies of the valley \u2013 usually have several colours. Sometimes a tinting technique is used to create the transition between darker and lighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A main flower and winding stems make out the motif of my tie-on pocket. I will probably push in more leaves to create even more abundance in the bouquet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The motif fills out as much as possible of the surface (usually broadcloth) to create an abundance. Lots of reds and pinks together with the leafy greens, but sometimes also blues and purples and perhaps accentuating yellows and whites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The projects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I had several ideas for p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroidery. The one I picked for the course was a broadcloth tie-on pocket. If you look at the pictures of the inspiration Anna-Karin brought to the class you can see several tie-on pockets with abundant p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroidery. I used these as an inspiration for my own pocket. I also brought a handspun nalbinding hat that I had waulked, to get inspiration for pattern transferring and design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Upcoming projects that I have arranged the tempalates on are a nalbound and walked hat and a piece of needle felt punch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My very first p\u00e5s\u00f6m project that I did a couple of years ago was a yoga mat<\/a> in needle punch felt. A difficulty then was that I couldn’t get a marker to stick to the fabric, so I had to free-form the flowers on the material. I brought a piece of needle punch felt to the course to find a way to transfer the pattern to it without having to improvise it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kristin embroiders a flower onto her knitted and felted sweater while Ellinor works with a butterfly flower on a broadcloth sample<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ellinor decided to embroider a broadcloth sample patch. She had her three month old baby with her and didn’t have the opportunity to embroider as much as the rest of us. We didn’t mind taking the baby every now and then, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anna (left) and Boel (right) embroiders on broadcloth they will turn into bags and purses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Boel and Anna started on broadcloth bags of different sizes and Kristin had knit and felted a sweater that she embroidered on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The setting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Dala-Floda inn<\/a> is a pearl in the Dalecarlia landscape. A garden not much different from a botanical garden \u2013 plants of all shapes, sizes and foliages form sweet rooms to discover. Carefully tended with skilled hands and hearts. Organic and locally grown food cooked with love is on the menu. The interior equally sweetly and thoughtfully planned. All about the inn breathes sincerity and warmth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nothing in the Dala-Floda inn is left behind. Every corner of every room indoors and outdoors has a purpose and a soul.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I practiced my early morning yoga at 6.30 am in the garden, filling my lungs and my whole system with the cool September air and the sweet garden view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the best parts of going on a wool journey with the wool traveling club is of course the company. Some of us don’t see each other at all during the rest of the year, so when we meet there is a lot to catch up on. For a couple of days we bathe in each other’s relationships, children work and play. Crafting helps bring the conversation deeper and despite the short time we spend together we manage to find truly meaningful and deep conversations. We are sisters in craft<\/a>. I always go home with a mixed feeling of sheer joy of the company and desperately missing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The wool traveling club in the inn garden \u2013 Ellinor with baby D, Kristin, Boel, me and Anna.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thank you sweet sisters in craft, I learn so much from you. We are already planning our 2023 and 2024 wool journeys and I can’t wait for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pending p\u00e5s\u00f6m projects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’m back home now, embroidering away on my tie-on pocket. I hope to get the hat ready before winter. I also want to try some p\u00e5s\u00f6m on two-end knitted material. P\u00e5s\u00f6m embroidery has been common on especially mittens. You can check out some lovely church going mittens in my blog post about an earlier wool journey<\/a>. I have finished spinning a two-end knitting yarn for mittens, but I need to spin some more before I can start knitting and embroidering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A handspun yarn for two-end knitting mittens and a pair of handspun two-end knitted jacket sleeves may be part of upcoming p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroideries.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I also have a pair of unfinished two-end knitted jacket sleeves that I would love to decorate with p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroidery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the needle punch felt material I have plans to make a sweet… no, wait, that’s a secret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a patron<\/a> (or decide to become one) there is a video postcard from the wool journey available. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy spinning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find me in several social media:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n