The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.2008, Qupperneq 38

176
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 61 #4
industry has since the beginning formed
the basis of Iceland’s economy and her
export trade. Initially Iceland exported not
just raw wool but homespun, knitted
goods and yarn to many countries.
However under Norwegian and later
Danish rule the export trade was severely
curtailed. Only raw wool could be export-
ed, at controlled prices and only to certain
countries (usually Denmark). As a corol-
lary, imported fabrics and clothes became
very expensive, encouraging the wide-
spread and imaginative use of wool.
Fortunately the temperate Icelandic cli-
mate made the wearing of wool feasible
even in the summer.
At any rate good use was made of the
most available textile, wool. From early
times women kept the natural wool shades
separate and used these natural colours to
counter ise
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weave and to knit attractive patterns.
Besides the homespun fabric the wool was
used in all manner of clothing and house-
hold textiles. Blankets, counterpanes,
shawls, scarves, mittens, socks, slippers,
headwear, and even underwear and insoles
for the homemade shoes came from the
busy looms and needles of the Icelandic
home.
The Icelandic woman was not only tal-
ented at the practical arts of weaving and
knitting for clothing but in the decorative
crafts as well. Embroidery and crochet
were often used to ornament clothing and
household textiles. “Embroidery is a tradi-
tional art form in the homes, such rich
embroidery in wool, silk and gold once
decorating the national costumes. The
weaving of tweeds and tapestries and blan-
kets and carpets in a wide variety of pat-
terns is an important household art.” An
older Icelandic woman here in Winnipeg
showed me a table centerpiece of white
linen heavily embroidered in white and
with a white crocheted edging, which had
belonged to her mother and had come from
Iceland. The embroidery in this case was
done in satin, outline and French knot
stitches, but Mrs. Finnbogason told me that
Hardanger work was also common.
Shoes were handmade as well. Iceland
had very few cattle so shoes were made
from sheepskin, seal hide or sharkskin. As
none of these are particularly durable
leather, journeys were measured by how
many shoes were worn out. The shoe or
“skinnskor” was like a moccasin or slipper.
It was made in one piece with no heel. The
skin or hide was stretched on a wall to dry,
cut to fit the foot, soaked in water and
placed on the foot to dry into the correct
size and shape. The shoe was then sewn
together over the toe and the heel and
sometimes secured by a strap over the
instep. A pad of moss or a knitted pad was
placed inside the shoe to take the place of a
heel. For warmth and comfort a knitted
lining or insole was also worn.
In 1854, some of the barriers to trade
were removed and foreign textiles became
cheaper and easier to get. This no doubt
contributed to the increased use of silk,
linen and cotton in the national costume. It