Norwegian pattern "Selburose". What is this ?

In traditional knitting, Norway has historically adopted this jacquard pattern for winter garments — jumpers, socks, slippers, mittens and hats, throws and scarves. This is a regular octagram representing an eight-petalled rose. Of ancient origin, this drawing is associated with the city of Selbu in Norway, but it has above all become the symbol of the country and by extension, of the Scandinavian countries.

But the "Selburose" design has international and distant artistic origins: it appears in textiles throughout European history, in the coats of arms and knitwear books of Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany, and this, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. It also seems to combine several conceptions of Coptic art and Byzantine art.

In Norway, it is said that it was Marit Guldsetbrua Emstad, a very young girl from Selbu, who popularized this design in 1857 when she knitted three pairs of "Selburose" mittens and brought them to church. The design became immediately popular The Norwegian Arts and Craft Club spread the fashion for "Selburose" mittens across the country after 1910. By the 1930s, 100,000 pairs were made in Selbu each year, and by 1960 a large proportion of the city's economy depended on this trade.

The popularity of this design in Norway may have been fostered by a desire to establish a national identity, a true spirit of the country. This is indeed a bold design. Watch it once, it will remain etched in your memory. In Norway, children learn to knit this jacquard. A pair of "Selbuvotter" has become the traditional gift that is made to the chosen one of his heart, to his best friends. The domestic Selbu knitting industry helped make Norway economically strong and gave women some financial independence.

Trade has spread this design widely throughout the world, where it is often interpreted as a snowflake or a star instead of a flower. It helped cement the association between "Selburose" and warm clothing, and almost, winter itself!