The motifs of the beautifully composed blanket are those typical of embroidered blankets made in Satakunta. The blanket is of homemade, double-panel fabric and it has a weft repp weave. The warp is a fine double flax yarn and the weft a simple black wool yarn. The blanket is decorated with geometric patterns. The decorative motifs in its middle area are large flowers with curving leaves and strong stems. The edges of the blanket are decorated with squares marked off with herringbone stitches. Inside the squares bloom a variety of stylised flowers. Red, green, brown, blue and white threads have been used for the embroidery work. The embroidery stitches utilised in the work are herringbone, scallop, satin (similar to scallop, reinforced with line stitches), arrowhead, running and stem.

Art dealer Hörhammer donated the blanket to the museum’s collection

The blanket was added to the museum’s collection in 1926, The donor was a well-known art dealer and patron, Ivar Gabriel Hörhammer (11 February 1884 Örebro–3 February 1953 Helsinki). He first made his career as a journalist and politician but, after leaving politics in 1916, Hörhammer became one of the most significant art tastemakers in Finland. He is known as the founder and first CEO of Galerie Hörhammer, which operated in Helsinki for a long time.

Hörhammer began collecting works of art, antique carpets, wall rugs called ryijy and similar items in 1917. The following year, he held a solo exhibition by Magnus Enckell in his gallery, which also featured art industry items such as ryijy rugs. Hörhammer collected an extensive collection of ryijy rugs, organised ryijy rug exhibitions and wrote about ryijy rug art for domestic and foreign publications. He procured ryijy rugs on his travels around his summer house – perhaps he also found this Satakunta blanket on a similar collecting trip. Hörhammer also donated and sold ryijy rugs to the collections of the National Museum of Finland, including the museum’s oldest ryijy rug from 1695.

Oldest embroidered blankets in Finland

The embroidered blanket, a “sewn-on quilt”, is a blanket with patterns sewn on the surface using wool yarn of different colours. The fabric of embroidered blankets is usually home-woven rib with a linen warp and natural black wool weft. The ribbed fabric is easy to make with a loom, since it has a simple structure. The craftsmanship of embroidered blankets is based on the embroidery, which was made with various stitches with a large darning needle while the fabric was stretched onto a frame.

The composition of the blankets was rich and often their surface was embroidered full of motifs. Geometric patterns such as circles, squares, triangles, crosses, and tree and plant motifs were used. Popular patterns included flowers, crowns and wreaths, and blankets were often decorated with the year when they were finished and the owner’s initials. According to Grönlund and Lehto: “The patterns are sometimes so frequent that the creator seems to have had some kind of fear of empty spaces. The work was not too precise, but joyful. No compasses or rulers were used to shackle creativity, not always even a tape measure. The lighting may also have been inadequate.”

The composition, motifs and colouring of embroidered blankets show the influence of cultural styles, which can probably be explained as a phenomenon parallel to the stylistic development process of ryijy rugs. The black base of the blankets suggests the Gustavian style, so the origins of these blankets are in the late 1700s. Embroidered blankets can be dated exceptionally accurately as an expression of folk art.

From the late 1700s, people in Swedish-speaking coastal parishes in South Ostrobothnia and parts of Satakunta embroidered blankets that had many names: päälleommeltu täkki (“sewn-on quilt”), kirjovaippa (“embroidery mantle”), päälle neulottu täkki (“embroidered-on quilt”) and påsömatäcken in the Swedish-speaking areas. According to Arne Appelgren, the use and manufacturing skills of embroidered blankets came to Finland with the carpentry families of the Kokkola region, who for years lived in southern Sweden while the men worked at the Karlskrona warship yard.

Embroidered blankets were in fashion from the 1820s to the 1840s in Ostrobothnia, but they were still being made in Satakunta and Central Finland in the 1860s. At the same time, the heyday of the popular ryijy rug also came to an end. Judging by the years embroidered on the blankets, the making of embroidered blankets reached its peak in Finland in the decades between the 1800s and 1860s.

Most of the embroidered blankets in the collection of the National Museum of Finland do not have a year embroidered on them and many blankets have not been dated. The oldest successfully dated blankets were made in the 1770s. Of these, the one on the left is made in Kankaanpää (K7036:1) and the one on the right was purchased for collection in Kantinkylä, Karvia (K7036:9).

Embroidery

The tool used for embroidering blankets is a thin, sharp and large-eyed darning needle. For the purpose of aligning and placing the patterns, people could have also used chalk flour and long flax yarn with which long lines were marked on the base fabric. The yarn was covered with chalk and tensioned over the fabric. When the thread was then pulled, a mark was left on the fabric. Alternatively, Spanish chalk could be used to draw the lines and outline the patterns. After drawing, the patterns were marked by basting. The actual embroidery work was done in your lap or on a quilt rack called täkkipuut. Because people wanted to save as much embroidery thread as possible, only the top side of the blanket was embroidered. Finally, the edges of a blanket could be decorated with mono- or multicoloured loop fringes or tassels that matched the colour of the embroidered patterns.

Who made the blankets and what were they used for?

The most skilfully made blankets were created by professionals. Gradually, each developed their own special style by which the person behind the blanket could be identified. They made the blankets either at home or at the customer’s house.

Embroidered blankets were valuable assets and sought-after additions to a bride’s wedding trousseau. They were also recorded in estate inventories. It is said that of the five daughters of the Jutila house in Kihniö, three got a granary as a dowry and two got embroidered blankets.

Embroidered blankets were used in sleighs, in beds and as palls for the deceased. They could also be hung on walls for decoration at parties. In addition, thinner blankets were used as curtains for bunk beds and as tablecloths.

Sari Tauriainen

Sources:

50-vuotias Ivar Hörhammer. Helsingin Sanomat 11.2.1934, NO 40. https://digi.kansalliskirjasto...

Grönlund Irma, Lehto Marja-Leena: Perinteinen peittokirjonta, Keuruu 1985.

Manninen Raija. Villakirjonta. 2019. https://craftstories.fi/projec...

Taisto Helvi. Kirjottuja peittoja ennen ja nyt. Keski-Pohjanmaan Kirjapaino Oy. Kokkola 1979.

Taisto Helvi. Rekipeitot. Anson Oy 1989.

Vahter Tyyni, Karttunen Laila. Kirjottuja peittoja. Helsinki 1952. Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura.