Färsna Sillen
Around a year ago, I found myself going down a bit of a rabbit hole. Tempted by the blank canvas of this horse's coat, I ventured to the local library, where I discovered the depths of Swedish embroidery.
Design and inspiration
Naively, I wasn’t aware of just how many types of Swedish embroidery styles existed. The first book I borrowed from the library whilst searching for inspiration was “Svenska Broderier (Ingrid Eggimann-Jonsson, 1998),”. Initially, I was confused to find that the majority of the chapters were organized by regions of Sweden, inside the book it explains (loosely translated from Swedish):
“The first folk embroidery was thread-bound and often imitated a weave or lace. On the coarse home-woven linen fabric, it was easy to count threads. Only when cotton became more common and the fabric became denser did free embroidery come about. On the dense cotton fabric, it was easier to embroider a free form. Nowadays, fine linen fabric is usually sewn.
These embroideries, which used to be often called landscape* stitches, had their heyday from around the middle of the 19th century and about seventy-five years later.
Landscape stitches are not an entirely correct term. Most things that have to do with culture, customs and usage do not have clear geographical boundaries. Impressions and inspiration come from different directions. Perhaps someone had seen an embroidery made on the other side of the globe and transformed it. Over time, it developed into something peculiar to a certain geographical area in Sweden. Or perhaps a talented person had started embroidering on their own in a way that later became typical for a certain area. One such example is the Anundsjö stitch.”
*Landskapssöm is the Swedish word if you want to do some self research, this will produce much better results!
Anundsjösöm has a fascinating history to it, stemming from just one ladies embroideries, her stitches became the trademark for an entire region.
I was so taken by the history and development of Swedish embroidery I hunted down my own copy of the book. I say hunted because it turns out the book in question is no longer in print and has become a bit of a collectors item over the years. Luckily the embroidery gods were on my side and I somehow snagged a secondhand copy in great condition but these books usually go for anything over 700kr.
For this piece, I was especially drawn to Anundsjösöm. Although I did not attempt to replicate the exact stitches of the style at that time, I stayed true to the use of a single color of thread for the piece and maintained the overall design inspiration.
Original Photograph
This handsome fellow is called Montécillo ”Sillen”, he is a Gotlandsruss horse, born in 2011. The wonderful thing about taking photographs locally is how readily available information is and how it can make somewhere feel more like home.
The original photograph was captured at our local nature reserve/farm, Färsna Gård on a snowy Boxing day in 2023, a bit over a month since we moved to our new home town Norrtälje. It’s hard to land on a singular description for Färsna Gård as it is, and offers, so many things. Throughout the year it hosts a variety of different events, ranging from Midsommar celebrations and harvest festivals to Christmas markets and tractor shows. It’s home to Norrtäljes Nature center, the veteran tractor club and the farm in which this photograph was taken at.
The entire area is exceptionally photogenic and welcoming no matter the season, it feels rural and secluded whilst only being a stones throw away from the city center.
On this particular visit the majority of the smaller animals were kept inside, staying warm in their cozy, heated enclosures, unlike in the summer when they’re running about in their outside hutches. As it was very quiet, the volunteers offered to let myself and my daughter (who was only around 10 months old at the time) in while they fed them so we could see them up close, this was such a kind, special and unexpected thing for us. It definitely cemented our love for the place and we always try to attend whenever they have events to support.
The farm is run by a non-profit organisation 4H, largely funded by local companies and individuals. They do a fantastic job looking after the animals while offering activities and educational events, if you’re interested in supporting a great cause this year, I highly recommend supporting them which you can do so here.