Tõstamaa Roosimine Inlay Knitting

Teacher: Anu Randmaa

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Anu Randmaa

Anu Randmaa is a folk costume master and a member of the board of the Estonian Folk Art and Craft Union. As the Managing Director of the NGO Rahvarõivas, her main activities are to introduce and teach folk costume traditions in Estonia and abroad and to develop the field of folk costumes through training, presentations and a folk costume website. Anu lives in Tõstamaa in Western Estonia and is the leader of the Tõstamaa Handicraft Center, where she teaches native handicrafts to interested individuals ranging from kindergarten students to adults. Anu discovered this forgotten inlay technique about 20 years ago while making Tõstamaa parish folk costumes.

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Inlay gloves

A century and a half ago, women from the Tõstamaa area wore beautiful stockings and gloves decorated with inlay ornaments. The ornaments became more and more glamorous over time: the knitting was dense and delicate, mainly consisting of red „roositud“ inlay ornaments spread over the backs of white gloves and covering both sides of stockings. In addition to women's gloves and stockings, the wrists of men's gloves were also decorated with inlay ornaments. The basic motifs of the patterns were often repeated, and the most common motifs had unique names: windmill-winged, cat-pawed, eight-pointed, rake-spiked. Nearly ten years ago, a group of women fascinated by local handicraft traditions gathered again in Tõstamaa to knit gloves in the old way, and it has become increasingly popular since then.

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Inlay knitting

At the beginning of the 2-day workshop, we will practice tight knitting, and we will learn to make the fringes and the „roositud“ inlay technique. A small, 5x5 cm piece will be completed which can be used as a pincushion, Christmas or other type of decoration. Then we will take a closer look at Tõstamaa gloves and their traditional techniques and start knitting short cuffs/wristwarmers. These cuffs made of fine yarns are warm and beautiful on their own and perfect for wearing over other gloves.

The fee includes yarn, knitting needles, wool for stuffing the pincushion and a last for fringe making. One set of 1.5 mm needles and two sets of 1.25 mm needles are used in the workshop. If participants have needle sets of the appropriate sizes, we recommend bringing them, if possible. 

The workshop is suitable for experienced knitters.

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