An Icelandic Endless Knot Design to Stitch

The valhnútur, Icelandic for endless knot, is a design motif that appears in several handwritten Icelandic manuscripts from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This needlework version is inspired by a pattern recorded in the Skaftafell Book, drawn by an eighteenth-century farmer, Jón Einarsson. The colors for this design were inspired by a seventeenth-century bridal bench cushion in the collection of the National Museum of Iceland. This design is particularly fitting for a wedding—the two entwined knots symbolize the married couple.

This design is entirely worked in long-arm cross-stitch, the most common stitch found in the extant traditional embroideries of Iceland. In Icelandic, the stitch is called gamli krosssaumurinn (old cross-stitch) or fléttusaumur (braid stitch) because of the plaited texture the stitch creates; it is not to be confused with the braid stitch found in Hungarian needlework.

Materials

• Zweigart Cork, 20-count, 100% linen fabric, 1 piece 12 × 12 inches (30.5 × 30.5 cm) of Raw Linen, Cream, or White
• Appletons Wool, 100% wool yarn, crewel weight, 2 ply, 25 meter (27.3 yd)/skein, 1 skein each of #324, #326, and #328 Dull Marine Blue; #694 and # 696 Honeysuckle Yellow; #227 Bright Terra Cotta; and #982 Putty Groundings
• John James Needle, tapestry or petite tapestry, size 20 or 22
• Roller frame or stretcher bars to fit the width of the fabric

Finished design size: 5½ × 5½ inches (14.0 × 14.0 cm)

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