Another quilt in the Knitty series, inspired by Norwegian knitwear!
Knitty North Star is my take on the classic Selbu star motif— a timeless motif that has decorated mittens, sweaters, and socks all across Norway for generations.
If you’ve ever seen a pair of traditional Selbu mittens, you’ll recognize it instantly: the eight-pointed star, bold and geometric, sitting right in the middle with smaller shapes filling the spaces around it. The Selbu knitting tradition goes back to the nineteenth century, and the patterns are still a big part of Norwegian culture today. They’re traditionally made in black and white wool, simple and striking at the same time.
This is a living tradition – here’s a photo of some of the many mittens my mother-in-law has knitted for our family. They’re all so beautiful – nothing like a pair of 100 percent wool mittens to keep your hands warm, whether you’re out skiing or trying to be stylish in the wind and snow of Oslo streets in wintertime.
From selbu mittens to a quilt pattern
The eight-pointed star is literally the star of the Selbu knit tradition. It’s often surrounded by smaller motifs that create rhythm and balance — and I wanted to keep that in this Scandinavian star quilt design. In Knitty North Star, the big star is joined by four smaller stars and a few tiny flowers that fill the background space.
Choosing fabrics for a scrappy quilt
For my version, I went for a mix of dark blues, teals, and blacks in the background, white low-volume prints for the big star, and lighter blues for the four small stars and flowers. To add a little spark, I made the tiny flower in the center yellow, and used a few yellow-on-white prints inside the large star.
Because some of the background fabrics have dots and tiny flowers, they almost look like stars scattered across the night sky — one of those happy accidents I just love! The quilting by Sissel of @sy_snacks really underlines the swirly feeling of looking up into the starry sky.
I’ll write a separate blog post on how I work with scraps to create quilts like this, but my main tips are simple: include at least 10–12 different fabrics within each color group, and keep the value (light or dark) within the color group pretty consistent. That’s what makes the motif of a scrappy quilt come to life, and it makes it relatively easy to avoid having two squares of the same fabric side by side.
The quilt sizes
Knitty North Star comes in four sizes:
- Baby 50" x 50" (126 x 126 cm)
- Throw 66" x 66" (168 x 168 cm)
- Twin 83" x 83" (210 x 210 cm)
- Queen 99" x 99" (251 x 251 cm)
The design stays exactly the same in all sizes — it just ends up smaller or bigger depending on the size of each little square. This makes the instructions uncluttered and straightforward, too!
Why i love web piecing
This knit-inspired quilt pattern is made using the web piecing method, which I love because it’s so easy and accurate. It also makes the scrappy look come together perfectly. Once you’ve laid out all your pieces, you just go ahead and sew! Web piecing is great for beginners and a satisfying, rhythmic way to piece a quilt top.
Because Knitty North Star is made from small squares, it’s perfect for digging into your stash or scrap bin! But you can absolutely make it with solid fabrics or just a few prints, too. It will look just as beautiful – just take a look at the blog post with pattern tester quilts! Just keep in mind that you’ll do a little more cutting and sewing than you would with a strip-pieced approach. But learning web piecing, and the accuracy it gives, is totally worth it!
From yarn to fabric
I love how versatile these old Norwegian knitting motifs are, and how they can be interpreted in new ways — like in fabric! The Knitty North Star quilt pattern is my way of keeping the tradition alive, just in a slightly more colorful, quilty form. I can’t wait to see yours!