Crochet artist who made clothes for rock stars
June 18, 2023 3:58 AM Subscribe
"Meet the Swedish Artist Who Hooked British Rock Royalty on Her Revolutionary Crochet". At the start of her career, Birgitta Bjerke crocheted garments for Eric Clapton, Roger Daltrey and other VIPs of the 1960s and 1970s. "Today, at 80, Bjerke continues to divide her time between Pecos, New Mexico, and Gotland, Sweden, and is making some of the best crochet of her career". She makes paintings with crochet too, and works for films and television.
Cool!
My mom did a ton of crochet back in the 60s and 70s, including a couple of tops she made for herself. Nothing quite as involved as Birgitta’s, though. Mom taught my wife to crochet, too.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:17 AM on June 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
My mom did a ton of crochet back in the 60s and 70s, including a couple of tops she made for herself. Nothing quite as involved as Birgitta’s, though. Mom taught my wife to crochet, too.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:17 AM on June 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
That Heart of Gold coat is to die for.
In the tradition of crochet clothes for celebrities, I must draw attention to Baltimore artist Bemi Byrd who crocheted a fantastic piece for Lizzo. (link to her Instagram)
posted by the primroses were over at 6:22 AM on June 18, 2023 [6 favorites]
In the tradition of crochet clothes for celebrities, I must draw attention to Baltimore artist Bemi Byrd who crocheted a fantastic piece for Lizzo. (link to her Instagram)
posted by the primroses were over at 6:22 AM on June 18, 2023 [6 favorites]
Oh, wow. I love the sense of fun in Bjerke's work and the composition of her pieces is really striking. The Heart of Gold is an absolute stunner.
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:30 AM on June 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:30 AM on June 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
The "granny square" crochet blankets hit a kind of primal chord for me. I find them really pleasing and soothing, but we have none in my house. I might need to correct that.
So lovely that so many people saved her work and she was able to share it via exhibitions. I hope to see one someday.
posted by jzb at 9:43 AM on June 18, 2023 [6 favorites]
So lovely that so many people saved her work and she was able to share it via exhibitions. I hope to see one someday.
posted by jzb at 9:43 AM on June 18, 2023 [6 favorites]
These are so much fun! Granny square blankets were everywhere when I was growing up, but somehow I never associated them with fashion. I love crocheted clothing, especially freeform styles, but even though I’ve been crocheting since I was a teenager, the skill level and patience required to do the kind of pieces I like most is completely beyond me. Thanks for posting this!
posted by Mchelly at 10:08 AM on June 18, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 10:08 AM on June 18, 2023 [6 favorites]
My grandmother used to make those "granny square" blankets and I still love them, even though none of them are around anymore. I just like the colors and the squares and I can feel them wrapped around me and I'm six years old again and I miss my grandmother.
Thanks for this post. But I can't imagine wearing those things on a hot sweaty stage.
posted by SoberHighland at 10:17 AM on June 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Thanks for this post. But I can't imagine wearing those things on a hot sweaty stage.
posted by SoberHighland at 10:17 AM on June 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Loved learning about Bjerke's pieces and varied careers. Thanks!
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 10:32 AM on June 18, 2023
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 10:32 AM on June 18, 2023
Another 100% Birgitta crocheted dress is pictured in this article
posted by larrybob at 11:53 AM on June 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by larrybob at 11:53 AM on June 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Thanks! Great to read more about her after hearing about her on the Sewing Bee.
posted by ellieBOA at 12:07 PM on June 18, 2023
posted by ellieBOA at 12:07 PM on June 18, 2023
"I can't imagine wearing those things on a hot sweaty stage."
If you used cotton yarn then they are likely quite cool because cotton is breathable to begin with plus granny squares have lots of lacy holes in them.
Whereas most blankets are crocheted from acrylic or wool or an acrylic/wool blend.
posted by Jacqueline at 3:03 PM on June 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
If you used cotton yarn then they are likely quite cool because cotton is breathable to begin with plus granny squares have lots of lacy holes in them.
Whereas most blankets are crocheted from acrylic or wool or an acrylic/wool blend.
posted by Jacqueline at 3:03 PM on June 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Seconding natural fibers rather than synthetics for warm weather clothing. If you can stand to wear fabric, you can wear cotton crochet.
One outfit called “Hornsgatan” bridged two of her worlds. “It’s called ‘Hornsgatan’ because that’s where I started it in 1978,” she says, referring to a street in Stockholm where a close friend had lent her a space to work. “I bagged it half completed, with all its yarn and needles, and finished it 30 years later. How? Don’t ask me; it’s in my blood, I guess. I have no patterns, I do it all straight out of my head!”
Ah... closet projects. You find the box by accident while looking for something else, try to decipher what you were doing and crochet/quilt/continue the work, then get distracted and rebox it and set it back in the closet for a few more years. Sometimes you finish the project. Sometimes you gift the box to a hobby group in hopes that someone will find inspiration.
Thirty years is not a stretch.
By 2009, Bjerke had gathered enough old and new pieces to mount a retrospective of her work titled “100% Birgitta: The Fine Art of Revolutionary Crochet” at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. During the following decade, Bjerke also participated in numerous group exhibitions at such institutions as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Bellevue Arts Museum near Seattle, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the De Young Museum in San Francisco.
Bjerke spent almost two full years tracking down, locating, and either borrowing or buying back her own work.
"I’d call people and say, ‘Hi, my name is Birgitta, we met in Ibiza in 1969. I was the Swedish woman who knit.’ To my astonishment they all remembered, and most had all caringly saved the work.” Her biggest disappointment remains not being able to track down the pieces she made for Louis Féraud, although one imagines she’d also like to know what became of the Clapton jacket.
posted by TrishaU at 5:02 PM on June 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
One outfit called “Hornsgatan” bridged two of her worlds. “It’s called ‘Hornsgatan’ because that’s where I started it in 1978,” she says, referring to a street in Stockholm where a close friend had lent her a space to work. “I bagged it half completed, with all its yarn and needles, and finished it 30 years later. How? Don’t ask me; it’s in my blood, I guess. I have no patterns, I do it all straight out of my head!”
Ah... closet projects. You find the box by accident while looking for something else, try to decipher what you were doing and crochet/quilt/continue the work, then get distracted and rebox it and set it back in the closet for a few more years. Sometimes you finish the project. Sometimes you gift the box to a hobby group in hopes that someone will find inspiration.
Thirty years is not a stretch.
By 2009, Bjerke had gathered enough old and new pieces to mount a retrospective of her work titled “100% Birgitta: The Fine Art of Revolutionary Crochet” at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. During the following decade, Bjerke also participated in numerous group exhibitions at such institutions as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Bellevue Arts Museum near Seattle, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the De Young Museum in San Francisco.
Bjerke spent almost two full years tracking down, locating, and either borrowing or buying back her own work.
"I’d call people and say, ‘Hi, my name is Birgitta, we met in Ibiza in 1969. I was the Swedish woman who knit.’ To my astonishment they all remembered, and most had all caringly saved the work.” Her biggest disappointment remains not being able to track down the pieces she made for Louis Féraud, although one imagines she’d also like to know what became of the Clapton jacket.
posted by TrishaU at 5:02 PM on June 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
As a crochet artist, I particularly enjoyed learning about Birgitta Bjerke. Her work is absolutely spectacular.
posted by Scout405 at 7:51 PM on June 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Scout405 at 7:51 PM on June 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
I am a HUGE Fan of Birgitta and have swooned seeing her work IRL in the Bay Area.
The thing that always baffles me is that my therapist and I have this argument over whether or not one can make a living say, making yarn clothes for people. I say no because people aren't gonna pay $60 for a handmade hat at the craft fairs I go to, even if that $60 is charging for your labor and time here. She is from New York and claims that people will actually pay huge amounts of money for homemade. (Me: "In the land of black black black and designer everything?! REALLY?!") Birgitta's probably some kind of exception with her rock star street cred, though. Oh yeah, and like, the 70's.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:54 PM on June 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
The thing that always baffles me is that my therapist and I have this argument over whether or not one can make a living say, making yarn clothes for people. I say no because people aren't gonna pay $60 for a handmade hat at the craft fairs I go to, even if that $60 is charging for your labor and time here. She is from New York and claims that people will actually pay huge amounts of money for homemade. (Me: "In the land of black black black and designer everything?! REALLY?!") Birgitta's probably some kind of exception with her rock star street cred, though. Oh yeah, and like, the 70's.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:54 PM on June 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
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