Rugger og Brossar: Åkle i Setesdal (Coverlets from Setesdal)

As explained in this outstanding Norwegian coverlet book, Karin has researched and registered 233 Norwegian coverlets from Setesdal with diverse weaving techniques: square weave (smetting), plain weave with pick-and-pick, rosepath, krokbragd, and diamond twill. They were from Bykle, Valle, and Bygland in Setesdal. Most were in private hands, and some in museums and other collections.

An åkle [“OH kleh] is a woven coverlet that was used on a bed. It adorned a bed in the main room by day and was a warm covering at night. But in Setesdal they didn’t use the word åkle. Furthest north in Setesdal, in Bykle and Valle, they called it a rugge (plural ruggar); further south, in Hylestad and Bygland, they used the term brosse.

In Norwegian.