Carol Colburn

It works! Sew your own Scandinavian style work shirt, designed for comfort and for your favorite outdoor activities. Learn a life-long skill while creating an all-season shirt you will love to wear. These shirts are extremely durable, great for layering, and designed for outdoor life or festive occasions. Natural fiber striped fabrics of cotton in many colors and textures can be used to make distinctive shirts. Sewing patterns and instructions are based on historical examples. Patterns are based on squares and rectangles, so you will find the striped fabric makes it easier to cut and sew, following the stripes. As you create your shirt, you will be guided step by step, first adjusting your pattern, then cutting, marking, machine and hand sewing, and adding the finishing touches. These work shirts reflect the rural heritage of Northern Europe and North America, and are ideal today for men, women and children. Beginners with a basic knowledge of machine sewing will advance their proficiency, and sewers at all levels will learn techniques specific to sewing the classic work shirt. Ten different sizes of patterns are available, including three sizes for children, and adult sizes from XS to XXXL. You will leave class with a personalized, reuseable pattern, and an instruction packet so you will be ready to begin your next project.

To read a short history of the Norwegian Busserull (Norwegian work shirt), take a look at her article in the Norwegian Textile Letter.

See the Blog page for upcoming workshop dates and registration information.

Student Comments -

Carol is an amazing teacher! As the least experienced stitcher, I took away a lot of new skills and an amazing shirt. She was incredibly organized, but still very flexible. So so happy.

Carol's experience and skill was amazing and very evident. She made students feel confident and instilled joy in the project.

Carol is a fantastic teacher - breaks it down, lots of scaffolded experiences for low-stakes practice, really great feedback and assistance to everyone regardless of experience level, speed, and proficiency. A nice mastery-oriented approach. Really fantastic.

Carol is an excellent teacher - her notes were easy to follow and I loved all the little things/tricks she passed on. Thank you, Carol, for sharing your knowledge and talents!

Carol Colburn teaching this class was a big reason why I signed up for the class and drove 7 1/2 hours one way. The pearls of wisdom she offers are invaluable.

What a fun and simple way to connect with history, family, heritage!! I have a photo of my great great grandfather in this style shirt.

The Blanket Shirt is a warm pullover tunic that’s the cornerstone of a great winter wardrobe. Traditionally used as a warm insulating layer under an arctic anorak, these shirts are patterned with room for wearing lighter layers underneath. We’ll start with thick, fulled woolen blanket and walk through the sequence for measuring and cutting flat textile to envelope the human form. Learn to cut, stitch, and finish a classic wool blanket shirt for yourself, friends, or family. Add pockets and other functional and decorative details to suit your favorite activities and your personality. Embellishments include leather trim, colorful woven bands, and buttons of antler, stone, or wood. We will sew by hand and machine. Beginners with basic machine sewing skills will advance their proficiency, and sewers at all levels will gain valuable garment making techniques for sewing with wool. You’ll leave this course with a greater knowledge of garment crafting and a cozy shirt for the winter.

See the Blog page for upcoming workshop dates and registration information.

Student Comments -

Instructor was fantastic. Great reference materials and pre-class info/correspondence.

I wear mine biking because it's great for blocking the cold and if I get too warm and perhaps a little sweaty, the wool still keeps me at a comfortable temperature. Also, ever since I made the hood, I have never taken it off! The hood is great for extra warmth and can be pulled (unfolded) forward to protect my face.

I tapped maple trees this past weekend using my blanket shirt and some mukluks I just finished from deer hides I tanned. I’ve been getting loads of use out of the blanket shirt, I want to make a few more for friends and family.

Hudson’s Bay blankets are the white wool ones with red, yellow, blue-black, and green stripes. They were first brought to the region by French Canadian voyageurs. But early Minnesotans knew a good, thick, scratchy blanket when they saw one, and a love affair that would last for centuries began.

From A Porch Sofa Almanac by Peter Smith

A unique blanket coat hand stitched from a Hudson Bay style blanket is an inspiring & distinctive example of style and craft. In this skill-building workshop, students will gain the patterning, fitting, and handsewing skills they need to create their own unique blanket coat. Made from new or recycled warm wool blankets, the coats we will make can be used for outdoor fun or sitting by the campfire. Students will practice fitting their patterns, and finishing techniques as applied to blanket coat making. A number of hand stitching skills will be practiced as we learn to assemble the coat. All will come away knowing sturdy and decorative hand stitch variations, will have a customized blanket coat pattern based on the distinctive North House Folk School example. They will go home with their coat cut from their blanket ready to continue stitching. Leave ready to enjoy finishing your coat at your own pace next to a cozy fire. Each student can bring their own blanket, or before the class order a plain colored blanket from North House. This is a collaborative workshop open to students of all levels.

Students will also learn the background of the blanket coat, which has been used for over 200 years in the northern wilderness of Canada and the U.S. Some historic coats were cut with very simple square pieces, and some have more tailored variations. The coats stem in origin from the style of blanket coat called ‘capote’ and used since the 1600s. The coats were adopted for use in the wilderness by European and Native Americans, who traded beaver skins for wool blankets. Later, blanket coats in a variety of styles were adopted in cities as winter fashion by both men and women. In Montreal, Quebec and St. Paul, Minnesota. emblematic blanket coats have been used since the 1880s as colorful fashion for Winter Carnival events. In the twentieth century, the wool blanket coat with colorful striped borders became a familiar symbol promoting Glacier National Park. Blanket coats can be a variety of lengths; many are belted and hooded, or feature a large collar to protect from cold and wind. The coat we will make in this class is a unique style designed over twenty years ago in the early years of North House Folk School, and can be made from any type of new or recycled wool blanket, whether plain colored or the classic striped Hudson Bay style blanket.

Student Comments -

I wanted a blanket coat to wear to Rendezvous events. This class was great. Instructor is a walking encyclopedia. One of my best instructors anywhere – HS, college – postgraduate.

Bring your own project and sew by the big lake with guidance and camaraderie. Do you have a sewing project that never quite got started or that needs some TLC to get it off the shelf and into your closet? Bring it to North House for our Sew Fest during Fiber Week. Enjoy the company of others who love sewing, while making progress on your own project, and discovering a creative and cooperative approach to your sewing endeavors.

Taught with Erin Endsley, weaving instructor

Design, weave and sew your own custom handwoven vest. You’ll weave yardage using a basic twill structure and wool yarn. After weaving your yardage, you will gain experience fulling your wool cloth to create finished fabric for the vest construction, and learn skills for sewing with handwoven fabric.

Carol teaches a traditional Norwegian garment construction technique called Spilesaum. This is an elegant seaming technique for assembling hand woven fabric that makes a beautiful, low-bulk seam for fully-lined garments. She developed her class as part of a project of weaving and design with vadmel at the Vesaas Farm Studio in Vinje, Norway, 2002 - 2011. Along with inspired master weavers Ingebjørg Vaagen and Eli Vesaas, international students traveled to the two-week course from both North America and Europe. The work began with weaving yardage the first week, fulling the cloth at a water powered community fulling mill over a weekend in between, and designing and constructing custom garments the second week. Patterning and fitting techniques work hand-in-hand with the Spilesaum hand sewing technique for creating silk lined custom designed garments. You can read about the workshops in VAV Magazine, January, 2010 and in Handwoven, November/December, 2006. Recently Carol taught this sewing technique in classes closer to home at the Range Fiber Art Guild and the Duluth Fiber Handcrafters Guild. These workshops focus on patterning, fitting, and using the spilesaum sewing technique for creating new designs of unique handwoven fabrics.

Carol’s presentation describing the vibrant textile community in Vinje, Telemark is outlined below.

Textile Treasures in a Telemark Stabbur

Presentation with Photos by Carol Colburn

Throughout Norway, each rural farmstead includes a storage building called a stabbur. These picturesque buildings are often decorated with carved or painted motifs. Inside, among other treasures, the family carefully stores the fine textiles that have been handed down through generations. This presentation opens one of those textile treasure troves to you. It is on an historic farm in Vinje, Telemark, Norway, in the heart of a vibrant textile community. You will see family examples of folk clothing and its evolution to national dress (Norwegian bunads), embroidery, knitting, weaving, and leather work, made by multiple generations of the Vesaas family. Many textiles in the stabbur were made of wool or flax produced on the farm, and crafted by the family members who lived and worked there over centuries. Telling the story in colorful photos, we will see in these examples how Telemark’s artisans developed a very exhuberant style that continues today across the varied needle arts.

Together with Norwegian master weavers Ingebjørg Vaagen and Eli Vesaas, Americans Carol and Mae Colburn organized four international workshops between 2001 and 2011. Participants wove yardage of local Spelsau wool, fulled their cloth at the community owned water powered stampa (fulling mill), and created custom garments inspired by Telemark textile traditions. Each workshop was hosted by Vesaas farm, and Mjonøy Arts and Cultural Center, and many Vinje artisans welcomed the group into their working studios. The presentation offers insight into the historic foundations and current passion for fine craft in this vibrant textile community.

In this workshop, reclaim your hand sewing skills, or gain the ones you wish you had.  Learn several basic hand stitches and strategies for repairing, patching, reinforcing, darning and finishing everything from clothing to camping equipment. Take home your samples and a sense of pride in your new DIY skill. Everyone has a few projects that are patiently waiting for . . . a stitch in time. Bring something that needs mending and we will come up with a plan to successfully make your repair. 

Examples of stitches we will practice include - 

Running and slip stitches for securing a patch

Backstitch to make a sturdy seam

Buttonhole/Blanket stitch

Hemming stitch

Overcasting

Darning  - for Knitted and Woven textiles

Fasteners - Button with thread shank, Hooks and Eyes, Velcro, Snaps, Ties

Bring a garment that you love - or cannot live without. You will not have to take it apart! You will learn to make a pattern that duplicates the cut, and even adds features such as more pockets or design details. Three techniques for copying patterns from exiting garments will be demonstrated, which then are used in combination, depending on the original garment's design. We will decide which technique or combination of techniques works best for the garment you are making. Men's and women's shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, jackets, coats, accessories, vintage or well-worn garments - all are excellent projects. You will learn to make an initial pattern, refine and mark the pattern, then sew and fit a personal mock-up. When you leave class you will be on your way to creating your treasured garment in a fabric that inspires your sewing.

See the Blog page for upcoming workshop dates and registration information.

Join historical textile expert Carol Colburn for a behind the scenes look at local history. This course will highlight various pieces of the Cook County Historical Society collection. After a brief introduction at North House, the class will visit the local museum, located just a few blocks away. Students will have an opportunity to observe close-up the fiber craft currently on display, as well as pieces from the archives. Selections of household textiles will be featured, as well as garments, textile tools, and historic photographs depicting these items in context. Some of the techniques represented include spinning, weaving, knitting, garment making, quilting, embroidery, and a variety of rug making techniques. Some of the artifacts have personal history available about the makers, including Ojibway families, and  families of European heritage that came to settle in the Arrowhead. Besides this unique focus on the history of Grand Marais, the tour provides an introduction to utilizing an historical collection for inspiration for handcraft today. Students will be ready to explore their own communities’  history through this introduction to museum practices for researching textile history.

Buttons create a central focal point for handmade garments. Handmade stone and antler buttons are always available in my classes if you wish to purchase something unique to finish your vest, shirt, or coat. These buttons are crafted by my bother, Richard Huset, who has been a rock hound since I can remember. On the back of each card, he identifies the rock type and origin of every rock he cuts. Some come from around the world, some from the nearby shores of Lake Superior.