Knitted petticoat from Pleiestiftelsen Hospital

In 2013, the museum received a call from Aslaug Nydegger, a wonderful lady with an incredibly good memory. When we visited her, she told us a great deal about the Bergen of her childhood in the 1920s and 30s. The most interesting thing for us was her description of delivering wool to Pleiestiftelsen Hospital as a girl, returning later to pick up knitted shirts and petticoats. 

She still had one of these petticoats and wanted to donate it to the museum. A beautiful piece of handiwork with a wave pattern knitted in thin wool yarn. Imagine all the hours that must have gone into making this! Countless hours of knitting with thin needles and watching it slowly grow, with an intricate pattern although it was never to be seen by anyone.

The petticoat was knitted by Jørgine Bergsvik (1857–1937), who lived at Pleiestiftelsen Hospital from 1895 until her death in 1937. The work ledgers from the foundation show that she must have been an industrious woman. 

Isn’t it great that her work is still being appreciated, almost 100 years later? Both by Aslaug Nydegger, who took care of this petticoat over the course of her long life, even when she moved into a small apartment, and maybe also by you, who can now admire the details of this handiwork.