Selbu Stars Knitted Christmas Sweater: The Norwegian Eight-Point Star
The Owl will tell you the Selbu star has eight points. She will tell you this whether or not you asked.
Our Head of Knitwear has a favourite, and this is it. The eight-point star out of Selbu in Norway, black and white and one clean line of festive red, marching across the chest in rows that line up because somebody made them line up. She has counted them. She counts them every time.
Everyone else at the party is wearing a snowman with a light-up nose. You are wearing the most recognisable motif in Nordic knitting. The Owl regards this as a fair trade.
The Owl explains the star
The story goes that in 1857 a young woman in Selbu knitted a pair of mittens with an eight-point star on them, and the village copied her, and then the country copied the village, and then the star ended up on more or less every Norwegian sweater ever made. One teenager, one pair of mittens, one motif that outlived everybody involved.
Ours keeps the geometry honest. Two colours per row, a proper repeat, stars that sit on their grid rather than drifting off it, and the red held back so it lands rather than shouts. The Owl checked the repeat. Then she checked it again, on paper, with a ruler.
Somebody asked whether we could make the stars bigger. The Owl looked at them for a long moment and then went back to her knitting, which is how she says no.
The Ugly Rating: 3 out of 10
Low, and we know it. Selbu Stars is a handsome sweater on a site that promises you hideous ones, and the Chief Festivity Officer scored it a 3 from a hot spring without putting down his tangerine.
The 3 is the point. There is a party every December where the invitation says ugly sweater and the room says otherwise: a nice venue, a work crowd, photographs that are going to outlive the night. Selbu Stars obeys that invitation to the letter and quietly ignores the spirit of it. You turn up in a Christmas sweater. You also turn up as the best dressed person there.
What the rest of them made of it
Every design goes past the leadership team. It is a formality and everyone treats it as a formality except the Duck, who treats it as a trial.
Sitting Duck, Head of Quality Control
Counted the stars in the top band. Counted the stars in the bottom band. Found that they matched. Sat back down without a word. The Owl has framed this reaction in her head and revisits it often.
Cool Cat, Head of Morale
Wanted to know where the noise was. Was told there is no noise. Asked whether the stars could at least be gold. Was told they could not. Wore it to two parties and a dinner and has said nothing further on the matter.
Deer, Head of Illuminations
Observed that a star is basically a light, and that a light wants a bulb in it, and that he happens to have several hundred bulbs. He was thanked for his time.
Capybara, Chief Festivity Officer
Approved it in the time it takes to blink slowly. He has never explained a decision and is not going to start.
Every form Selbu Stars comes as
Five, all knitted rather than printed, so the star is made of stitches instead of ink.
The knitted crew, $149
The full pattern. Real jacquard through our custom knit program, two colours per row, star bands across the chest and sleeves, ribbing at collar, cuffs and hem. Unisex classic fit, one price at every size. About two weeks on the needles, because it does not exist until you order it.
The knitted vest, $119
Same chart, sleeves gone. The version for anyone who runs hot, wants the pattern over a shirt, or has strong opinions about central heating.
The knitted pet sweater, $75
The same stars, the same yarns, resized for a dog. The smaller sizes fit a cat in the strictly physical sense. Everything after that is your problem.
The you-and-your-dog matching set, $199
One for you and one for the dog, $199 together against $224 apart. The dog does not know the star is from Selbu. The dog does not know anything. This is what makes the photograph.
The couples matching set, $279
Two crews, one pattern, $279 together against $298 apart. Matching without the matching personalities. Order two different sizes, the set expects it.
Wearing a two-hundred-year-old motif without looking like a re-enactment
Plain everything else. Dark trousers, plain boots, no second pattern anywhere in the outfit. Nordic knitwear is loud in a quiet way and it does not want company.
It runs true to size in a unisex classic fit. Between sizes, or after a slouchier look, go up one. The sizing and fit guide covers it.
This is a real knitted garment and not a printed sweatshirt, which is why it survives January. Ours get bought in December and worn until the snow gives up.
When can you get it?
Every knit is made to order and ships standard only, so the Christmas deadline arrives earlier than people expect.
Order by November 15 for delivery before Christmas, worldwide. That covers the crew, the vest, the pet sweater and both matching sets. There is no express option on knitwear, because the two weeks on the needles happens before anything ships.
After November 15 the knits stay orderable and simply arrive after Christmas Day. If you are reading this in December, the all-over-print sweatshirts and badge tees run to December 11 in the USA. Every date is on the shipping and cut-off page.
FAQ
What is a Selbu star?
An eight-point star, the signature motif of Norwegian knitting, named after the village of Selbu where it appeared on a pair of mittens in the 1850s and then spread across the whole country. It is the single most recognisable shape in Nordic knitwear.
Is Selbu Stars an ugly Christmas sweater?
Barely. It scores 3 out of 10 on our Ugly Rating. It is the sweater for a party where the dress code says ugly and the venue says behave.
Is it knitted or printed?
Knitted. Real jacquard through our custom knit program, two colours per row, made after you order it. Hold it up to the light and you see stitches rather than pixels.
Does the dog version match the human one?
Exactly. Same stars, same yarns, resized rather than redrawn. The $199 matching set is the cheaper way to buy both.
Does the price change by size?
Never. One flat price per form across the whole size range. We do not charge more for a bigger sweater.
When is the last day to order for Christmas?
November 15, worldwide, on every knitted form. Printed items run to December 11 in the USA and November 26 internationally.
The Festive Folks’ Verdict
Buy Selbu Stars if you want the oldest joke in Norwegian knitwear, which is that the plainest sweater in the room is the one everybody looks at. The Duck counted the stars and sat down again, and around here that is a standing ovation.
The Owl would like you to know there are eight points. There have always been eight points.
Get it
Every form, made to order and shipped with tracking.
Christmas timing: Real knits take real time: order by November 15 for guaranteed Christmas delivery. The full list is on our shipping times page.
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