Of all the Norwegian sweaters out there, the Marius sweater might be the most popular of them all. More than 5 million sweaters (one for each Norwegian?) have been sold, and it’s a favorite knitting pattern for many Norwegian grandmothers. I actually have one that my grandmother knitted for me! Learn more about this popular sweater in this article.

The origin of the Marius sweater

The origin of the Marius sweater has been subject to dispute, and there are two different stories. The first one says that it was first knitted by Bitte Eriksen in 1928 or 1929. And that it was later used by her son Marius Eriksen, a famous Norwegian skier, who also has given the name to this sweater/pattern. The other story says that it was designer Unn Søiland Dale that made this pattern, and that she was inspired by the book “Norwegian knitting patterns” from 1929 made by Annichen Sibberns. In this book she took inspiration from the traditional Setesdal sweaters, but re-designed them into her own version. The Marius sweater she made was presented in the Norwegian movie “Troll i ord” (Norwegian saying which means that something might come true and often in a negative way). Still today, we do not know which story is more true than the other…

Henki Kollstad – Troll i Ord

Marius Eriksen

Marius sweater vs Traditional Norwegian sweater

A traditional Norwegian sweater uses the natural color of sheep wool; black, grey, brown and white. The Marius sweater however is produced with colored yarn.

The famous skier Marius Eriksen, who also was an actor, used several color combinations of this sweater. Both white, black and red, and also blue and white. However, in the movie “Troll i ord”, the Norwegian actor Henki Kolstad wore the one with the blue, white and red color, and this quickly became the most popular one, which it still is today.

The World’s most popular sweater?

Screenshot from www.unnfromnorway.no

The Marius sweater has gained great popularity, and has been worn by members of the Norwegian pop group A-HA, Rosalynn Carter, former prime minister in Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland and many more.

In a way it has become a symbol of Norway, and today it’s a pattern you can find not just on sweaters, but also on many other products.

If you are interested in knitting this sweater you can get the knitting patterns at Sandnes Garn (Website in English).

For buying the Marius sweater and other products with this pattern, I recommend the
Marius of Norway Store on Amazon

Tusen takk, thanks a lot for reading!