Knit and Crochet in Finland

Meet Anna Nikipirowicz or Carol Meldrum and your Arena Travel Tour Manager at London Heathrow airport for your flight to Helsinki. We will be met by our coach and driver, and transfer to our hotel. Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is a vibrant seaside city of beautiful islands and green parks. Design, architecture, culture and shopping can all be found alongside forest, lakes and the coastline.

This morning our tour will include a visit to Sibelius Park. The park reflects the rugged natural beauty of Finland which inspired Sibelius’ music. Next we will see Temppeliaukio Rock Church, a Lutheran church built directly into solid rock, designed by architects Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Explore Senate Square designed by Carl Ludvig; Senate Square and its surroundings make up the oldest part of central Helsinki. Landmarks and famous buildings surrounding the square include Helsinki Cathedral, the Government Palace, University of Helsinki, and Sederholm House, the oldest building of central Helsinki dating from 1757. End the morning with a guided tour of the Fortress of Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Learn about the colourful past of the fortress, giving an interesting perspective on Finnish and Northern European history. This afternoon we return to our hotel for our first workshop.

We’ll spend this morning at *Craft Corner,*a meeting place for crafters in Helsinki, where we’ll enjoy a knitted wristbands workshop, using Finnish and Nordic knitting techniques. This afternoon is free for personal sightseeing (or yarn shopping!)

This morning we’ll travel by train to Vaasa. (Journey time approx. 4 hours). Vaasa is statistically the sunniest city in Finland and is bilingual with 69.8% of the population speaking Finnish as their first language and 24.8% speaking Swedish. On arrival we’ll be met by our driver and local guide for a city sightseeing tour, ending at our hotel. This afternoon we’ll enjoy a workshop at The House of Crafts. Dinner is included this evening.

We start the day with an excursion to Korsnäs to visit their Local History Museum. In the mid-1950s, a teacher started collecting rural antiquities from the district. For this purpose, he got permission to use the empty hired hand’s cottage on the parsonage premises. The museum premises today include the old hired hand’s cottage, the windmill, the forge, three rooms in the loft building, and the parish granary across the road. The beautiful museum yard serves as a place for festivities, demonstrations of handicrafts, and games. In the cottage we’ll see an extensive collection of woven throws and bed textiles. Everything related to the traditional dress, such as skirts, vests, and scarves, are richly represented, showing the variety of colour in weaving art in Korsnäs. Also on display are different tools necessary for the textile craft, such as spinning wheels and carding brushes. The Korsnäs sweater, a sweater made and used in Korsnäs during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is a unique piece of clothing, mainly because it has both crocheted and knitted sections in bright colors, and was originally mostly worn by men on special occasions. The sweater was made under the supervision of knowledgeable master craftswomen. The knitted parts of the sweater were frequently knitted by three women simultaneously. The museum holds a collection of several Korsnäs sweaters, the oldest is from 1864. In the afternoon we’ll return to the hotel for our second workshop with our expert.

This morning we’ll drive to Korsholm to visit the Stundars Museum & Cultural Centre, a large open-air museum and a centre of culture and art. The museum will give us a fascinating insight into life in the Ostrobothnian countryside a hundred years ago.  The museum workers will be dressed in traditional costume and will recount the history of textiles in this area. In the afternoon we’ll return to the hotel for our third and final workshop with our expert. Dinner is included this evening.

Transfer to Vaasa airport for our return flight to London, via Helsinki.