Brita-Kajsa Karlsdotter

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Brita-Kajsa Karlsdotter (1816–1915) was a Swedish textile artist best known for the Anundsjö stitch (Anundsjösömmen). She made white sheets decorated with flowers, ears of corn and fir needles. Her work gained wider attention in 1910 when the local historical society Ångermanlands hembygdsförbund held an exhibition of her embroidery. Today her pieces are in the Västernorrlands Museum in Härnösand, and a four-metre-high statue called Anundsjöpigan (Anundsjö Girl) stands nearby inspired by her.

She was born on 7 November 1816 in Näs, Anundsjö, the youngest of 11 children of crofter Carl Gustav Näsbäch and his wife Brita Danielsdotter, who taught her to sew. She started embroidery at a young age. At five she had seizures but was cured with help from a local priest and a pious Sami woman, and she remained deeply religious all her life.

In 1849 she married Olof Nilsson and they had 11 children. They moved to a farm in Storsele. He died after 41 years of marriage, and after his death her eldest son took over the farm, giving her time for embroidery. She dyed her own threads, often saving them from old towels, and she created new patterns as she worked, never repeating her designs. She invented the Anundsjö stitch when she was almost 70, and it became popular in handicrafts across Ångermanland in the 20th century. She signed her works with her initials BKKD, 1816, and the year, later adding ÄRTHG for “äran tillhör Gud” (the glory belongs to God).

Brita-Kajsa Karlsdotter died on 24 November 1915, aged 99, and is buried in Anundsjö Churchyard.