There is always a lot of talk about what to wear on your head in the folklore costuming community.

Traditionally you would cover your hair. Currently we don’t (for everyday wear). People feel uncomfortable wearing traditional headwear with the costume, others feel it’s a disservice to tradition to not wear it. This becomes an evergreen discussion.

I wanted to pitch an interesting proposition: headbands! I’m mired in the fertile soil of Swedish trad costuming, but I’m looking to Norwegian traditions for this.

When I was last in Trondheim I noted that the Trønderbunad has several types of headwear and amongst them are embroidered diadems and head wraps. This is seemingly a younger tradition than the old fashioned wraps and hats. Now, in Sweden we have a problem: the hat is where the traditional lace goes. If you lose the hat, you lose the reason to make the lace, and perhaps the knowledge of making the lace too! Therefore I humbly suggest headbands as a modern alternative, for lace preservation and a modern, feminine folkloric accessory. It is a huvudbonad, which more people might be comfortable wearing for celebrations, which can still carry traditional significance, depending on materials and techniques.

Just my personal opinion. I think they’re neat.

#crafts #folklore #sewing #slöjd #folkdräkt #hemslöjd #bunad #husflid #klöppeln #knyppling #folkcostume #knipling #lace #lacemaking #spets #spitze #sweden #norway

My mother has been complaining that I make her scratchy sweaters. So I endeavoured to make her the softest of garments: a lace cardigan. Lace yarn has to be spun so thinly that the fibers tend to face the same way, thereby being less scratchy. Also, it’s so sheer that the real risk lies more in her scratching the fabric.

But she loves it and that’s all that counts.

#knitting #lace #laceknitting #strikk #sticka #spets #slöjd #hemslöjd #husflid

I used to think I couldn’t come up with spontaneous art ideas. Like I was stunted and naturally didn’t have a sense of vision.
Turns out I was just untrained, and what feels like an artistic gift from the outside is actually a mental muscle that can be trained. Now my problem is I have too many ideas instead.
One of them was this: a little folklore piece inspired by Bohusdräkten in western Sweden. It’s meant for one of my nieces, unasked for but hopefully appreciated. It’s adjustable, from the lacing to extra material in the shoulders and waist. So hopefully she can wear it for a few years.
In Sweden we have this debate about headwear with folk costume. To wear or not to wear. But inspired by Norwegian tradition I decided to make her a little hair band with lace in a matching material to wear with the dress. And the thought struck me that adults could wear that too! I’m trying to make it a thing.
I’ve not weaved the fabrics or constructed the zipper but I’ve made everything else myself. The embroidery, the lacing, the lace, the hooks for closing, even the aglets to thread the string in front.
I hope she and her parents like it and that maybe when she is too big for it she can lend it to her cousin or potential siblings.

#crafts #embroidery #folklore #dress #sweden #folkdress #lace #lacemaking #girlfashion #broderi #slöjd #mjukslöjd #hemslöjd #folkdräkt #bohusdräkt #spets #knyppling #spitze #klöppeln #husflid #bunad #festdrakt

I finished these wrist warmers in the spring, but never found the time to show them off. Now the time has come!
They are a mismatched, crocheted, improvised pair of necessities that I did because I had no WIP while away from my stash. I can’t keep my hands still, I need a project.
The basic principle of the design is: rectangle as wide as your wrist and as long as you want them, measuring from the knuckles. Do a bunch of lace patterns, repeating or not, and edge the whole thing when it reaches the above measurements. Then sew up the side and leave a hole for the thumb. Et voilà, the summer’s most dramatic accessory accomplished!

#crafts #crochet #virkning #virka #lace #spets #slöjd #hemslöjd #husflid #gothic #historical fashion

I just finished a cardigan for my father’s fiancée. I did one for my niece a couple of years ago and all of the ladies wanted one. It’s a scrap yarn project, which is why some of the white is more yellow and some is more white.

I’m not a size small but she is so working against a size chart to make it fit her was a new challenge (since it’s an improvised pattern).

Let’s hope she likes it!

#crafts #crochet #lace #lacecrochet #grandmasquares #cardigan #virkning #spets #slöjd #hemslöjd

After starching and releasing the little lace pieces I decided to make two pair of earrings for some friends.

I really like the fiddly work of linking up the pieces with tiny rings. I should play with pliers more often!

#crafts #lace #jewellerymaking #handmade #slöjd #spets

I’ve been off sick for a week and in order to not die from boredom I’ve been teaching myself ñanduti!
It’s a Paraguayan lace technique, and the name means spider web in Guaraní.

Funnily enough I’ve had the impression that it’s popular online with Japanese creators. It’s fascinating the kind of patterns you can achieve with a bit of weaving and knots!

#crafts #lace #sewing #nanduti #spets #slöjd

Have got to get better at wearing what I make.
#crafts #lace #handmade #spets #crochet #knitting

I always thought of crochet lace as heavy, indelicate. But then I had an internship at Skansen open air museum in Stockholm, and I was tasked to make this bonnet. It’s from the oldest crochet manual printed in Swedish, from the 1840’s. And the fineness of this lace really blew me away and set me on a new path.

#lace #lacemaking #crafts #crochet #crochetlace #spets #spitze #virkning

I made my friend a lace shawl a few years ago. The pattern said that any energy that I put into the work would stay and radiate with use later. So I tried to only work on it in a good mood.

But we couldn’t NOT do a creepy shoot for it.

#lace #knitting #shawl #stickning #strikke #slöjd #crafts #hemslöjd #lacemaking #laceknitting #spets