Bunad bibs

Hordamuseet has a quite unique exhibition at the moment. It´s a documentation on bunad bibs. Or stomacher might be a better word. There are at least 400 different bunads and national costumes in Norway, probably more. According to our guide at the museum, there are 100 just in Hordaland, the county I live in.

“Bringeklut” litterarily means “chest cloth” and is part of the bunads in Hordaland, and parts in Telemark. It originates in the 18th century and the rococo-dresses, which all had stomachers. The original fashion idea was imported to Norway and thoroughly “Norwegianfied” and adapted to the homemade fabrics and techniques and styles here, and out came what we now call bunad.  Below is a a drawing of a 16th century inspiration source.

Sunnhordland is the region I live, and even here there is quite a variety on the bunads themselves, and even more in the bibs. The bunad-group in Fana had done a major job of registering old bibs, analyzing the textiles and making this exhibition. IT´s a well of information and a treasure-chest of tradition of textiles.

I have to share just a bit of the variation. So many different colors and patterns and techniques. In the inner parts of Hordaland, Hardanger, they use a lot of glass beads in the embroidery. Along the coast we use more wool-on-wool embroidery. The bib below, the ornament is made entirely of glass beads.

This is one of the techniques used in making the glass bead bibs. First making a net with the pattern, and afterwards sewing it onto a cloth. This is from Fana.

The bib below they didn´t know much about, and I understand why. I´ve never seen a bib with an embroidered dog on it! And in such warm colors! Now a days, the bunads are very color-coordiated, the belts and the bibs matching. But in earlier days, belts were belts and bibs were bibs, and they needn´t match at all, so the variety was much wider. MUCH wider.

The most common bibs are probably made this was: wool on a loosely woven linen cloth. That´s how I made mine. I made a copy of an old pair of suspenders I found in my local museum. And I admit, it feels good to have made part of my own bunad.

There has been a very rich culture in artistic expression throughout the history of the bunad. A tradition well worth taking care of.