Making a Norwegian national costume

I made a Norwegian national costume (bunad) for my daughter. It is the Gaustal bunad. I also made the linen shirt to go with it.
The national costume came in a kind of kit that I bought from Husfliden (a sort of manufactorer and shop for traditional crafts etc.), and I have embroidered the skirg and sewn together the bodice. I could not have made this without the help of my late mother’s best friend, Marit (thank you!). ❤️
More about the national costume tradition: www.peopleareculture.com/buna...
Bernadette Banner's Pirate Shirt: • I hand sewed a pirate ...
#bunad #gausdalbunad #nationalcostume

[@seasidestitches615]

Thanks so much for sharing your tradition with us. Your daughter’s Bunad is absolutely beautiful, please thank her for letting you share photos of your amazing work, it has been very useful for fully understanding the way it is worn, and the value of this wonderful outfit xx

[@vickylowton2106]

Thanks so much for sharing pictures of yours and your daughters Bunads. It was really interesting to hear the history of them and understand how they are still interwoven with everyday life. You’ve done an amazing job making one from scratch, it’s really stunning x

[@justletmesew]

What a beautiful outfit and a wonderful tradition that you are keeping alive. Your daughter will treasure her bunad forever. Thank you for sharing ❤

[@sandraobrien8705]

Gorgeous outfits. I love that Norwegians value and maintain these traditions. I have seen members of your royal family wearing a bunad before but didn't realise it was still so widespread.

[@kellyprim6106]

Wonderful video, thank you for your engaging style of speaking and sharing the love of your culture

[@alisonkemp1671]

This was really interesting Karen - thank you for sharing Beautiful make 😊

[@comalley4825]

Beautiful work

[@paulamattsson8583]

Wow what a beautiful make ❤

[@Catsface99]

Did you hand embroider all the flowers? Did your mother hand embroider your bunad? The dresses are very beautiful and I like the purse at the waist, the clasps are very beautiful. I enjoyed hearing about Norwegian culture.

[@madebykarenmarie]

Thank you! Yes, all the flowers are hand embroidered. This was my first ever bunad, so I was glad that it didn’t have too many flowers on it. I am not very good at emroidery, so it took me ages 😂. Yes, my mother did all the needlework on my bunad. She also made her own as well as the ones for my brothers and sisters. I love mine. It is the most precious piece of clothing I own. Thanks for watching!

[@DisasterAuntie]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I've just returned from a week visiting Norway. Unfortunately we didn't get to do any shopping there, as we weren't in a city at all. I had intended to commission a bunad for myself, but I'm glad I didn't get to do that, because only since I returned have I learned that bunader are not for foreigners' use. I don't want to do something that would be offensive to the people whose tradition this is. I was also told about festdrakt, though, and that interests me greatly. I know there are many complicated rules for bunader, but I'm not finding information in English about rules for festdrakt. Would you happen to know of places I can look for that? I know that it's specifically said that it should NOT use region-specific elements from real bunader, but how different must a garment be from the base elements in order to make it clear that I'm not trying to wear someone's cultural garment, but only to suggest and respect Norwegian culture?

[@madebykarenmarie]

Hi Judith! Oh, I hope you had a nice visit here! I'll try to answer your questions without going into a full lecture mode (occupational hazard) and to be as concise as I can, but there is a lot of background here and I have a couple of questions for you, too :) The bunad is a symbol of belonging, of rebellion, of national and local pride, and for many it is also a connection to family (as they are often inherrited or sewn by family members). For some, the bunad has also (in my opinion) become a bit of an obsession, and they can't help voicing their opionions on what they see is the only right way to do things. We call them the Bunad Police.. So - question for you: do you have a connection to Norway? Have you lived here, or have you relatives here? In my opionion, if so, you are perfectly in your rights to commission a bunad connected to your local area. If you want to feel like part of the gang without even offending the Bunad Police (not an easy task, as they are regularly offended), a festdrakt could be a good option. Festdrakt is usually a term used for more modern designed outfits that are inspired by bunads, and that often have the same cut, but they have no connection to a particular place. As far as I know, there are no rules here. So, question for you: do you sew? If you do, there is a Norwegian company called Fæbrik that released a pattern a while back for festdrakt. It is called Fæstdrakt, and the idea is that you can design one and make it from any kind of fabric. Let the imagination run free and be creative :) Unfortunately, I don't really have any information in English about festdrakter, but you can always just google and use translate, maybe? If there is an interest for it, I can always make another video with more examples, too :)

[@sanetlane-halck2943]

I would love to stay in touch with you. I am embarking on making a bunad for my granddaughter from Rogaland.

[@madebykarenmarie]

Ooh! How exciting! It's a big project, but soooo satisfying to see the final product. I love my bunad that my mum made for me, and it was lovely to see my daughter in hers.