Text and photo Laila Duran ©

The parish of Leksand in Dalecarlia, Sweden, have a long and unbroken tradition of local folk costumes. Like many of the costumes from the region of Siljan, the old fashioned costumes have a distinct character with great variation. It is foremost the women´s costumes that have been frequently used at festive occasions and holidays. The traditional Leksand costume has no less than nine different aprons (“majder” is the local name) to be used during the year of “the costume almanac”. On this photo you can tell the social status on the two women by their head dress. The white headdress, “kärringhatt”, is for the married woman and the red , “rödhätta”, is for the unmarried. They are dressed in their Sunday best and still one of them is knitting. It was a common sight in Dalecarlia to see women walking and knitting during the light hours of the day.

The white “kärringhatt” has embroidery at the neck and a black and white ribbon tied over the top of the head. The ribbon is called “sotgarnsband”, soot yarn ribbon, since the black yarn was dyed with soot. The married woman´s jacket is a modern version and the cut strongly influenced by the fashion of late 19th century. The weave of the fabric in her jacket is “Monk´s Belt” a weave that is still popular today.

The knitting of socks and mittens was a constant preoccupation amongst the ladies. Spending time doing nothing was not heard of. Both ladies are dressed for Sunday but not for church

The white “two-end-knitted” (tvåändstickad) stockings are a vital part of the costume. The red pompoms on the shoes are called “toppor”.

In late 19th century the women in Leksand started to use watches as accessories with their costumes. Here the watch chain is decorated with a small gold heart and the watch tucked away in the bodice.

The man from Leksand is wearing an old waistcoat and handmade breeches in chamois leather. The stocking is similar to the woman´s stocking and are held up by leather garters. The knitted cap he is wearing is called “tupphätta”.

Many of the garments used on the photo shoots for Scandinavian Folklore Volume II are old garments from private collections and museums. This old waistcoat and stockings are from a private collection.

At Leksand Hemslöjd, Leksand arts and crafts, many of the costumes of the area are exhibited. The shop also offers a selection of both old and new garments as well as tailor made costumes. Please visit:  http://www.leksandshemslojd.se/

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