Bunad Lomme

Lomme is the Norwegian word for pocket.  In this case, it is the decorative purse on a Norwegian national costume or bunad.  Authentic Norwegian bunads are beautiful but they are also extremely expensive because they are hand embroidered and include hand made traditional accessories like woven belts and and silver jewelry.  When we were in Norway in the fall, we saw a couple banks that specialized in loans and on the advertisements there were pictures of cars, boats...and BUNADS!  Each county has their own design and style, and depending on the region a single bunad can cost over $6,000.  It is tradition to receive one on your confirmation and my oldest niece will be confirmed in the coming year.  My mother is in the process of designing and working on a generic bunad which are also worn.  I volunteered to embroider the lomme.

I like fussy but Mom is insisting this be simple.  She found some gorgeous thread dyed striped skirt fabric and already had a stash of linen in varying colors for the bodice.  We decided on generic black for the purse and found this image on the internet.  It is not a traditional motif by any means but we just liked the look of it and I thought I could work with it.  Now came the challenge of getting this design onto the black fabric.

I had two different brands of iron transfer pencils and totally wasted my time tracing this design because it did not transfer.  I thought the fabric was maybe too dark for the pencil to show up so I tried it on a scrap of white fabric and again nothing happened.  I started digging around in my sewing room looking for some sort of a white pen or fabric marker.  I looked online and found a white iron transfer pencil and decided against it based on the results I had with the colored ones, plus I was impatient and wanted to get working on the project.  I thought about a light table to transfer the design but the cheapest one I found online was $60 and I'd probably never use it again.  I started thinking about how I could "make" a light table...

I swiped the clothes storage container out from under my bed, dumped it out and stuck my sewing table lamp under it!  Hey presto--a light table!

I don't know why I did this on the floor in the middle of my hallway but I suppose I was just so excited to get started.  Start-itis is a powerful thing!

In the end I used a permanent chalk marker I got for $1 at the Dollar Spot at Target!  It worked beautifully but then my immediate concern was that the lines were too thick and it would be difficult to conceal them.  Being permanent, I couldn't launder the lines away like you can with a fabric marker.

Here is Lopi watching me as I paced and fussed in the sewing room.  She spends a lot of time in here just laying on her dog bed since the baby came home.  I think she comes in here because it is quiet and "safe".  She doesn't quite know what to think of the living room now that we have a bouncy seat and baby swing and bassinet taking up space in there.

I inherited my mother's stash of crewel thread complete with a vintage 1970's shopping bag.  To keep it simple, I opted for just red and green.  I wanted to do some netting like my bunad has and I used DMC antique silver since she will have pewter colored hardware.

I was a mere slip of a girl when I purchased the materials for my bunad in Norway in 1993.  I will never forget visiting with the shop lady in our respective broken foreign languages.  She made it very clear that I was to use a tight hoop and "make the net first".

I had to include a picture of my little coconut.  He is so darned cute!  I'm lucky that he naps a lot in the morning which is my most productive time.  He is 11 weeks old.  I just can't believe it.  I go back to work on Monday and I'm both dreading and looking forward to it.

Instead of a simple stem stitch, I opted for a chain stitch to fill out the design and obscure the lines.  I really liked the effect.

Our peonies are blooming and I'm enjoying them.  The shrub roses will be opening soon!

More progress on the design.  Note baby M in the background.  Thank goodness for baby swings!  He and I can visit and he's content and I have both hands free!

Here is the finished piece and Mom will do her seamstress magic.  That fabric sample is what will be used for the skirt.  She has yet to hammer out a few details like whether or not to make an apron and what kind of head covering to use, etc.  I'm excited for my niece.  I mentioned I have a bunad...in pieces.  I have yet to finish embroidering it!  I have been working on it for 25 years and I'm just a day or two of work away from being done but my fear is it won't fit me because I'm now fat.  I did go to 2 Husfliden shops while last in Norway and did a photo study of the construction and am so much more confident.  I'm also committed to losing weight now that I have a little one and will need the energy I can get.  I'll share more about my bunad later and I have yet to write about our Norway trip.  It was just one of the many things I thought I could accomplish since I'd be "just sitting around with a newborn."  Boy was I wrong!  It is amazing how busy such a little person can keep you!  And speaking of the little one, I have 2 generic baby boy bunads for him that I got at a thrift shop in Oslo.  I can't wait until he fits into them and we'll have his picture taken!