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Womans bunad from Setesdal (Valle)

This is Randi in her beautiful Setesdals bunad. It is made by Husfliden in Valle in 2000.  Randi inheritated the silver from her great grandmother! This picture was taken on 17. may 2000 in Slottsparken in Oslo.

More about the Setesdals bunad
(lots of the special words can't be translated)
The costumes in Setesdal have very rich traditions, and the costume from Valle is one of the few bunads in Norway that has never been out of use.

The shirt is in white cotton-linen. The couplings and the color have lace at the edge. The white underskirt was also used as an everyday skirt in the old days. Today it can be used as it is in the summertime, but it shall always be used under the black skirt. The ”skoren” or the ”skoningen” is stiff and made by woolen yarn. It consists of two layer of frieze with a strong cotton material in between. At the bottom the skirt has a list of black frieze. Above that it has two ”kvårar” or ribbons made of black cloth. On top the skirt is wrinkled to a black ”line” with a ”løysaum”. On the ”oppluten” on the back there is also a ”løysaum”. To this skirt there is to be used a ”lærjure” (leather-belt) with a brass- or silver hook.

The black skirt has a ”fangstykke” in cloth and at the back there is a woolen material in pleating. The ”skoren” has a red cloth at the edge. Then there is both a red and a green ribbon. On the top the skirt has a green ”line” with a red edge and a ”løysaum”. In the back it has an ”opplut” with embroideries and silver trimming. The braces often have a silver-ribbon in supplement to the ”løysaum”.

The belt is usually of leather or a weaved ribbon. The ribbon is to go two times around the waist, and fastens with a hook or a buckle.

”Blåkufta” is in black cloth, and is used only together with the black skirt. It has a green cloth at the edge, and has ”løysaum” at the chest, the hands and on the shoulders. It also has silver-ribbons on the sleeves and at the back. There is four silver-buttons on each sleeve, and four or five on each side of the chest. It keeps together with the ”kuftelekkja”. For lesser occasions a ”Gråkufte” can be used, it is made in dark brown frieze.

The knee stockings are knitted in a pattern by black wool. Garters, or leatherstraps with «sprette» and «sprotar» in both ends holds them up. Today thick thights may be used as well.

On the head a hair-ribbon is used before the scarf is tied on. It is made of black wool with fringes, and a rosepattern may be printed on it.

It is great variations in the use of silver, but there is a firm rule that the shirt is to have a button in the neck, and right below, the biggest ”sølje”. Then a minor ”sølje” is placed below that. Around the neck the chain for the watch is hanged. The watch itself can be put inside the skirt. ”Kyrkjetæpet” is a scarf weaved in wool in different patterns with red as the main color. ”Kyrkjetjeldet” is weaved in red wool with white stripes.