Tromsbunaden in 100% Norwegian wool

Together with Husfliden Tromsø, Gudbrandsalens Uldvarefabrik has had the pleasure of developing fabric for the skirt of Tromsbunaden in 100% Norwegian Wool. The Norwegian wool makes the fabric beautiful and gives it great resilience.

In 1967, in collaboration with BUL Tromsø, work was started to collect background material which was to form the basis for the design of a bunad for the whole of Troms county. This was done in the form of literature, photographs and some old textiles.

In Anna Grostøl's collections of home-woven fabrics, an old sample from Bjarkøy was found, and on this basis the pile fabric was woven. It had a checkered effect of stripes that you couldn't copy, and therefore you chose to make a stack of vertical stripes that were decorated with velvet bands across the bottom. Anna Grostøl's fabric collection is today at Tromsø Museum.

Together with Husfliden Tromsø, Gudbrandsalens Uldvarefabrik has developed fabric for Tromsbunaden in 100% Norwegian Wool.

The skirt is shaped after a wedding dress from Tranøy in Senja, sewn around the middle of the 19th century. In earlier times, it was common to wear silk scarves around the neck. These were often given as a homecoming gift to a girlfriend, sister or wife when the man came home from the sea. Bunaden was first presented at Troms Ungdomsfylking's convention in Senjahopen in 1973.

The wool industry in Norway produces a total of 4.000 tonnes of wool a year. Norwegian wool is considered to be of high quality, and all Norwegian wool is therefore traded and used. At Gudbrandsdalens Uldvarefabrik we use wool from approximately 120.000 sheep per year.

Norwegian wool is resilient and robust and has a major environmental advantage over wool from warmer regions. Our cool climate means that the chemical treatment of the wool on the sheep is not necessary. Pesticides are not usually used in Norwegian agriculture. Norwegian sheep farming is based on grazing in outdoor areas where no pesticides are used. The fabric for the Tromsbunade is woven on yellow and black wool, and with 100% Norwegian wool, the fabric is extra beautiful and has an extra good elasticity.

Source: Norsk Bunadsleksikon / Husfliden Tromsø