The Costume
of Tungufell
The beginning
The national costumes have been an interest of mine for a long time, and when I was young. In August 2013 I was cleaning the Tungufell church in preparation for a ceremony and got the idea of using the decorations on the altarpiece as the foundation to creating a costume. I ran the idea by Hildur at Annríki and she thought it would be possible to use the decorations in some way to create the post 1800 styled “faldbúningur”. I ran the idea by Hildur at Annríki and she thought it would be possible to use the decorations in some way to create the post 1800 styled “faldbúningur”.
I enrolled in a three-year course starting in January of 2014. The organizer of this course was Guðrún Hildur Rosenkjær at Annríki in Hafnarfjörður.
At first, it was hard to visualize how the project should evolve, but with more instruction and support from Hildur, the concept developed and eventually I managed to complete the project.
The Pattern
The pattern is inspired by the flowers on and around the altarpiece. I took photos of the flowers and then manipulated them so I could draw them on paper. Then Hildur helped me prepare them and stamp them on the skirt.
The church in Tungufell was built in 1856, but the images on the altarpiece are thought to be from the previous church built in 1831.
The Skirt
The skirt is sewn from black wool fabric of medium weight. The skirt and apron are sewn together, but the edge of the apron is trimmed with red wool fabric. The pattern is flower embroidery (blómstursaumur (i)) using Zaphir wool yarn. The skirt has a partial lining with flowery fabric as is the inner layer of the waistband.
The Bodice
The bodice (upphlutur (i)) is sewn from red wool fabric and has green silk edging. It is a traditional 19th century pattern. It is decorated with blue velvet ribbons and gold trim on the back, but the front has hand embroidered (balderað (i)) ribbons.
The Jacket and The Collar
The jacket was sewn during a course in the spring of 2016, it is sewn from a black wool fabric in a traditional design. It is decorated with handmade ribbons in the front, they are cut from pearl decorated velvet and blue silk underneath.
The collar is made from cut velvet edged with pearls, like the ribbons, and with blue silk underneath. It has the same pattern as the ribbons on the jacket which coordinates with the flower pattern on the skirt.