Hedebo Region
Overview
The Hedebo Region ("Hedebo") is a special one for Danish folk costume lovers. Like Amager Island, Hedebo was a wealthy area due to its highly fertile heathland. Women often did not have to participate in field work, and instead had the time and money to make clothes. Thus, Hedebo women were unusually skilled in embroidery. As a consequence, Hedebo folk costumes are some of the finest in Denmark.
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Today, Hedebo is rightly famous for Hedebo embroidery, and particularly headgear embroidered with metal fibers. The Greve Museum in Denmark occasionally offers exhibits of such items.
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Hedebo Costumes
In the Hedebo region, as in Røsnæs and on Drejø Island, women wore different costumes depending on the season. They were:
a. "Green Hedebo" - Worn in spring and for Easter. This is the "show stopper" of the Hedebo lineup! The costume that has made Hedebo synonymous with gorgeous fabrics, vibrant patterns and ornate embroidery. Both the nattrøje and skirt are green. The apron and scarf could have other colors.
b. "Red Hedebo" - Worn in summer and for Pentecost. Red sweater (nattrøje) and red skirt. The apron and scarf typically have elements of red as well. A beautiful outfit and probably the most commonly seen. Red fabrics were more expensive as it was difficult to dye properly. Therefore, red fabric had to be bought from a dyer in a market town rather than being dyed at home (Kragelund, 1978).
c. "Blue Hedebo" - Worn in winter and for Christmas. Elegant and restrained. Blue sweater (nattrøje) and blue skirt. Apron and scarf have elements of blue.​
d. "Ham-Sleeves Hedebo" - From 1830 onward, a ham-sleeved blouse replaced the sweater (nattrøje)
e. "White Hedebo" - Used for field work/harvest
f. "Men's Hedebo" - There appear to be two vest variants (see images below). One has vertical red and green stripes. The other is red with green accents.
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Hedebo Costume Elements
a. Apron: The hallmark of the women's Hedebo costume! Typically made of linen. It has the distinctive Hedebo pattern (see images below).
b. Bodice: Closed with hooks. Above the hook closure, a colored ribbon ties across the chest.
c. Nattrøje: A sweater in red, green or blue knitted in a pattern with diamonds and stars called "gramaser" (or "stjernetrøjer," literally star sweater) that became popular throughout Denmark (Kragelund, 1978).
d. Scarf: tucked into the bodice
​e. Headgear: A large "kyse-shaped" hat made of either multicolored calico cotton, black velvet or silk. It was stiffened with cardboard. Black silk ribbons for married women; colored ribbons for unmarried. Reportedly, unmarried Hedebo women favored red ribbons, according to Ellen Andersen's 1952 "Folkedragter i Danmark".
f. Skirt: Wadmal wool, often with a dotted or floral pattern woven into it ("plettøj"). Silk ribbons along bottom edge, often gold or yellow.
g. Særk: a white shirt with embroidery at the collar and sleeve cuffs. The scarf was intentionally pulled low enough so that the shirt's neck embroidery was exposed.
Women's Costumes
Green Hedebo
Worn in spring and for Easter. This is the "show stopper" of the Hedebo lineup! It is the Birkin bag among ordinary Hermès bags. The white truffle of mushrooms, as it were.
This glorious and much-heralded costume has made Hedebo synonymous with gorgeous fabrics, vibrant patterns and ornate embroidery. Both the nattrøje and skirt are green. The apron and scarf could have other colors.
Hedebo Easter Costume (1830-1840)
from "Folkedragter i Danmark" by Ellen Andersen, 1952
The hat shown above is of pink silk with a small, metal-embroidered "neck" (not visible in this image). By the 1840s, the neck grew and became 5-sided. Unmarried girls wore red or pink hatbands. The short sleeves and collar are richly ruffled. The sweater (nattrøje), bodice and skirt are green. The bodice appears to be trimmed with golden yellow silk ribbons. The apron and scarf are of a matching pattern.
The Hedebo costume is popular because of its beauty, and you would have to search far and wide to find a prettier one than this! It is an absolute stunner with every detail painstakingly thought out. The skirt is green, the nattrøje sweater is woven in a lovely stjernetrøje (star and diamonds) pattern, and the bonnet has ornate embroidery with black ribbons, befitting a married woman. Furthermore, the apron and scarf are vibrant in their colors.
Hedebo 1820-1835
Image credit: Dávid Botond and GeoFolk
What makes this costume particularly lovely is that:
a. the body of the bodice is made of fabric woven in the "plettøj" pattern (in this case, green background with red-and-white flowers),
b. the silk ribbons at the bottom of the skirt really pop, and
c. the bonnet embroidery looks great.
Image credit: DanishFolkCostumes.com
The skirt appears to have a green base with red "plettøj" flowers.
Image credit: Tao Lytzen/Trap Denmark
Body of bodice is made of fabric woven in "plettøj" pattern (green background with white flowers). We can't tell from this image whether the skirt uses the same fabric or is instead plain green wadmal wool.
Image Credit: National Nordic Museum, Seattle, USA
Married woman from Havdrup, Hedebo Region
from "Danske Nationaldragter," 3rd Ed. (1915)
by F.C. Lund with illustrations by Luplau Janssen
Nordisk Dragtseminar, Reykholt, Iceland 2023
Image Credit: Elín Jóna Traustadóttir/Heimir Hoffritz
Red Hedebo
Worn in summer and for Pentecost. Red sweater (nattrøje) and red skirt. The apron and scarf typically have elements of red as well. A beautiful outfit and probably the most commonly seen. Red fabrics were more expensive as it was difficult to dye properly. Therefore, red fabric had to be bought from a dyer in a market town rather than being dyed at home (Kragelund, 1978).
Hedebo Region Costume, 1790-1800
from "Folkedragter i Danmark" by Ellen Andersen, 1952
The woman above was wealthy enough to afford a cloak for bad weather, made of either cotton, wadmel (coarse, dense wool) or silk. which she holds draped across her left arm. Less affluent women would instead have to pull their outermost skirt up over their heads in bad weather. The cloak shown above is half-length, which in Denmark very gradually superseded full-length cloaks during the Renaissance. Reportedly, the reason for the slow adoption of the half-length cloak in Denmark stems from a pre-Renaissance custom that respectable women wore long cloaks while ladies of disrepute wore half-length cloaks.
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On the head is a bonnet (kyse) of multicolored calico cotton or black velvet, stiffened with cardboard.
This pretty costume is special because:
a. it features the "golden neck" bonnet typical of North Zealand, and
b. the skirt is woven in the lovely "plettøj" pattern.
Image Credit: DanishFolkCostumes.com
Body of bodice woven in red "plettøj" fabric
Image credit: Ballerup Folkedanserforening
Image credit: Brønshøj Folkedansere Forening
On exhibit at Elverhøj Museum in Solvang, CA
Image credit: DanishFolkCostumes.com
Image credit: Licensed from Alamy
Image credit: B&U Dans Viborg
Image credit: Trin & Toner
Scarf and Apron close-up
Image Credit: Dorte Flindt
Image Credit: Mikael Bjerregaard
Blue Hedebo
Worn in winter and for Christmas. Elegant and restrained. Blue sweater (nattrøje) and blue skirt. Apron and scarf have elements of blue.
A Blue Hedebo costume, which was worn in winter
What makes this Blue Hedebo particularly beautiful is that:
a. not only is the skirt woven in the Hedebo "plettøj" pattern but the bodice is as well(!),
b. the silk ribbons at the bottom of the skirt are stunning, and
c. the embroidery on the "neck" of the kyse headgear is absolutely top-notch.
Image Credit: Tove Jensen
Image Credit: Faaborg Folk Dancers
Blue Hedebo Close-Up:
"Plettøj" pattern (dots or flowers) on navy blue wadmal wool skirt
Blue Hedebo Close-Up:
The "kyse-shaped" headgear with embroidered "neck"; its colored ribbons (in this case, light blue) signify an unmarried woman
Ham-Sleeves Hedebo
Hedebo 1820-1835
By 1830 a blouse with so-called "ham sleeves" had replaced the sweater (nattrøje) worn in prior iterations
Image credit: Dávid Botond and GeoFolk
Hedebo Costume, circa 1860
The dress shown has so-called "ham sleeves" and is worn with the "golden neck bonnet" that is characteristic of Nordsjælland
White Hedebo
The White Hedebo costume was worn for harvest work. It was notable for having white sleeves and a solid white apron (below). Few Danish folk costumes have long white sleeves (e.g., Lyø), which is far more common in Swedish or Norwegian folk costumes. For a woman to go out without something (e.g. a sweater) covering her sleeves was considered inappropriate in Denmark during the folk costume era.
Men's Costume
Hedebo Region "Brown Suit", 1790-1800
from "Folkedragter i Danmark" by Ellen Andersen, 1952
The Hedebo Region's "Brown Suit" displayed the owner's wealth by showing that he could afford to wear a vest underneath the matching jacket.
In 1979, the predecessor organization to the Danish Folk Costume Society put on an exhibition, displaying the finest examples of the Hedebo men's costume.
Image credit: Folkedragt.dk
Hedebo 1770-1795
Image credit(left): Dávid Botond and Geofolk
Image credit (right): Brønshøj Folkedansere Forening
A sharp-looking men's Hedebo costume
Image credit: Danish Embassy, Washington, D.C.
