Parts From a Water Boiler old

Dignāja folk costume. Made by Rita Jefimova around 1980 in Great Britain.

The Dignāja folk costume was made in the Latvian arts and craft group in Leeds in preparation for the English Latvian song days. Rita Jefimova made not only the Dignāja skirt, shirt, shawl and head-wrap, but also the brooches – they were made from copper water boiler parts. Rita remembers: “The craziest part was when we had to weave the skirt because we couldn’t get the right materials. I have a Dignāja skirt that I can hardly wear because it is so thick and heavy. I turned out more like upholstery fabric – we wove with what we had.”
Donated by Rita Jefimova. From the collection of the Latvians Abroad Museum (LP2016.340).
Rita Jefimova in the Dignāja folk costume in the estate garden of the Latvian centre “Abrene” in France; Easter 1990. Donated by Rita Jefimova.