Parts From a Water Boiler

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.”