Ready for 17 May – The Bunad Guide
By TaVare · updated 2026-08-03
This 17 May bunad guide walks you through everything the bunad needs before the national day: airing and cleaning, the shirt and apron, the silver, the fit, and stain first-aid on the day itself. The single most important tip is simple – be early, because most of what you should do takes a little time, and whatever you cannot do yourself has to reach the professionals before everyone else joins the queue. Here is the whole checklist, with an honest line between what you can safely do at home and what belongs with a professional.
Start early – the most important advice before 17 May
17 May is the day the bunad should shine, and it is also the day everyone else brings theirs out. Dry-cleaners and bunad-makers fill up in the weeks before, so anything that needs a professional – cleaning the wool, a repair, an alteration, or silver that needs more than a light polish – should be sent off in good time. Be early; then you make the deadline without stress, and the bunad hangs ready well before 17 May. Start by taking the bunad out now and going through it, so you know what it needs while you still have time to sort it.
Check and air the bunad
The bunad's wool body – skirt, bodice, jacket, and for men waistcoat and knee-breeches – is never washed at home. It is aired and brushed, and if it needs more, that is a job for a dry-cleaner. Hang the bunad in fresh air out of direct sun for a day or more, brush lightly with a soft clothes brush, and use the moment to look it over properly. Run through this list while you still have time to fix what you find:
- Moth holes or thinning patches in the wool – small holes can be rewoven (kunststopping), but that is specialist work.
- Last year's stains that have set – the older a stain, the harder it sits.
- Loose seams, threads or embroidery that has come undone.
- Silver that is loose, bent or missing løv (the small dangles).
- The fit against whoever will wear it – especially if a child has grown.
Shirt, apron and pressing
The shirt and apron are usually linen or cotton, and are the part you can safely freshen at home – provided the fabric really is linen or cotton and colourfast. The wool you press gently, always from the reverse and around the embroidery, never over it.
- Hand-wash the shirt and apron in lukewarm water with a mild delicate detergent; avoid chlorine and bleach, especially on whitework (hardangersøm).
- Rinse well, never wring – roll the piece in a towel to press the water out – and dry flat or on a line out of direct sun.
- Iron linen and cotton while slightly damp; press the embroidery from the reverse so it keeps its relief.
- Press the wool from the reverse with a damp pressing cloth under the iron; lay embroidered areas face-down on a soft towel and press from the back, never straight over the embroidery or the silver.
Polish the silver gently – and know the finish
Bunad silver comes in three finishes, and they are cared for differently. Get it wrong and you can remove something that was meant to be there. Always take the silver off the bunad before airing, pressing and storage, and put it on last on the day itself – after perfume and hairspray, both of which tarnish silver.
- Bright (polished) silver tarnishes over time; polish it gently with a silver cloth, sparingly, so you do not wear down the filigree.
- Oxidised silver has deliberately darkened areas for contrast – this is design, not dirt. Never polish it away, and never use a silver dip, which strips the oxidation in seconds.
- Gilded silver has a thin layer of gold; only a gentle wipe with a soft cloth, never polish or a dip.
- Store the silver dry and airtight, separate from the fabric – and never with rubber bands or rubber, which blacken silver where they touch.
Fit and alteration – especially for children and confirmands
Bunads are sewn with deep hems and generous seam allowances precisely so they can be altered: a child's bunad is let down and out as the child grows, and an adult's is taken in or out after a weight change. Try the bunad on in good time before 17 May, because an alteration is not something you sort out the night before. If a confirmand will wear a bunad for the first time, or a child has grown since last time, this is the thing to check first. A bunad alteration is specialist work because it has to be reversible and preserve the embroidery, hems and regional style – you let out rather than cut away, so the bunad can grow again or pass to the next wearer. That is why it belongs with a bunad-maker, not a quick take-up.
When the bunad should go to a professional before 17 May
You get a long way yourself with airing, a clean shirt, careful pressing and a light silver polish. But when something risks the wool, the colour, the embroidery or the silver, the honest advice is to leave it to professionals – on a garment this valuable and hard to replace, that is the expert choice. That covers cleaning the wool body itself, stains that will not lift with gentle blotting, moth holes that need reweaving, loose embroidery, silver beyond a light polish, and any alteration. If you are unsure, or the bunad needs cleaning, repair or alteration, you can send it to us from anywhere in Norway – describe what you want, for example silver polishing, in the comment field. You see the price before you order. Be early before 17 May; the cleaners fill up, and this way the bunad is ready in good time.
You see the price before you order.
Frequently asked questions
When should I get the bunad ready for 17 May?+
As early as you can. Cleaners and bunad-makers fill up before mid-May, so anything a professional must do – cleaning the wool, a repair, an alteration – should go in early. Being early means it is ready without a last-minute rush.
Can I wash the bunad at home?+
No. The wool body is aired and spot-cleaned, never home-washed – water can felt, shrink and distort it. Only a shirt and apron in genuine linen or cotton can be gently hand-washed; real cleaning of the wool is professional work.
How do I polish the bunad silver without ruining it?+
Gently, and according to the finish. Buff bright silver sparingly with a silver cloth; only wipe oxidised and gilded silver with a soft cloth, and never use a silver dip. Never store silver with rubber, which blackens it.
A child has grown – can we still alter the bunad before 17 May?+
Usually yes, if you are early. Bunads have deep hems and seam allowances made for letting out, but the work is a specialist job – so try it on and book the alteration in good time, not the week before.
Rather have us handle it?
You see the price before you order.