Editor’s Note: The article about historical underwear reminded me of another set of Norwegian underwear I’ve seen. The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum owns a pristine set of handwoven long underwear, by way of a Norwegian mother concerned about cold Midwestern winters. Robbie LaFleur

Vesterheim Curator Laurann Gilbertson wrote:

The long underwear belonged to Nikolai Knudson Farestveit (1899-1980) of Modalen, Hordaland, Norway. His brother Knut was the first in family to come to the U.S., and farmed in western North Dakota. Nikolai (Nick) worked in an orphanage in Norway and heard that Knut had done well, so he immigrated in 1923. He worked as a farm hand near Beresford, South Dakota, then as a finish carpenter in Grand Forks and Northwood, North Dakota. Nick’s mother, Anna Helland Farestveit, made the long underwear for him to pack in 1923. She carded and spun the wool, wove the fabric, and sewed the garments. According to Nick’s daughter, he could not tolerate wool next to his skin, so the long underwear are barely worn. (Gift of Carl and Arlene Farestvedt Evanson, Vesterheim – 2010.026.001)