Textile Country in Sjuhärad - the cradle of Textile Sweden

The story behind the Textile Country

In the Middle Ages, Sjuhärad was a poor agricultural landscape with meagre soil. Inaccessible and difficult to use. To get by, you had to be both smart and enterprising. On the farms around the village, people began to make and sell different types of handicrafts, though seldom textile crafts.

Though it was not long before you would find a loom in every other home around Sjuhärad. Home weaving became our signature and a very successful one. An entire industry emerged, developed and industrialised. The textile became part of our DNA. Today, textile threads still wind their way around our village. But now through world-leading companies in textile research, innovation, e-commerce and design.

A few selected places to visit in the Textile Country

In Sjuhärad, you can visit many different local players in textile industry and get new ideas, buy materials to create yourself with or find ready-made products of the best quality. Explore the fabric country of Sjuhärad!

Rydals museum

At Rydals museum, both young and old will find something that fascinates them. Like travelling through time, the spinning machines in the machine hall have been standing, row after row, since the 1940s. Take part in the history of the factory, see the large machines at work and find your favourite among the many different exhibitions.

Enjoy art exhibitions, try on clothes from the past, learn more about our textile history or try your hand at weaving, knitting and crocheting. It is a museum that can be experienced with all the senses. Plus with free entry.

Opposite the museum is Rydals Herrgård. Built in 1853 as a factory manager's residence, it is today a popular restaurant. Enjoy lunch or dinner in strikingly beautiful surroundings and with local produce. If you're lucky, the restaurant's owner Olof, with a background as an opera singer, offers a song to help the evening along!

The publishing farms

Förläggargårdarna – a collection of unique and often grand farms in Sjuhärad that bear witness to the heyday of the textile industry. The farms were built by successful businessmen, today we would probably rather call them entrepreneurs, who had yarn, cotton, linen and wool as currency.

The farms carry a history of our region and what shaped the area to what it is today. A visit here is a history lesson as well as a nature experience and a meeting with the warm and dedicated people who today manage and preserve the farms for us to continue to experience.

Textile museum

Tradition and innovation at the heart of Textile Sweden. The Textile museum in Borås is one of the Nordics' leading museums in textiles and fashion with collections of clothes, fabrics, textile machines, etc. The main exhibition Textile Power tells of textile production, while temporary exhibitions vary from fashion, design, art and craft to technology, research, sustainability and smart textiles. The Textile Museum is located in the Textile Fashion Center in central Borås.

Textile Fashion Center

Textile Fashion Center is Sweden's international centre for textiles, fashion and design. It is located in Simonsland, the old industrial area in the centre of Borås. Once upon a time, these premises were home to weaving, spinners, sewing factories and dyers, and even though it has been a long time since the factory noise quietened down, the pace has not stopped.

Students, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, companies and visitors mix, meet and collaborate in one place. An environment where dreams, needs and ideas are what inspire, challenge and drive the entire centre. Come and discover and be inspired by the creative cluster found in the house.