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About Hemslöjden
The National Association of Swedish Handicraft Societies (Svenska Hemslöjdsföreningarnas Riksförbund) is a non-profit organization. With almost 90 regional and local handicraft societies across Sweden and 14,000 members we present our selfes as Hemslöjden, a movement that continuously have worked with intangible cultural heritage for over 110 years. Through courses, handicraft gatherings, exhibitions, seminars and different projects we pass on knowledge and invoke interest, in the younger generations as well. The handicraft movement is therefore an important part of the Swedish civil society, and our vision is that handicrafts should be a natural part of everyone’s daily life.
On a national level we:
- Support the handicraft societies, regarding both development and administration
- Manage national projects
- Arrange seminars and conferences
- Manage several scholarship funds
- Act as a trade organization regarding several handicraft professions, which means we review applications for journeymen’s and master’s certificates.
- Manage Hemslöjdens collections at the Digital Museum.
We are proud owners of the company that publishes Hemslöjd, Sweden’s largest handicraft magazine. Hemslöjden also work actively to raise issues related to hemslöjd and handicraft, at a political and governmental level.
International networks
The National Association of Swedish Handicraft Societies are since 2024 an accredited NGO for the UNESCO convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage
Read more about our expert role here.
We are also members of the Nordic Handicraft Association and the European Craft Organization. The handicraft organizations meet at conferences and seminars to exchange ideas and inspire each other. We also collaborate in projects together. An example is Nordic Craft Week, an online event that takes place on Facebook in September every year. In 2019 and 2022 the Nordic organizations published fre knitting patterns as a part of the Nordic Craft week. You can download the patterns here.
Read more about the Nordic handicraft organizations:
Norway: The Norwegian Folk Art and Craft Association
Denmark: Fora
Finland: Taito
Iceland: Icelandic Craft Association
Estonia: Eesti Rahvakunsti ja Käsitöö Liit
Together we contribute to a sustainable society!
Senast uppdaterad: 16 oktober 2026