[1][2] Born on 30 January 1899 in Kolding, Anna Sofie Boesen Dreijer was the daughter of the postmaster Mads Christian Dreijer (1861–1924) and the schoolteacher Anna Johanne Marie née Boesen (1867–1959).
On qualifying as a schoolteacher at N. Zahle's School in 1922, she spent three years as a teacher in Nykøbing Falster and then moved to Copenhagen where she taught until 1966.
Realizing there was a need for more practical guidelines, in 1940 Boesen Dreijer contacted the museum inspector Ellen Andersen of the Danish Folk Museum with a view to accessing their collection of traditional costumes.
Each envelope provided a description of one or more costumes from a given region, complete with weaving instructions, colour samples and knitting and embroidery patterns.
[3] Anna Sophie Boesen Dreijer died on 27 July 1986 in Fredericia.