Needle and Thread Danced Together – on embroidery in the Lublin region

Embroidery in Poland was initially used for strengthening seams connecting fabrics.  But in the 2nd half of 19th century more importance started to be given to aesthetic values as well as identification; it was then that threads and manufactured extras, such as beads or sequins, started to be used.

Traditional embroidery in the Lublin region stood out through its use of varied counted and non-counted stitches, the selection  of ornamental motifs, colours, composition, the harmony between stitch and fabric as well as the use of  decorations. For shirts, these elements were cuffs, collars, shoulder bands, front slits. Aprons were decorated at the hems, skirts in the lower parts and trousers at the top. Corsets, vests, jerkins, coats and sheepskins were stitches at the front, mostly at the clasps and on the back, collars, in the lower parts of sleeves and at the pockets. Bonnets and half-bonnets were embroidered nearly in entirety, whereas shawls only the part most visible when folded. Colourful embroidered decorations were also added to tablecloths, mats, makatkas or bedcovers.

The richness of embroidered ornaments and techniques were greatly influenced by borrowings from adjacent ethnographic regions: Lesser Poland, Mazovia as well as Volyhnia and Polesia.  Four of Lublin subregions developed their own local embroidery that stood out in the entire country. The are featured at the exhibition: Biłgoraj embroidery, Krzczonów embroidery, Podlasie embroidery ( Włodawa and Nadbuże varieties) as well as Hrubieszów/Tomaszów embroidery.

The exhibition is open 11-28.08.2016, Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00-18:00 – Lublin Castle Museum