Embroidery with the curved needle from Detva

Curved needle embroidery appears in various regions of Slovakia, but in Detva and its surroundings, it has gained major significance through its widespread occurrence. At the same time, it gave rise to a distinctive, artistically interesting and rich, elaborate pattern and composition system, which is still alive today and has generally become known as Detvian embroidery. It represents a type of pre-drawn chain stitch embroidery made by a special embroidery technique with a curved hook on fabric stretched by a frame. It is characterised by three forms, differing in technique and predominant decoration – full embroidery, carved and grounded embroidery. Curved needle embroidery is exclusively practised by women. While almost every woman in Detva once mastered embroidery with a straight needle, embroidery with a curved needle was more demanding. Women made clothing for themselves and their relatives, or to order. Many of them also cooperated with various embroidery associations. Initially, they embroidered mainly bonnets and blouses, and later scarves, aprons and skirts. Of the men’s items, only black glot aprons were embroidered with a curved needle. Gradually, however, curved-needle embroidery replaced straight-needle embroidery on men’s shirts and trousers named gete. Today, embroidery is also found on local liturgical clothing and textiles. On embroideries on velvet, the colourful ornaments (pomegranate, tomato, leaf, twigs, bell, witch, oblápanec, oak leaf, stars, etc.) and their compositions have been most widely used. Nowadays, in Detva, there are a number of embroiderers, and their careful work creates new embroidery on parts of folk clothing and home textiles. The most important current institutionalised preservers and promoters of curved needle embroidery in Detva include Detvianske Folk Art Ltd. represented by Iveta Smilekova and her daughter Soňa Stančíková, who are engaged in the production and sale of embroidery, but also in educational activities, as well as the companies Parta and Kaška, and the civic association Detviansky Tulipán (Detva Tulip). The transfer of skills to the younger generation takes place through embroidery courses, within the curriculum of the art school of Svetozár Stračina in Detva and individually in the families of embroiderers.