Folk Textiles



Growing hemp was the organic part of self-supporting farming. Women remained to do wool weaving until the 20th century besides hemp weaving which was determining in the 19th century. According to the 19th century reports Slovakian women of Csaba with their four-heddled work left twill weavers without means of making a living. Probably they brought the knowledge of their developed textile craftwork from their previous home, the highlands. Scientists consider the homespun having stripes in the middle as Slovakian features.

The home textiles, decorating the clean room, are outstanding that praise the housewife’s taste and knowledge of weaving and reflect the wealth of the family.

It is also remarkable that everyday pieces, like feather-beds, towels, even sacks were made from hemp and cotton yarn with four- and six-heddled three-to-one twill technology and cross fibred motifs. These remained traditional methods of weaving, colours and forms for the longest time. These are the typical combinations of early folk textiles: dark blue and purple, then black, dark red, dark blue and white. On the Great Plain according to the valid tendencies simple stripe rhythms were followed by geometrical ornaments, then free-lined motifs by the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. By the end of the 19th century homespun of Csaba became more and more colourful: green and yellow came to the red, black and dark blue cotton ornaments. The special circle motifs were developed in Csaba. The colours of the early homespuns of Tótkomlós are black and white, blue, then green, yellow and/or orange, and dark blue. Cross fibred numbers of years, weaving names and the combined black and red weft yarn are authentic ornamental features of Komlós.

High level weaving knowledge and amazing skills of composition of Slovakian women fulfilled in mourning clothes and towels that showed the motifs of Italian pitchers, lions and birds.