EXHIBITION. “Valencian design. Traditional Valencian chain stitch”

Joining the celebration of Valencia as World Design Capital in 2022, the Colegio de Arte Mayor de la Seda resorts to the heritage of traditional Valencian clothing and popular everyday elements to study and highlight the peculiarities of the production procedures or ornament. In this context, a repetitive and permanent embroidery technique was chosen over time, repeated in numerous garments and extended in different places of the Valencian Community.

This is chain stitch or chain stitch embroidery: a simple technique done by hand, which only needs the support fabric, thread and needle. That is precisely why it has achieved wide diffusion, especially in traditional dress. The base fabric can be cotton, linen, wool, silk or tulle, and the embroidery thread can be made of any of these materials or metal, although the latter offers greater difficulty. As for the motifs represented, they are usually roses, carnations, palms, birds, vases… and they can be loose or in a garland.

Thus, the Valencian Silk Museum intends to show the Valencian tradition, and only in a testimonial way, some pieces of the upper bourgeoisie and aristocracy, which could not resist the charm of the chain stitch or chain stitch. On the other hand, we wanted to value the work of all those people, especially women, who have worked with this technique over the years.