The Art of Handworked Hungarian Richelieu Lace Embroidery

Hungarian Richelieu lace embroidery marries two embroidery techniques. One is the Hungarian embroidery technique known as Kalocsai embroidery, in which flowers, leaves, and other natural images are embroidered in satin, chain, and hem/border stitching. The other is French Richelieu embroidery, a form of cutwork embroidery in which leaves, flowers, and figures are surrounded by a buttonhole stitch and joined by bars, then the rest of the fabric is cut away.

Kalocsai Embroidery

By the 18th century, the rich, vibrant shades of densely drawn designs in Kalocsai embroidery were found in all regions of Hungary. On her website, Christina Nyers Pengelly of Little Hungarian Hearts says, “Kalocsa[i] has become the embroidery that has epitomized Hungarian embroidery to the world. Its free-flowing colourful floral patterns have made it the poster child of Hungarian embroidery.”

The Intersection

At the end of the 19th century, Ilus Kovacs, a young girl already a master embroiderer from the Kalocsa region, played a pivotal role in the development of Hungarian Richelieu lace embroidery when she was shown a French fashion magazine with Richelieu-embroidered clothing. She adapted the traditional Kalocsai embroidery to include more vibrant colors and the Richelieu lacework. These singular changes quickly became popular and recognized throughout Europe.

The small cottage industry quickly became a serious source of income, pride, and tradition as certain milestones developed the embroidery. For example, in the beginning, the printing of the patterns on the cloth used wooden printing blocks on a large scale, but it quickly moved to the prick-and-pounce method still used to this day.

Hand embroidering the Richelieu lace onto the embroidered pieces is a very intensive, laborious process, involving many steps.

From left to right: The first step after completing the Kalocsai embroidery is outlining the embroidery with running stitch, over which couching stitch is done; Cordonnet size 40 has been used here for the lacework. Next, larger areas are filled with satin stitch. Buttonhole stitch and/or couching outlines larger areas. The lacework design is filled in in a “spider web” fashion using a single thread.

The foremost milestone that revolutionized the craft was the proliferation and use of machine-sewn “Richelieu” which made it possible to create the special pierced lace–like surface much more quickly. This technique can be seen on YouTube. At the same time, this modernization was also the decline of handmade Richelieu. Currently, this lacework is largely produced by machine to be sold in the markets and stores.

My Journey

I came across an unfinished piece of Hungarian Richelieu lace embroidery. Thinking that if the Kalocsai embroidery part were done, I could take it back with me to Hungary when the COVID-19 pandemic was over to get the lacework done on it. Well, two years later, the pandemic is still here, and in all reality, I do not think the time will come now.

Since then, I have spent much time researching how to do the lacework myself. I even bought a vintage treadle Singer sewing machine to learn to do it by machine, but I want to also be able to do it by hand. There are a few books in Hungarian on how to pattern the lacework into certain standard shapes for it to be considered Richelieu work. To this day these books are extensively used and are considered the bibles of Richelieu work.

But I discovered that it is almost impossible to find instructions detailing how to do the lacework onto the Kalocsai-embroidered piece by hand. These instructions, whether in Hungarian or English, are almost nonexistent. Many enquiries later to Hungarian museums, the Kalocsai embroidery guilds, and villages received a terse reply of “just practice.” I realized then that this artwork was handed down generation to generation.

I have learned the Kalocsai embroidery technique from experts, am very proficient, but I am determined to teach myself the Richelieu lacework and to journal my learning experience—the good, the bad, and the ugly—until something recognizable comes of it, with the hope that someday I will be able to write down the steps involved and pass it on. Unless the challenge is accepted to learn, make mistakes, teach, and hand down this handcrafted art, it will not endure.

Katalin Bognar, a Canadian-born Hungarian, researches and recreates Hungarian artisan handiworks for the preservation of Hungarian identity and tradition. Her keen interest in this pastime has led her to discover many facets of Hungarian artistry.

Would like to try your hand at this technique? check out the project in our July/August 2016 issue!-PieceWork Editorial Staff