Hungarian Matyo Embroidery Project---Finished Project Photos

Today I want to share with you the pictures of my Hungarian embroidery project. I recently found out that the type of Hungarian embroidery which I shared with you in my earlier post on Hungarian embroidery is Matyo embroidery, and not Kalocsa embroidery as I had mistakenly assumed. I got confused with both forms of the embroidery.

I did a little research and learnt that the most prominent difference between Matyo and Kalocsa is that in Matyo embroidery the roses are usually embroidered only in red, while in Kalocsa embroidery they are done in different colors. Also Matyo embroidery was traditionally densely stitched. 

Matyo embroidery is one of the traditional folk art embroidery styles in Hungary, which stretches back nearly 200 years. The motifs were sewn with bright colors such as red, green, yellow, blue, black, and purple, as well as with their soft shades. The color red retains its dominance in all motifs. Towards the end of the 19th century, peony became the most famous motif, which was given a special name, the “matyo rose," which became the main feature of the motifs. 

According to the Web site folk-art-hungary.com,

There is also a legend about the development of matyo embroidery. Once a matyo bachelor was kidnapped by the devil. The boy’s sweetheart rhymed a lot asking him to give him back to her, and the devil said, “You’ll get your love back if you bring the most beautiful flowers of summer in your apron!” She was in trouble as they were in the middle of winter. But in the end, she figured out how to fulfill the devil’s wish. She embroidered the beautiful roses of her garden on his apron and gave it the devil in exchange for her valentine.

Please visit folk-art-hungary.com for more info on Hungarian embroidery.

Also visit the Web site fromhungarywithlove.wordpress.com to know the differences between the different forms of Hungarian embroidery.

Below are the final pictures of the Hungarian Matyo embroidery project which I completed a few years ago.

This is the back side (wrong side) of the embroidery.

Please chime in your ideas whether you would like a tutorial on Hungarian embroidery on this blog. I will post a tutorial with another design if you like.