A parzenica is a heart-shaped traditional

handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

pattern and decorative folk art of the Goral people, who live in the mountainous region of southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is often found embroidered on the upper front side of men's trousers.Condra, Jill. 2013. ''Encyclopedia of National Dress: Traditional Clothing Around the World''. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, p. 600.

History

This characteristic decorative motif probably originated in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and by the beginning of the 20th century it became one of the most recognisable decorative patterns in the Podhale region. The origin of the term is unclear, it is possibly related to old-Polish verbs ''parznąć'' and ''parznić'' meaning to make some object filthy. Initially the name also applied to various other objects popular in everyday life of the Goral people, including wooden forms used in cheese production and heart-shaped motifs used in

wood carving Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculpture, ...

.^.The origin of the pattern itself is also unclear, some authors believe that it was imported from

. In the second half of the 19th century, the first parzenicas made in the Tatras were but simple string loops, used for reinforcing cuts in front of cloth trousers. Such loops prevented wool fabric from fraying. With time local craftsmen adopted navy blue or red string and added additional loops to create an ornamental design rather than a simple loop. With time appliqué design was replaced with embroidery and more colours were added.

Description

The parzenica embroidery (also called ''cyfra'') dates back to the mid-19th century. Initially they were simple string loops, used for reinforcing cuts in front of cloth trousers. They had practical functions and protected the cloth from fraying. The "Knightly knot" is a decorative motif laid in three-loop of string, characteristic for highlander's male costume, often used as base for parzenica. It is one of the eldest type of parzenicas, present in the traditional costume of highlanders of Beskid Sądecki, Gorce Mountains and other areas. The modern look parzenica got from those

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

s who began using red or navy blue string, simultaneously increasing the number of loops. Later the appliqué design was replaced with embroidery. Using

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

len

yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...

allowed the parzenica to become more colourful and eventually it became a stand-alone trouser ornamentation, developed by talented tailors and embroiderers.{{Cite book, title=Birnbaum's Eastern Europe, last=Birnbaum, first=Alexandra Mayes, publisher=HarperPerennial, year=1992, isbn=9780062780836, pages=625

History

Description

References

See also