Brodats i calats

What it is and technique

Hand embroidered on linen or cotton. Documented traditional stitches: creueta, replè, matisat and the Mallorcan punt (combination of chain, scapulari and creueta). The embossed embroidery and the chain stand out. The calats are frayed and cut into the fabric.

Short story

• Cultivated embroidery (Middle Ages-18th century). Men's trade (brodadors), for the Church and the upper classes. Gold, silver and silk threads. Techniques cited by Llabrés and Vallespir (1981): brocat llistat, vergat, pampolat, morisc, pissanesc. Juan (1976) only knows two female embroiderers from that time (Melis Gomila).
• Popular embroidery. The "Majorcan brodat" mainly uses chain for an undulating branch with leaves, flowers and fruits (roses, pineapples, tulips, pomegranates). Bover (1981) relates it to Jewish and Persian embroidery; González (1994) sees it as unparalleled in the Peninsula and close to the Cretan, Albanian and Romanian. Old colors: blue and red.
• yes. XVIII. Rated in European courts (illesbalears.travel).
• yes. XIX. The Gilart Jiménez sisters (Felanitx) embroider for Isabel II (studio by Elvira González, LOOP). 1860: the Bonet embroidery house (Joan Pons, with Manuel Bonet Codina) is founded in Palma, the first to market Mallorcan embroidery (Puig, 2006).
• First half of the s. XX: machine embroidery. Catalan businessmen open workshops in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar (the first, by Manufacturas Miró, in the first decade of the 20th century; in 1924 it had 15 machines; it closed in 1968). In Santa Maria del Camí it was embroidered by hand and the machine came in around 1935.
• Years 50-80. Second generation of Sant Llorenç workshops, already from residents of the town. By 2013 there were still two open.
• 2024. LOOP Brodats (ADR Balears) unites embroiderers and designers; closes with Sobre els brodats de Mallorca (Elvira González).

Process step by step

Documented process in the Sant Llorenç workshops (machine embroidery; Melis Gomila):

1. Prepare the fabric. Cut with pattern, stitch edges and join pieces.

2. Draw. Own drawing or template on onion paper.

3. Drill. Hole the line of the drawing with the sewing machine or with machines made in the town for this purpose.

4. Stencil. Blavet paste (blue pigment) with paraffin, dipped in petroleum and applied with a munyeca (cloth doll) on the perforated paper.

5. Tense. The fabric in wooden hoops.

6. Embroider. Pedal machine (Singer, Alfa) according to the technique: rebound, passadet on manresa fil to give relief, filling.

7. Calar. In foradat and rechilieu the fabric is cut with curved tip scissors and the edges are finished.

Work paid by piece or day; a lot of work at home. By hand, the principle is the same (drawing, tensioning, stitch); There are no published times per piece.

Forms and objects

• Home linen: coixineres (pillowcases), estovalles (tablecloths), llençols, tovalloles.
• Personal clothing: bruses (blouses; the "blouse business" of the 2nd generation workshops), linen, souvenir mocadores with pairs of peasants.
• Liturgical: chasubles, palliums (worship embroidery).
• Types and points:
• Mallorcan punt (chain + escapulari + creueta)
• chain
• creueta
• replè or passat (filled with small crosses)
• matisat (shading with various shades)
• brodat ple (English knit; white, embossed)
• brodat of colors or artistic
• brodat foradat with ullets
• rechilieu (Richelieu) with barretes d'aranya / de niu d'abella
• calats (threaded, fil-tiré)
• embossed embroidery on silk or tulle
• Motifs: undulating branch, flowers with many petals, fruits with geometric filling, queixalat (toothed edge).

Vocabulary

• brodar: decorate a fabric with thread and needle.
• brodadora: woman who embroiders; in ancient cultural embroidery, brodador (man).
• cadeneta: chain-shaped stitch; basis of Mallorcan embroidery.
• punt mallorquí: combination of chain, scapulari and creueta.
• creueta: small cross stitch.
• replè (o passat): filling made with little crosses together.
• matisar: ​​give nuances with various shades of thread.
• brodat ple: embossed filling embroidery, usually white.
• brodat foradat: embroidery with cut-out holes.
• ullet: small round embroidered hole.
• rechilieu: openwork with bars that join the gaps.
• barreta: bar of thread that crosses a gap (d'aranya, from niu d'abella).
• calat: unraveling or openwork work on the fabric.
• passadet: line of thick stitches on the rebound.
• fil de manresa: thick thread that is placed underneath to give relief.
• blavet: blue paste to mark the drawing.
• munyeca: cloth doll for stenciling.
• aro: round frame that tightens the fabric.

Geography

• Sant Llorenç des Cardassar (Llevant): center of machine embroidery 1924-1974; cheap female labor and entrepreneurs from Barcelona.
• Santa Maria del Camí (Raiguer): embroidered by hand and then by machine (Fuster i Cabot, 2009).
• Palma: Bonet house (1860); current embroidery stores.
• Felanitx: Gilart sisters (19th century).
• Porreres: "a minority that sewed and embroidered" at the beginning of the 20th century. XX (Julià, 1982).
• Why: not for raw materials (imported thread and fabric), but for female work at home in agricultural towns.

Xifres

• Casa Bonet: founded in 1860.
• First workshop in Sant Llorenç: 15 machines in 1924 registration; closing in 1968; about 40 workers inside plus those at home (oral testimony).
• Salaries 1930-36 in Sant Llorenç: between 1 and 3 pesetas a day; manager, 50 pesetas a week.
• Sant Llorenç workshops active around 2013: 2.
• LOOP Brodats: 4 embroiderers, 6 brands; exhibition from 11/28 to 11/30/2024 (Espai 110, Inca).
• Without BIC declaration (to verify).

Why is it design

• Template system. Punched paper and blavet: a drawing is reproduced serially by hand. It is a production system, not just an ornament.
• Closed repertoire. Few points and motifs combined give a recognizable identity: a graphic language with grammar.
• Functional relief. The manresa fil reinforces the edge of the openwork: structure and decoration at the same time.
• Long life. Embroidered household linen that is inherited and repaired.
• Social side. History of underpaid female work: any reissue must resolve the fair price. See proximity design .

Where and who today

• LOOP Brodats embroiderers: Francisca Moyà, Miquela Ballester, Catalina Trias, Magdalena Trias.
• Embroidery shops in Palma (Bordados Valldemossa, etc.); Not verified if they produce on the island.

State

At risk: knowledge transmitted between older women, without clear replacement.

Contemporary Updates

LOOP Brodats (ADR Balears, Conselleria d'Empresa, 2024): designers × embroiderers. Brands: Datura, Edicions de Disseny LPM, Carmina Shoemaker, Cecilia Sörensen, Open Studio 79, Chiara Ferrari Studio. Exhibition at Espai 110 (Inca), November 2024. Closing with the study of Elvira González, Sobre els brodats de Mallorca. loop-brodats

For the project

• Possible piece: continue LOOP out of fashion (signage, packaging, embroidered upholstery); point file for the atlas.
• Contact: ADR Balears (LOOP); Elvira González (historian); the embroiderers mentioned.
• Basic question: how do you fairly pay for an hour of embroidery on a design product?

Sources

• caib.es/webgoib/-/loop-disseny-i-circularitat-mostrar%C3%A0-dissenys-contemporan
• forbes.es/?p=970703
• illesbalears.travel/en/mallorca/majorca-in-threads
• ibdigital.uib.es/greenstone/sites/localsite/collect/memoriesUIB/index/assoc/Meli
• graves.uvic.ca/diary_1936-05-06.html

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

Open it in the atlas →