VALENTINE HANDKERCHIEFS
In this Workshop the participants will have the opportunity to craft their own “Valentine handkerchief”. The Workshop is promoted by the artisans from the nearby municipality Vila Verde, the “Bordadeiras”, who will also provide the craft materials. The workshop will have a cost of 10€ for each participant for covering the craft materials (fabrics, needles, threads).
BACKGROUND: The “Valentine handkerchiefs” or “request handkerchiefs” are typical for the Minho region. They are probably an adaptation of the manor handkerchiefs from the XVII – XVIII century.
First of all, they were an integral part of the female’s traditional Minho costume and had primarily a decorative role. They were usually square scarves, made of linen or cotton, embroidered according to the taste of the embroiderer.
However, these handkerchiefs had another no less important function: the conquest of the boyfriend.
They were originally embroidered by young women from the upper classes that had acquired the necessary skills to do the embroideries.
The young women, embroidered their handkerchief from a cotton handkerchief that they bought at the local fair, or from a fine linen cloth that they had.
Once embroidered, the handkerchief would reach the eventual future “boyfriend”, who by using it publicly or not, would indicate that the dating had started.
The handkerchiefs therefore carried the feelings of a young women in love, revealed through various love symbols such as fidelity, dedication, friendship and through her writings of love.
This tradition also reached the rural areas, where the young women were not so proficient in reading and writing. This resulted in embroideries using popular language and with orthographic errors that replicated the pronunciation of this region. Interestingly such orthographic errors became a characteristic of these art works.
The handkerchiefs crafted by these young women from the rural areas had now less geometric drawings more fluid shapes, as well as less elaborated stitches. The initial red and black colours gave rise to a great variety of lively colours, which also portrayed the joy of the women from the rural areas.
The “Valentine handkerchiefs” or “request handkerchiefs” have become a symbol of the region and have been crafted since over three decades by the local artisans, the so called “Bordadeiras”.