As part of the exhibition Jelka Miš – a Life devoted to the Heritage, the Ethnographic Museum has organised workshops making the Konavle “dark embroidery”, which died out some 60 years ago.
Workshop participants, members of the Heritage Association (Društvo Baština), learned how to make “dark embroidery” on patterns of the 18th and 19th century, almost entirely collected thanks to Konavle teacher Jelka Miš.
This outstanding silk needlework from the breast panels and sleeves of women’s shirts was named after the basic motif (diamonds and triangles), done in black, dark silk floss; it was done only be a few special craftswomen who worked semi-professionally. “Dark embroidery” in fact belongs among the “thread counting” embroideries, which requires a maximum amount of exactitude and a lot of time, and for this reason such stitches went out of use in many areas.