Lagarteran Kerchief

The traditional festive clothing of Lagartera, a village in the province of Toledo in Spain, is known for its elaborate decorative traditions that include free embroidery, counted threadwork, lace, appliqué, and the use of sequins and trims to embellish nearly all surfaces, from the shoes to the mantillas, in women’s dress. The vibrant embroidery found in paintings of this clothing inspired this project.

Create a kerchief to tie over your head or around your neck. You may also choose to embroider the motif in each corner of a larger piece of fabric, including or omitting the blue square around it, or adding a blue chain-stitch border around the edge of the kerchief.

Materials

• Lightweight linen: black, 1 piece 22½" × 22½"(57.2 × 57.2 cm)
• DMC Mouliné Six-Strand Embroidery Floss (100% cotton), 8.7 yd (8 m)/skein: B5200 White, #817 red, #742 golden yellow, #906 green, and #3808 blue, 1 skein each, or shades of similar colors
• Needle: embroidery size 5
• Chalk pencil to transfer design, or printable, sticky water-soluble paper such as Sticky Fabri-Solvy
• Sewing thread: polyester or cotton, black
• Scissors
• Embroidery hoop: 6" (15 cm) hoop for stitching central main motif (optional)

Design Size: 4 3⁄8" × 4 3⁄8" (11.1 × 11.1 cm) Finished Size: 22½" × 22½" (57.2 × 57.2 cm)