Stitches strengthening the edges of the fabric
Various types of hemstitch (tiv) are used to strengthen the edge of the fabric. Hems could be
straight or edged with scallops (called răsucitură which means twisting).
These scallops are made by rolling the edge of the cloth tightly
and fixing it in place by “laced” sewing. Decorative stitches are often used in
conjunction with functional stitches to make a decortive border close to the
edges of the fabric.
Stitches used to join two pieces of fabric - Cheie (pl. Chei) or Cheiţă
(pl. Cheiţe)
These can be divided into two sub categories, basic stitches such as
running stitch (cusătura înainte acului), back stitch (cusătura înapoi
acului), or edging (cusăturape muche) or complex decorative joining stitches called
cheie (meaning key) or cheiţă (small key). There are two main types of
cheie or cheiţă, those sewn on the edges of the fabric and
those making a type of lace (cheia de dantelă) used to join the two pieces of fabric.
Cheiţe are used mainly with linen and cotton fabrics used to make shirts,
chemises, blouses or underskirts. These are usually worked in white, although in
some case white thread is used in combination with other colours. There
are many different regional variants. The first type are found especially in Argeş, Gorj,
the Apuseni Mountains and Hunedoara, and cheia de dantelă are found in Banat, Arad, Caraş
Severin, Timiş and also Hunedoara.
| Diagram |
Romanian name |
Description |
 |
Cheiţă simplă |
Zig zag pattern |
 |
Cheiţă in gheruţe |
Made between the points of feston
stitches (blanket stitch) by passing
the thread alternately from one
edge to the other. |
 |
Cheiţă 'Puricelul' |
Widespread in Romania. It is made by
passing the thread through 2 parallel points close to the edge of the cloth
and fixing these with a loop passed through the point of the triangle, in
the gap between the two pieces of cloth. |
 |
Cheiţă încrucişată |
Crossed cheiţă. The cross
stitch is worked across the gap, making a diamond shaped pattern. |
 |
Cheiţă de Hunedoara |
This is made of stitches called “brânaş” which
are used together with other stitches to decorate the hem of female costume
from Pădureni. |
 |
Cheiţă de Oaş |
Made with knots being inserted between 2 rows
of parallel stitches |
 |
Cheiţă de Vrancea |
ade with rows of knotted threads, alternating from one edge to the
other, and joined to the edges with three 'little legs' (straight stiches). |
 |
Cheiţă 'Ciocănele' |
Comprises a vertical stitch across the gap
between the 2 pieces fo cloth adn 2 small oblique stitches meeting in the
gap to form a small triangle. These triangles are made in groups of 2
or 3. White, red and balck thread is used. |
| |
Cheiţă de
dantelă |
This is the most complex type of cheiţă.
There is a wide gap of one centimetre or more between the pieces of
cloth which is filled with needle lace. It is made the same way
as knotted lace (bibiluri). The two pieces of cloth are fixed on the
knees with a constant width space between them. A network of knots is
initially made between the pieces of cloth and this is filled in by adding
more knots with the needle moving from one edge of the cloth to the other. |
 |
Igliţa or cârlig |
This is a type of cheiţă
made using
crochet hook instead of a needle. This is a more recent introduction
found in Dobrogea. |
References
© Eliznik2005, First issue 2002, Last updated Aug-05
