Podolsk embroidery is the most complex and beautiful of all those made in different parts of Ukraine. The technique is impeccable, the embroidery is highly artistic, and the products are enchanting at first sight.
Podillia is the territory between the Dniester and the Southern Bug, conditionally divided into Transnistria, Eastern, and Western Podillia. It includes Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsia, and Ternopil regions, as well as certain districts of Odessa, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv regions.
What kind of canvases and what kind of threads were used for embroidery?
Since ancient times, canvases for future embroidered products were woven mainly in the black earth regions of Podillia. It was there that the most suitable conditions for growing hemp were found, from which the best fabrics were obtained, because linen canvas has a cell smaller than hemp, it is softer and has grayish shades, and hemp is tighter, with greenish-gray shades. More than 20 varieties of canvas are known in our country.
In the 19th century, craftsmen made embroidery with linen, wool and hemp threads, which they produced themselves. The threads were woven from the best flax and hemp fibers. It was not an easy job, the threads were spun thinly, evenly, so that the thread felt free in the eye of the needle and lay beautifully on the fabric. After that, the threads were bleached, dyed and smeared with fat or wax.
They bleached the threads by covering them with ashes and pouring boiling water over them, then washed them after a certain time and dried them in the sun or in the cold. They dyed them with oak bark, alder bark, onion husks, and elderberries.
From the middle of the 19th century, woolen, cotton, metal, silk threads, and beads brought from other countries began to be used.
What colors are characteristic of Podolsk embroidery?
The color of ripe rye, which is combined with black in one product, is very popular in Podillia. The rye color of the shirt was obtained by baking threads in dough, which were sprinkled with chromite. This method of processing the threads gave the color intensity and stability. Sometimes, wanting to give the embroidery a greater effect, gold or silver threads were added to the work.
Black itself was also very popular in Podillia embroidery. Sometimes it was combined with dark cherry or red-black, and yellow and green were also added. Embroidery with black and blue threads is dominant.
Very beautiful is the "white on white" embroidery, which is distinguished by various techniques: "nightingale's eye", "grain drawing", "dovbanka". Local craftsmen especially like embroidery using the "nightingale's eye" technique, although it is perhaps the most complex and requires great attention.
In ancient times, shirts embroidered with white on white or yellow on white were made for weddings and therefore required great responsibility, being decorated carefully and expressively.
What ornaments are present in Podillia embroidery?
In the first half of the 19th century, embroidery with floral ornaments became the most popular. In the works of this time, one can often find such motifs of these ornaments as "burdock", "break", "sunflower", "head", "horizvit", "hops", "marigolds", "vivsyk", "semirig", "apple", "ruta", "cream".
Various animal ornaments also became quite widespread. Such as "owls", "loaches", "crabs", "frogs", "pigeons", "snake", "carp scales", "leeches", "swallows", "swallows".
And some ornaments resemble household items, for example, "combs", "boats", "chains", "ploughshares".
You can also find such a motif as "lambs" or "ram horns" and others.
The "snake" motif is more common in Letychiv and Olhopil counties, "kosytsy", "ram horns", "rak" and "kupchak" - in the villages of Olhopil county, "besag" - in the village of Balanivka, Olhopil county, "vivsyk" - in the Bratslav district, "bezkonechnyk" - in Ushyn county.
By the way, each motif had its own name in each locality. For example, the motif "swallow" can be heard in the following interpretations: "pigeons", "zozulka", "combs", "lemeshi".
The favorite technique is the simple and unpretentious, at first glance, "cross stitch" technique. The number of colors becomes larger. Bright decoration with embroidery, twisted cord, and leather applique on coats and vests appears.
What techniques can be found in Podolsk embroidery?
Transverse "bottom". This is a very original seam. It has become widespread in the western regions of Ukraine. This technique is a type of "understooding". It consists in the fact that it is performed on the other side of the embroidery, across the width of the pattern, vertically. Black threads are mainly used, and the gaps that remain on the front side are sewn in red, green or yellow. Sometimes the embroidery is performed in red, then the gaps are sewn in black, green, blue or yellow.
The second technique is a “double-sided stitch” or “stitch”. This stitch comes from the “forward needle” stitch, which, by the way, is very common in folk embroidery. It is done without first applying a pattern to the fabric. First, the outline of the future pattern is embroidered, then the inside is filled.
The next technique of Podolsk embroidery is longitudinal “down”. This is a combination of the two previous techniques. It is embroidered on the back of the product with a “forward needle” stitch. First, the stitches are laid in one direction, then, after skipping one thread, in the other.
Another technique is “interwoven netting”. It is more commonly used in the western regions of Ukraine. To perform this technique, thin columns are made from several threads, resulting in a “double-bar” netting.
There are also two techniques of smooth embroidery: "kafasor" and "poverhnitsya." The first is done only with threads of one color, and the second is only done in combination with other stitches, for example, cross or "nizzya."
And the last technique is “shabak.” This is the brightest and most contrasting technique, which is performed with yellow, green, and white threads.
Types of embroidery by territorial division
Embroidery on the chest and back is typical for both the eastern and western regions of Podillia.
In Vinnytsia region, men have also been engaged in embroidery since ancient times. The most famous for their embroidery are such villages as Klembivka, Yalanets, Gorodkivka and Stina. More refined and impeccable products from these villages could most often be found at various fairs in Paris, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, and in many countries around the world.
In the village of Stina, the favorite color for shirt embroidery is black. Geometric-vegetable ornament, namely "cornflowers", "curls", "grapes", made with a cross or "shtapivka" is inherent in this territory. In ancient times, they sewed on a thin canvas, which was called "bombak", with silver thread, which was twisted with black, or gold, in combination with red.
Western Podillia loves dark colors. This is usually black in combination with dark red or yellow. The shirts of this region are special in that there are always two lines on the chest, the so-called "breasts", on the back - three lines and a richly decorated sleeve. The patterns are made with geometric ornaments.
The Ternopil region does not differ much in color, the embroidery here is mostly dark, even black, the patterns are very thick, completely covering the sleeves of women's shirts.
More floral ornaments, brightness, and colors are being added to modern Ternopil embroidery.
Eastern Podillia has long been known for its festive, light and openwork shirts. The embroidery usually covered the entire sleeve and was decorated with silver and gold threads with the addition of "spiders".
The Transnistrian region is famous for its patterns, which are made with black wool using various relief techniques, such as: “stitch”, cross stitch, “curly stitch” and “surface”. Thanks to these techniques, the pattern is very interesting and stands out beautifully.
In the Zalishchytskyi district, along with geometric ornaments, floral ornaments are becoming increasingly popular. These are all kinds of ornate branches that spread out on the front and back of the shirt.
In the Zastavni district, the basis of embroidery is small geometric elements that are woven into a single pattern with floral motifs. Bright colors are used: green, yellow, red.
The Kelmenetsky district, on the contrary, is distinguished by its restraint in colors and ornaments. Although a wide variety of plant motifs are used in embroidery, they are predominantly black.
Podolsk embroideries retain parts of the soul of their authors; they have a harmonious combination of amazing color, unique pattern, and rich symbolism.
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