Transcarpathian embroidery

Each district has its own embroidery

Transcarpathian embroidery is a surprisingly interesting and extremely diverse thing. If in the case of Bukovyna we talked about its great diversity, then what can we say about the Transcarpathian shirt, which is different in each district of the region! It is hard to imagine that in conventional Kyiv people would wear one type of embroidery on Solomyanka, and completely different ones on Borshchahivka. And in Transcarpathia the situation is approximately the same. A situation that has developed and taken root over many centuries, because, in addition to the indigenous population, Slovaks, Hungarians, Romanians, Germans, etc. also live here.

From the single-color "Poltava" style "white on white", Transcarpathian embroidery during the 19th and mid-20th centuries developed into a unique combination of red and blue (sometimes with interspersed with other colors) on a white background, as well as polychrome embroidery with the dominance of one or more colors.

Moreover, embroidered household items were also modified and became widespread. If initially in Transcarpathia, mostly napkins and tablecloths were embroidered, then later embroidery also began to gain momentum. The meaning of household utensils changed: from purely decorative and aesthetic, it transformed into ritual, amuletic, and magical.

The same process encompasses ornaments that evolve from simple geometric objects to complex naturalistic compositions with flowers (20-30s of the 20th century, when embroidery with smooth surface and factory threads spread rapidly). The main feature of Transcarpathian ornaments is zigzags, the so-called "curves", which perfectly complemented traditional rhombuses and magnificently decorated both men's and women's shirts.

Varieties of the rhombus motif and its form-forming elements found in traditional embroidery of Ukrainians of Transcarpathia: 1 – eye; 2-5 – rhombus-dot motifs; 6-9 – rhombuses with bristles; 10-11 – rhombuses with curved ends “pipes”, “pipes”; 12 – rhombus with ram’s horns.

In total, there were four main types of ornaments in Transcarpathia (at least this is how they are conventionally distinguished, but, of course, the total number and structural network are much more extensive): Boyko (the most modest ornament of geometric figures), Hutsul (the brightest and most diverse), Lemko (elegant floral motifs) and Hungarian (exclusively plant).

To understand what the embroidery of each individual Transcarpathian locality is like, let's first talk about the main centers (they actually coincide with the types of ornaments mentioned a few centimeters above), and then pay attention to the shirts of the valley dwellers - residents of the region.

Transcarpathian Hutsul region

The Rakhiv region is an area almost entirely inhabited by Hutsuls, and it is here that the traditions of embroidery have been best preserved to this day. The shirt here is not only festive, but also everyday clothing.

It is interesting that, in addition to the usual woolen, linen and metal threads, those imported from the American continent were also actively used here. How is this possible, you ask? The fact is that the Carpathians as such and the Rakhiv region, as the highest point of the mountains, were never in the "top" of industrial regions, and people sought profits far beyond the borders of their homeland. Now it is the Czech Republic, Poland, and then the "mainstream" was America, and both the North and the South were equally popular. Immigrants from Western Ukraine maintained ties with relatives who remained at home and sent them various gifts from abroad.

Hutsul embroidery is a large number of different techniques: low (dominant, its peculiarity is that the ornament is dense on the back side and covers the entire canvas), quilting, darning, cross stitch, netting, smooth, topstitching, and pricking.

Ornaments of eastern Transcarpathia, based on a rhombus or semi-rhombus, as well as other geometric variations, are somewhat similar to those of Ivano-Frankivsk. Color No. 1 is red in all its shades and manifestations. Green, yellow, blue, and black are actively embroidered.

Beregovshchyna

The area, inhabited by Hungarians, is steeped in Magyar embroidery traditions. Burgundy, red, and less often yellow and purple are the colors most often seen on shirts from this region.

"The influence of Hungarian embroidery on Ukrainian"

Interestingly, the main center of embroidery in the region is the village of Sloboda, but it is mainly immigrants who embroider here - according to the Boyko and Lemko models.

Most often, Beregovskaya embroidery contains floral ornaments (tulip, rose, dahlia, carnation), sometimes shirts are decorated with leaves. Among geometric ornaments, polychrome "shells" are the most widespread.

Mukachevo region

Mukachevo is a multi-ethnic area: here you have Hungarians and Slovaks, and Jews and Germans. The latter, by the way, are busy in the village of Pavshino, where they built their own workshop and embroider to order, and sometimes even send their own goods to exhibitions.

It is not surprising that here you can come across both floral and geometric ornaments. Also popular are “mints” (from Hungarian “minta” – example, pattern) with floral intersperses. Among the usual motifs are clover (“komanychka”), oak leaves, and flowers.

Today, Mukachevo embroiderers are somewhat losing interest in their original traditions, but the color scheme remains unchanged: green, blue, burgundy, red, etc.

Uzhhorod region

The embroidery of this region has been significantly influenced by Slovak and Hungarian motifs (in fact, this is where the borders of the states pass). That is why shirts with red-black, red-yellow, pink ornaments (Hungarian trace) are popular here, as well as dark blue, light blue and various combinations with red (Slovak).

Lemko Region

These territories cover the Uzhanska Valley, the southwestern Velykobereznyan region, and a dozen villages in the upper right bank of the Uzh River. The influences of neighboring Boykos and Slovaks are noticeable in this area.

Initially, geometric ornamentation dominated here, and only in the 1930s did flowers and plants begin to appear, arranged in certain closed compositions. The color scheme (at the same time) becomes red and blue, and among the techniques, the most popular are cross and smooth.

Boykivshchyna

A kind of calling card of the region was the "oplicha" - ancient women's shirts, embroidered with two needles at once: a coarse one, with a drawn seam, and a thin one, twisted into a mesh pattern. In addition to the ornaments familiar to the region (described in the previous section), the Boykas used lace and anthropomorphic motifs. Colors: red, blue, white.

Dolinyany Transcarpathia

And finally, a few words about the Transcarpathian region. The people who lived between the Carpathians and the border with Slovakia (from east to west) and from Maly Berezny to the border with Romania (from north to south) were called Dolynians. We will not describe each region, but we will highlight certain common features: embroidery in assemblies, the dominance of geometric patterns, embroidery of men's shirts with white threads, and women's - with multi-colored ones, lowland, cross, curly stitch and cutting as the most common embroidery techniques.