It is not known for sure when embroidery began to develop as an art branch. Researchers claim that the development of embroidery took place over several centuries. From year to year the ancestors enriched the craft with new ornaments and techniques.
The masters learned to make threads of unique shades in order to win new colors on the canvas.
In ancient times it was believed that the embroidered shirt protects a person, gives him good luck and health. Mothers embroidered clothes for their children with special warmth and love. There is evidence that in some parts of the country the embroidery process took the form of a special ceremony. The women in the process prayed and believed that these prayers would make the embroidered shirt stronger and charged only with positive emotions.
When the tombs of a noble and wealthy Sarmatian were excavated in the Mykolayiv region (the Sokolova Mohyla mound remained almost the only one not looted), archaeologists managed to find the remains of gold embroidery on a purple silk fabric. This proves the importance of embroidered clothing for people, because it was placed in the grave with gold.
Experts in embroidered shirts believe that the symbolism of the elements of the embroidered shirt has a very strong impact on the life of the wearer. Geometric patterns denote the elements of nature and the fertility of the earth, and plant and floral ornaments have long symbolized family happiness, maternal love. Craftswomen from all over the country painted animals on canvas and believed that their images bring fidelity, prosperity and longevity.
Not only the shades and shapes of the embroidery are symbolic, but also the canvas and its color. It has traditionally been believed that the color white means virtue and purity, red symbolizes vitality, green - nature and peace, and black - sadness and longing. White embroidered shirts were most often worn, they added cheerfulness, and black embroidered shirts served for the time of fasting and mourning.
The masters passed down the secrets of the ancient craft from generation to generation. For example, embroidery threads were once dyed only with natural dyes. They took what was easy to get: bark, roots, leaves and flowers. To consolidate the color of the thread was baked in rye dough - so they do not lose color for decades. Today there are about 250 types of embroidery stitches based on 20 techniques.
Hutsul embroidery is characterized by a great variety of geometric and floral patterns, contrasting color combinations. Ancient local techniques are "knees" and "twists", which are quite difficult to perform. In Ivano-Frankivsk region, sleeves have always been richly decorated. Many embroidery techniques were combined on one shirt: from "white on white" to "painted" - completely "painted" with threads elements. Local craftswomen also noticed that if the stitches of the same color are laid in opposite directions, the color of the thread acquires two different shades, which enriches the embroidery itself.
In the south of Ukraine embroidery combines motifs and techniques of different regions. This is explained by the fact that the population of this region consists of people from different parts of Ukraine.
Men's so-called milk shirt from Zaporizhia region was known all over Ukraine. With wide sleeves, where only the collar was decorated with embroidery. The sleeves served as a kind of flag for signaling when crossing the Dnieper rapids. Milky shirts have always been well embroidered. The collar is mostly made of platbands, the bosom is cut, and the sleeves are cut with platbands. In the Zaporozhye region used all the basic geometric shapes and their combinations: circles (symbols of the sun), in the middle of which are rosettes composed of rhombuses; diamonds can be a single figure and divided into parts, also with dots in the middle.
It is known that the embroidered shirts of the eastern region have mostly floral ornaments. In the Donetsk region, embroidery is distinguished by a warm range of colors. They have a lot of sun, more red than black. Bright, black and red ornaments on a light background. If there were plant motifs, it is lush flowers, whole bouquets and trees. They also depicted birds. On wedding towels, for example, birds are perceived as an element of charm, fabulousness. In the Donetsk region they embroidered with various techniques, except for maples and lowlands. The colors of the threads used to embroider women's and men's shirts are traditionally red, black and white. Sleeves were decorated, less often collars and hem.
