Embroidery of Rudky county, Lviw Oblast, Halychyna, Ukraine

Hello All,

Today i will do on of a series of followups to my previous posting, on Halychyna costume. There is a lot of material to cover. Halychyna has several traditional regional embroidery styles. Probably the most famous is that of Javoriw [or Yavoriw, the Latin alphabet is a pain, English really should switch to Cyrillic]. Today i will cover a less well known tradition, that of the county of Rudky. Here is a county map of Lviw Oblast, in Western Ukraine.

And here is a close up map of the area, I will be citing source villages when they are known. The map is in Ukrainian. but I have put the names of the towns and villages mentioned in latin letters in red.

For the costume of this region, see my previous posting, Halychyna Costume. These designs were of course used on many household linens as well as on clothing.

The most typical embroidery of this region as of the beginning of  the 20th century is cross stitch. The basic motif is small red roses, similar to the embroidery of the Drohobych area, but in Drohobych the designs are mostly black. These designs are geometrized to a large degree, and do not much resemble the floral rose designs of East Ukraine. This regional style was well documented by L. Krawchuk. Here are several charts of designs from her publication, 'Ukrainian Folk Embroidery of Lviw Oblast'.

They use a turn-down collar in this region, as in many parts of Western Ukraine. Here are a couple of charts of designs of the corners of collars from the village of Kolbaievychi. Notice the overcast edges.

You will notice the combination of stylized floral motifs with the geometric. The colors depicted are schematic, you should choose shades that complement each other, and not take these prints as exact depictions of the shade of each color. Ukrainians generally embroider with either DMC 666 or 321 red. The original embroidery was very fine. These would make fine edgings for table scarves, etc.

Here are a couple of designs from the shoulder inset 'ustawka' of women's chemises. These are from the actual town of Rudky.

This first one shows a border extending up the sides of the shoulder inset. It includes herringbone stitches, which are common motifs in this part of Ukraine. If I were to embroidery this, I would reverse the design on the other shoulder inset. 

On the originals, the linen was home woven, and the braid or herringbone stitch was done in thread thin enough to be seen like this.  This is a good example of rows of small motifs put together to make a larger design. Both the green and blue should be brighter than this depiction.

Here you have a largrer center motif with only one lesser motif on either side. The framing of a motif, and providing a definite edge is very typical of Ukrainian embroidery compostion. 

Here is a more stylised central motif. This design is found in other parts of Ukraine, but here it is done in the pallete of colors typical of Rudky. Again note the framing and edging of the design.

insets for young girls or everyday wear were narrower and less elaborate. 

This design shows influence from Horodok, to the northeast. The zigzag motif was originally embroidered in a wide chain stitch. Here it has been reinterpreted as cross stich.

This is a design for collar and shoulder inset from the village of Zav'yazantsi, to the northwest of Rudky. It shows a combination of stitches used on the shoulder inset, upper sleeve, and the body of the shirt. This shows clear influence from the Yavoriw region further north.

Free form stem stitch and satin stitch is not common in Ukraine, but it does occur. This style is called Hapt or Haft in Ukrainian. Here are a couple of examples of woman's ustawky done in this style from this region, also from the town of Rudky.

Here i would like to show some works by the famous embroidery artist Ol'ha Voznytsia which

are done in the style of this region. Here is a photo of Ol'ha herself, wearing a blouse in a modern cut with Rudky embroidery.

You will notice that the embroidery is colorful and lively, but the colors complement each other without being gaudy or eye-piercing. This is the effect that should be strived for. Here is a close-up of the embroidery on this blouse. You will notice that there is embroidery on the shoulder piece and also on the uppper sleeve, complemented with hemstitching.

Here is a table scarf, 'servetka', done in Rudky style embroidery.

Here is a reasonable reconstruction of the Halychyna costume, minus the headgear and with modern shoes. you will notice that she is wearing a solid color skirt, no patterns, no ribbons, this would be a modern take on the outfit, it would be more traditional to make the skirt more ornamented.

Sometimes the apron was made from one loom width, sometimes from two. When working on a hand loom, it becomes very difficult if the loom is wider than about 22 inches, just for physical reasons. If the choice is made to use two loom widths, in western Ukraine, instead of trying to hide the central seam, they make it part of the design, with a fancy hand joining technique of some sort, and emphasized by the placement of the embroidery, as you can see here. This is also typical of the Javoriw costume. Below is a closeup of the embroidery. You will notice that it is done on Aida cloth. This I  DO NOT RECOMMEND. In Ukraine, when people no longer wove their own cloth, they worked on whatever they could get. You will get a much nicer finished product working with some even weave cloth, Jobelin, Salem Cloth, even weave linen, hemp, or a blend. I would also not recommend 'hardanger cloth' or panama. There are many types of fiber blends available in various thread counts and weights for various purposes.

Just one example of Rudky style Haft embroidered by Maria Kalyniak.

Some other examples of embroidery from this region.

Widows and older women would often use darker and more somber colors in their embroidery.

The following couple of images are from the book 'The Art of Ukrainian Embroidery', by Olena Kulynych-Stakhurska. 

In this image, the shirt on the left is from Horodok region, typified by the 'snake' motif, here done in white. The one on the right could be Horodok or Rudky region.

Mens' shirts in this area were also sewn with the shoulder inset, which sometimes had very simple embroidery around the edges. 

To finish, i will show you a photo of a performing group wearing the Rudky variant of the Halychyna costume. Remember, the biggest difference between the various counties is in the embroidery. If you look closely, you will notice that the skirts are different colors, and the embroidery is somewhat different on each girl. I personally find this a good thing in a performing group. I have never thought that having each person wear the exact same outfit with the exact same embroidery is a good presentation. In the village, each would have a somewhat different expression within a common style.

Thank you all for reading, I hope that you found this interesting, informative and inspiring. We should note the tradition our ancesters had of making beautiful things to use in daily life come to an end. Go forth and create.

Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals.

Roman K.
Rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
L. Krawchuk, 'Ukrainian Folk Embroidery of Lviw Oblast' Kyjiw [Kiev], 1961
Ol'ha Voznytsia, 'Vyshywka Moje Zhyttia' [Embroidery of My Life], Drohobych, Ukraine, 2006
Maria Kalyniak, 'Ukrajinska Vyshywka, Suchasne Traktuvannia' [Ukrainian Embroidery, a Modern Approach], Lviw, 2004

Olena Kulynych-Stakhurska, 'The Art of Ukrainian Embroidery - Techniques and Technology', L'viw, 1996 

Ukrainian Costume of Halychyna [Galicia] in the work of various Artists

Hello All,

Today i want to talk about the village costume of Halychyna [Galicia] in general. This is one of the areas that developed early, which is to say that the traditional costume gave way to western factory made fashions earlier than other areas which 'developed' later. This makes the local costume harder to trace. Some local regions, such as Javoriw, Sokal', Drohobych, Skoliw, have well attested costumes. Halychyna also includes part of the Hutsul lands and most of the Boiko lands, which are considered distinct from the costume of the lowlands. The areas most remote and difficult to reach retained their traditional costumes longer. In general, books which cover all of Ukraine, present the Javoriw costume as THE costume of Halychyna, because of lack of space.
Halychyna  is generally considered to include the oblasts of Lviw and Ivano-Frankiwsk [formerly Stanyslaviw], politically it included Ternopil' oblast as well as some territory which is now in Poland, up to the bank of the Sian [San] river. Halychyna was part of the Kieven state, more of a commonwealth of local rulers than an 'empire'. In 1199, Halych united with Volyn' to form the Pricipality of Halych-Volyn' [Galicia-Volhynia in Polish and in old documents]. This flourished as an independant state, especially under King Danylo Romanovych. The capitol was at first in the ancient town of Halych [Galich], which seems to indicate a Celtic presence in the area. I have found no more indication of such, just the bare name of the city. King Danylo founded the city of Lviw, which has been the capitol of Halychyna ever since. The area passed under the rule of Poland around 1400, when the area was considered to also include the Peremyshl, Sianik and Cholm [Chelm] districts. When the Polish Empire was partitioned, all of Halychyna came under Austria. The Austrians expanded the Province of Galicia with the addition of  Malopolska. Thus Austrian maps of that era show a large area named Galicia, the west half being Polish and the east half Ukrainian [Ruthenian]. After WWI, All of the Austrian Province of Galicia was included in the new Polish state, both the Ukrainian and the Polish sectors. The Soviets invaded the area on November 1, 1939, and after some
back and forth during the war, held most of Ukrainian Halychyna untill Ukrainian Independance in 1991.
And that is as much history as i am going to put in this article. Here is a map of the area which i will be speaking about.

As you can see, the north and west borders are controverted. The southern parts of this area, consisting of western Podillia south of the town of Chortkiw, Pokuttia, being south of the Dnister, Hutsul and Boiko lands in the mountains will not be included in this posting. The rest of the area had more or less the same costume. I will not be covering the Sokal' or Javoriw costumes, they will be for future postings. I am also excluding the 'town costume'.
The Halychyna costume belongs to the fourth group of Ukrainian costumes, which include an actual skirt. There are many local variations, the most important one being the style of embroidery, which varied quite a bit from place to place, some local embroidery styles being very unique. Here is a painting by Kul'chytska showing a woman from the area around the town of Rudky, west and somewhat south of Lviw, specifically from the village of Vyshnia.

This basic costume is worn over this area, and is mosty attested to by artists. The chemise is the basic ustawka cut.

With embroidery on the shoulder insets, always across the bottom edge, next to the sleeve, but often outlining the two side edges as well, and sometimes a stripe up the middle. This varied from county to county. You will notice a stripe of dense embroidery on the inset in this painting, and then small motifs scattered across the sleeve. This was often done by individual embroiderers who wanted to do more. 

The skirt was at first made of white linen with embroidered or woven ormament around the hem, or block printed by hand in black, often with fine designs or vertical stripes. The printed skirt is called 'maliovanka'. This was soon replaced by factory made cloth in most places, as in the above example. It was usually gathered on the sides and back, but left flat on the front, under the apron. Sometimes it was pleated.  The apron was made of linen, with embroidery across the bottom edge, sometimes of one width of linen, sometimes two were sewn side by side and gathered into the waistband, sometimes of bought cloth, as in the Kul'chytska painting above. Here is a painting by E. Kozak showing this costume.

This work is called 'Soyuz Ukrainok' [Association of Ukrainian Women]. It clearly shows the chemise, the skirt, the apron and the kerchief tied over a cap [chepets] or ring of wood covered with cloth [kybalka]. Notice the ribbons on the lower part of the skirt, these were also put on the apron if it was of factory cloth.

Kul'chytska also shows a vest which buttons down the front, with a hip length peplum. This is called kamizelka. Here are two more paintings of E. Kozak showing the kamizelka as well, front and back.

The top one is called 'happiness' [notice the tavern in the background, the Chassidic tavern keeper standing out front]. The bottom one is callled 'temptation' this guy evidently is very fond of smoked herring. Both are meant to be humerous, but also show a costume consistent with that painted by Kul'chytska. The men are shown in embroidered shirts, pants of linen or bought wool, boots, fur hat and decorated overcoat of heavy wool, the svyta, sometimes in summer made of linen, in which case it is called 'polotianka'.

Just to verify this costume from another direction, here are two paintings by a third artist, O. Kurylas. both were printed on postcards in Vienna in 1918, illustrating a popular humorous song about the WWI era attempt at Ukrainian Independence called 'Bo Vijna Vijnoju' [Because War is War].

 

Both of the men are shown in the military uniform of the UsUsUsy,  the Ukrainian Riflemen. You can see substantial agreement in the costumes depicted on the women with the previous artists.

Here is another depiction by an unkown artist. It was printed on a postcard in Germany in 1918, under the title 'Solitude'.

She is shown holding a sunflower head, a common symbol of Ukraine. She is wearing a blouse with cross-stitched roses in red and black, which is more common in Eastern Ukraine, a band on the lower ustawka [inset], and other on the upper sleeve. She is also wearing a 'wreath', open on the top, covered with cloth, and what appear to be flowers made of beadwork on the top edge. Her kamizelka is of blue cloth with black velvet edging, which from written sources, seems to have been very common.

 

This is a painting by A. Sytkovych, entitled 'Hore' or 'Grief'. It was printed on a postcard in Lviw in 1919.

This is clearly of an unmarried girl because her head is uncovered. The bottom of the inset is embroidered, as well as the top of the sleeve. The bulk of the embroidery being in red, as well as the narrow apron with stripes over most of it, which are possibly woven in, tends to indicate that this may be a costume from Volyn' which is north of Halychyna. The costume does not differ substantially, except in details. And one last painting, this one by another unkown artist, printed on a postcard in Sweden in 1914.

The girl standing on the left has a linen apron embroidered in red with white openwork. The seated woman has an apron in the same material as the skirt. edged with ribbon. There is an open design embroidered on the insets, which is repeated in a wider stripe on the upper sleeve. This indicates that this may be depicting a costume from further east. In Halychyna the embroidery designs are usually more dense. In the 20th century, many women in the areas which wore the plakhta or obhortka costume switched to regular skirts, which could be made from bought material, while both the plakhta and the obhortka had to be woven by hand.

Thank you for reading, as always. It did not occur to me until recently to put these paintings together in order to research a particular costume.

As always, feel free to contact me with requests for research, or commissions to research, design, sew or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals.

Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals.

Roman K.
Rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:

Konstantyn Szonk-Rusych, 'Ukraine in Postcards', New York, 1981

Edward Kozak, 'Na Khlops'kyj Rozum Hrytsia Zozuli', Hamtramck, Mich, 1982

O. Kul'chytska, 'Folk Costumes of the Western Regions of the Ukrainian SSR.

V. Kubijovych, editor, 'Encyclopedia of Ukraine' article 'Galicia', Toronto, 1988



The 5 types of Russian folk Costume

Hello All,
I made some reference in my last posting to the 5 types of Russian folk costume, and I thought that I would do a quick summary to introduce them. I should do the same for the 5 types of Ukrainian Costume. That will be forthcoming.
These refer stictly to the women's costume. The men's costume does vary, but not a whole lot. Shirt, usually with opening on the side, usually on the left, pants, narrow sash, boots or footcloths with lapty, Overcoat.

Type 1 Sarafan.
I have seen this term translated as 'jumper', which works for Americans, but not for the British, also as 'sundress', which is rediculous, it is better to just use the Russian term Sarafan. This garment is basically a long skirt, worn just below the arms with straps over the shoulders. A Chemise is worn underneath, the collar area and sleeves showing. It may be belted or not. Here is a drawing by Max Tilke showing three ways to wear what might be called the 'aristocratic' version, although this was worn by peasants.

The woman in the middle is wearing the Sarafan by itself, with a Chemise, the one on the left is wearing it with a vest, cut basically the same as the Sarafan but shorter, and the woman on the right is wearing it with a jacket. This type of Sarafan is called 'kosoklyny', which means 'angle-cut', and was made from rich bought material, velvet, brocade, damask, etc. Often decorated with ribbons, galloons and metal lace.
Max also gives us the cut, the side seams are at a 45 degree angle.

As you can see, you basically end up with a cone shape. Sometimes there is an opening down the front, with buttons. There are other cuts used. One which is more typical for ordinary peasants is basically cylindrical,
narrowed into a top band with pleats or gathers, of locally produced or home woven cloth. There is quite a variety of detail in these outfits, and the accessories vary quite a bit. Here is one example from the village of Zhemkova, county Syzran, Province Symbirsk, made of hand printed calico. You can see the gathers at the top.

Here is a back view of another example from the Province of Vologda, Solvychegod county. This one is made of home woven cloth in a small plaid. You will see the pleats sewn down along the top edge. The chemise is made of cloth with woven in ornamentation.

Here is the cut and layout of this type of Sarafan. There are variations on both of these types of cut.

So the Sarafan can be very rich looking or very homemade looking. Each has its own beauty. This is the primary costume form to be found in North Russia, although it has also made inroads into the South. The dividing line between North and South is about the level of Moscow.

Type 2 Paniova.

In Russian, this is spelled poneva but pronounced paniova. See my posting on Kaluga costume for more information. The Paniova is typical of South Russia, and is older than the Sarafan. It consists of three loom widths of a checked material sewn side by side and then rolled into a waistband, and tied around the waist over the chemise. Here is an example of one from Orlov Province. This is often considered to be the Russian equivalent of the Ukrainian Plakhta.

The Paniova is usually woven in black or dark blue, with white lines forming a checkerboard. As in this case, it is often ornamented with embroidery, ribbons, woven strips, galloons, etc. in a way distinctive to each region. Originally it was worn open in front, like in this postcard showing a costume from Orlov.

In some regions a fourth panel of a different material was added, to make the Paniova into a closed skirt.

Here is one example from Tambov Province, Spas County, village of Dubrava.

You will note that this Paniova is very lightly ornamented. The chemise shows the triangular yoke insets which are typical for some areas of South Russia, as opposed the the rectangular insets we see in most Slavic Nations. These two, the Paniova and the Sarafan are by far the most widespread types of Costume.

Type 3 Andarak.

The Andarak is an actual skirt, usually of wool with woven stripes. This term is also found in northern Ukraine, to refer to similar types of skirts. This costume is uncommon, and is connected with the 'Odnodvortsi', a group of people who may be descended from colonists, merchants or mercenaries from the Lithuanian Empire, which at the time included Ukraine and Belarus. I admit to not being very clear on the identity of the Odnodvortsi. Here is a photograph of two women of the Odnodvortsi, taken in 1908 in Voronezh Province. You will notice the hem of thc chemise showing under the Andarak.



Here is a festive costume from Tula Province.

In Tambov Province, the Andarak was often embroidered right over the stripes.Here are two examples.



This costume was only worn in scattered locations in parts of South Russia.

Type 4 Kubelyek.

This is an actual dress, with sleeves integral to the construction of the garment. This is rarely found, only in the far south in the Don region. It is clearly derived from the Costumes of the Caucuses. Here are two of the very few images I have ever been able to find of this type of costume.

Type 5 Quadrille Costume.

This type is from a much later period than the others, being basically an 19th century creation. It may be considered more a period costume than a folk costume, but it is widely used by performing groups, especially those from regions further east, in Siberia and other places which were colonized by Russians relatively recently. It consists of a skirt and jacket with a peplum sewn from factory made cloth, and to American eyes looks very much like Pioneer Costume. Here is a drawing of this type of costume. This one is quite a bit longer than usual. It is more common to see the hem at the level of the second flounce.

Here is a photograph of a version of this type of costume from Arkhangelsk Province.

 Here is a photograph of a Quadrille being perfomed in Astrakhan Province.

And one stage version of the costume based on that of the colonists of the Urals

For those who might be interested, here is a schematic of the bodice/jacket, in Russian called Lif-baska.

.

Thank you all for reading. This is only a very basic overview of Russian Folk Costume. I will be posting more detailed examinations of local costumes in the future. I hope that this was interesting and informative.

As always, please feel free to contact me with research requests, or commissions to design or make or embroider costumes or other items for a group or individual.

Roman K.
Rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:

Max Tilke, 'The costumes of Eastern Europe', London, 1926

L. Molotova, 'Russian Folk Clothing', Leningrad, 1984

Gorozhanina & Zaitseva, 'Russkij Narodnyj Svadebnyj Kostium' [Russian Folk Wedding Costume], Moscow, 2003

A. Klimov, ' Osnovy Russkavo Narodnavo Tantsy' [Basics of Russian Folk Dance] Moscow, 1981

A Shulgina et al, 'Kostiumy dlya Tantseval'nykh i Khorovykh Kollektivov' [Costume for Dance and Choral Groups], Moscow, 1974

Yu. Nekhoroshev, 'Kostiumy k Tantsam Narodov SSSR' [Costumes to the Dances of the Peoples of the USSR], Moscow, 1956

South Russian Costume of Kaluga Province

Hello all.

Today i want to talk a bit about how the embroidery i mentioned in the previous posting fits into the folk costume of Kaluga Province of Russia. There are four basic types of old Russian costume: Sarafan, Paniova [Poneva], Andarak and Kubeliek.  The Kubeliek is very rare, and the Andarak, which resembles some north Ukrainian and Lithuanian costume is uncommon. By far the most widespread costumes are the Sarafan and the Paniova. If you are confused by the alternate spellings, in Russian the word is spelled Poneva but is pronounced Paniova. This is a continual problem for people who need to transcribe words between alphabets, do you transcribe letter by letter, or do you write it as it is actually pronounced? People choose both options. [I hope I need not remind English speakers that their language is one of the worst offenders for pronounciation not following spelling.]
There is actually a fifth costume that one will see presented, what is often called the 'Quadrille Costume'. Which is more of a period costume from the 19th cent.
The sarafan is typical of North Russia, while the paniova is typical of South Russia. The dividing latitude is roughly even with Moscow. However, the sarafan is the newer of the two and has made some inroads into South Russia in recent centuries. South Russia has the older ethnic Russian population. Kaluga Province is shown on this map in light pink. The light green is the area that is politically recognised as ethnic Russian.The black spot in the middle is the city of Moscow.



Now the various provinces were drawn for the sake of administrative reasons, and do not necessarily follow traditional cultural regions. Here is a photograph of a folklore group from Kaluga. They have made for themselves simplified, crisp, elegant stylizations of the folk costumes of the region limited to a pallette of red and white. This is useful for being able to see the various kinds of garments worn in the region, and ornamentation typical for those garments, but these are stage costumes and not faithful representations of what people wore. Much better than most stage outfits though.

Here is another performing group which has followed the traditional costume much more closely. The girl on the left is wearing a costume which seems more typical of Smolensk Province, which borders Kaluga on the north and west, that includes a sarafan. The sarafan is a type of skirt worn just under the arms with straps over the shoulders.

The other girls are wearing local variations on the Paniova costume. The Paniova itself is a type of overskirt woven of heavy wool in a large checked pattern, usually in black or dark blue, but occasionally in red. Three hand loom widths are sewn together, the top is turned over to form a casing, through which a drawstring is placed. Here is a Paniova from Oriol [Orel] province, to show the constuction.

This is worn around the waist, with the opening in front. This is often considered to be the Russian equivalent of the Ukrainian Plakhta. The Paniova is then decorated with embroidery, applique, ribbons, etc. in the style typical of each region. In some areas, a fourth piece of a different fabric is sewn on in front, closing the Paniova into a type of skirt. Three of the girls above seem to be wearing open Paniovas, the one in the middle seems to have a closed one, and the one second from the left might have a closed one.  Again this Paniova above is NOT from Kaluga. However, this one, drawn by Max Tilke after an item in a Museum in Germany may well be, as all the rest of the South Russian items drawn by him are. He states that it was worn with the opening on the side, like the Plakhta. He is incorrect on both counts.

You can see that it is the same basic construction, three pieces of hand-woven checked material, with a drawstring and ribbons, calico, and ornamental woven strips appliqued on the edges. This agrees substantially with what the girls above are wearing. You will notice that the girl on the far right in the photo of the stage costumes is wearing a paniova made of plain red cloth. Here  is a drawing made by Tilke of a couple wearing the Kaluga costume. The drawing of the man's costume, as is often the case, is very unhelpful

He describes the woman as wearing a chemise, a ruff around the neck, a 'turban', and a 'sarafan-like apron'. You will notice the girls above wearing similar aprons. The one in the center shows that although it has shoulder straps, it has no back. It is very typical of Russian costumes to have aprons that hang from the shoulder. Tilke does give a drawing of the chemise and its cut. In Russian this garment is called Rubacha.

This is the same cut we have seen in Ukrainian, Bielorussian, and Polish chemises, with the inset on top, gathered into the neck. In this case, the insets and sleeves are made of red calico. You will notice a seam halfway up the rubacha, very often the upper part of the garment was made of finer linen, and the bottom part from coarser. The hem of the rubacha was visible under the paniova, and here a seperate strip of what i believe is ornamental weaving is sewn onto the bottom, although Tilke states that it is embroidered. In many parts of South Russia, the shoulder inset is triangular, but I have found no evidence that such a cut was used in Kaluga Province.If you look at the photographs in this article, all of them indicate a chemise of this cut. Here is a photograph of an exhibit in a Russian Museum, showing the bottom hem of the rubacha and the Russian-style homemade lace on the bottom of the apron.

This apron  seems to go all the way around, like the one drawn by Tilke.

 Here is another exhibit, showing the paniova, the apron hanging in the front only, seemingly with sleeves, and unfortunately a plain warm gray vest over the top of it all, hiding other details.

There is much more that could be said about this costume, but i want to focus on this type of apron. Two of the girls above are wearing calico aprons, with ruffles on the shoulders, but this is obviously a relatively new innovation. The others, along with the stage costumes, and this image immediately above are wearing basically the same type, Linen on the top, with some woven-in or embroidered design, The lower part pieced of red calico, with ribbons sewn on, and one or two panels of Kaluga Embroidery. Gumilevskaia, in her 1959 book gives us this photograph of a woman in the Kaluga costume of Manastyrsky County.

She seems to be wearing a closed paniova or maybe a sarafan. The hem of the rubacha is highly ornamented, the inset looks like plain red calico, but the sleeves are highly ormanented, although whether they are woven-in designs, embroidery, ribbon applique or a combination i am unable to tell. [I want high resolution digital color photographs of this costume from all sides with closeups of all the detail!!!] The two pieces of Kaluga embroidery on the apron are clearly visible, however. Here is a color photograph from the same book showing a closeup of the lower part of a similar apron.

This embroidery is done by drawing threads in both directions, the main motif is rewoven in white, the backround consists of the bars being overcast with colored thread, and edges and other designs added on top. I will try to find detailed descriptions of how to do this for another posting. If any of you have some, please send them to me. Here are a couple of modern photograph of this kind of work.

I will conclude with another photograph of the girls in the second performing group. Study the details with reference to the information given above. The head dresses are an integral part of the costume, of course, with embroidered fronts that often stick up, side pieces that tie in back, beaded netting over the nape of the neck, headbands with embroidery and beaded 'pesyky' that hang over the temples and are worn under the cap, puffs that hang by the cheeks, and other complicated components. Beads and other jewelry were worn around the neck. The feet, as in Tilke's drawing were wrapped in footcloths and shod in lapty, [ shoes woven from birch or linden bark].

Here you see some of the difficulties involved with this kind of research. Stage costumes, Old reliable photos of beautiful costumes being of poor quality and in black and white, Photos shot from one angle only. Bits and pieces of information scattered in several books, etc. 

Thank you all for reading. If i get more information I will post it.

I am always open for requests for research or commissions to design, make and/or embroider costumes for performing groups or individuals.

Thank you again,

Feel free to contact me with requests for research. I hope to eventually cover all of Europe and the Former Russian Empire/Soviet Union. I also gratefully accept tips on source materials which i may not have. I also accept commissions to research/design, sew, and/or embroider costumes or other items for groups or individuals.

Roman K.
Rkozakand@aol.com

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Source Material:

M. N. Gumilevskaya, 'Kaluzhskaia Narodnaia Vyshyvka', [Kaluga Folk Embroidery], Moscow, 1959
S. Y. Gumilevskaya, 'Vyshyvka Khudozhnik M. N. Gumilevskaya' [Embroidery of the Artist M. N. Gumilevskaya], Moscow, 2005
L. Molotova, 'Russian Folk Clothing', Leningrad, 1984
M. Mertsalova, 'Poezia Narodnavo Kostiuma' [The Poetry of Folk Costume], Moscow, 1988
Max Tilke, 'The Costumes of Eastern Europe', London, 1926