FolkCostume&Embroidery: Embroidered Womens' shirts from Luhansk, Ukraine

Hello all,

The image is of an exhibit at the Luhansk Museum of folk culture. For those who wish, as I do, to have information that can be readily turned into embroidery projects, I will present several of the above chemises in as much detail as I can with the photos that I have. I will identify the different sorochky with letters of the Ukrainian alphabet.

This first one is of the distinctively Luhansk type, combining white on white cutwork and polychrome embroidery, in this case, blue and red cross stitch on the rear of the sleeve along the back seams, which are joined with a colorful joining stitch. The collar is smocked, and the cuffs have white counted satin stitch embroidery.

This shirt is embroidered only in cross stitch in red and blue. There is a band of floral embroidery along the shoulder and another high on the sleeve. Both are clearly visible and can be copied, and I have included a chart of one of them, along with a couple others. The hem is done in surface stitch, with spots of red and blue satin stitch, the cuffs seem to be plain, and the collar has a light edging of red and blue.

Some of the embroidery of Luhansk shows influence from Podillia. This is one of three shirts which i showed that have the geometric shoulder embroidery done in Nyz, which is darning stitch. There must have been a notable number of settlers who were originally from Podillia. Also typical of Podillia are the extensive joining stitches at the seams. In this shirt the only embroidery on the sleeve are the joining stitch, and a double row of cross stitch flanking it.

This shirt is embroidered in black and red cross stitch. The shoulder has a band of embroidered roses. The sleeve has a linear design of hops down the back, and isolated groups of flowers adorning the center of it.

This shirt is embroidered solely in white on white, using counted satin stitch and cutwork. Note the narrow bands and cross stitches in the corners that secure the cutwork. This is typical of the Ukrainian style. The shirt has a wide band of cutwork across the shoulder, and a network of white embroidery down the sleeves. The sleeve and shoulder inset seem to have been cut as one piece.

This shirt lies next to the one above in the photos. It is distinguished by a wide band of embroidered poppies which extends down the length of the sleeve. The shoulders have a relatively narrow band of stylized flowers. The embroidery is executed in red and black cross stitch. The sleeve is attached to the shoulders with 'puffs', the edge of the sleeve being gathered in a zigzag.

Here are my attempts at graphing these designs.

This shirt is embroidered in black cross stitch, with a band of floral embroidery on the shoulders, and scattered individual motifs on the sleeves.

This shirt has a band of blue and red cross stitch on the shoulders and a wider band of white cutwork along the upper sleeve. The shoulder and body pieces are smocked into the neckband.

This shirt has a narrow floral band of cross stitch embroidery on the shoulders. and a wider band of grapes along the upper part of the sleeve, as well as isolated floral motifs further down, all executed in red and blue.

The following graph is from a Ukrainian book in the Soviet Era, They had a habit of illustrating sleeve designs with the cuff at the top, which I would consider upside down.

This shirt has a band of floral embroidery on the shoulder, another on the sleeve, and also a tree of life pattern extending down the center of the sleeve. This motif is common, but usually executed in white on white counted satin stitch embroidery. Here all the embroidery is done in red and blue cross stitch. there are also isolated motifs on the sides of the sleeve, embroidery on the cuffs, and a narrow band of embroidered ornament around the upper edge of the body fields, front and back.