Kyiv Oblast

Kyiv region embroidery is not one tradition but four: Polissian geometry in zanyzuvannia in the north, red and black Brocard cross-stitch on the Right Bank, geometric satin stitch and cutwork on the left bank towards Chernihiv, and white-on-white work towards Poltava.

Of most regions you can say "this is how they embroider here". Not of the Kyiv region: several different traditions have survived within one oblast, and each has its own origin.

That is why Kyiv region embroidery is more of a collective name for four separate traditions than a description of one.

Four ethnographic regions within one oblast

The territory of today's Kyiv oblast is divided into four ethnographic regions. For Kyiv region embroidery this is a real difference in technique, colour and the character of the pattern, not an administrative detail.

A Polissian shirt from the north and a right-bank one from the centre can look as if they came from different lands. That is why Kyiv region embroidery cannot be described as one uniform thing, and any generalisation leaves something out.

The north: Polissian geometry

In the north of the oblast, around Chornobyl, Ivankiv, Dymer and Borodianka, shirts embroidered in old techniques prevail: zanyzuvannia, zavolikannia and, less often, cross-stitch. These techniques build a geometric ornament. The embroidery is mostly red or black, with small additions of other colours.

The neighbouring Polissian regions have kept a similar geometry. Read more on the page about Zhytomyr region embroidery.

The Right Bank: where new things arrived first

The main part of the oblast on the right bank of the Dnipro, with Kyiv, Makariv, Vasylkiv and Bohuslav, belongs to the ethnographic region Middle Dnipro. Kyiv area. Thanks to lively trade, every novelty spread here fastest: imported fabrics, new forms of clothing, ornaments and embroidery techniques.

That is why the Brocard style became most popular here - floral ornaments in red and black cross-stitch. It spread to the rest of Ukraine in the 20th century, but in the central Kyiv region it was already in wide use from the end of the 19th century. We tell the story of how it appeared on the page about Kyiv city embroidery.

At the same time, older Kyiv region embroidery survived here too: white on white with traditional geometric ornaments, or threads of a complex ochre colour dyed in oak bark. The red and black flowers are only the youngest layer of the local tradition.

The shirt from Kodaky: a museum example

A close look at a right-bank Kyiv region shirt is offered by a woman's shirt from the village of Kodaky in Obukhiv district (formerly Vasylkiv district) in the collection of the Ivan Honchar Museum, inventory number KN-22006. It is dated to the first half of the 20th century, and the museum assigns it to the ethnographic region Middle Dnipro. Kyiv area.

It is a full-length shirt, 125 cm long, with shoulder inserts and a side chest opening. It is sewn from factory-made cotton fabric and embroidered with twisted cotton thread called zapoloch. On one garment the embroiderer combined satin stitch, slanted satin stitch, cross-stitch, shtapivka, vystih and decorative running seams, and gathered the tops of the sleeves with small puffs. All the embroidery is done in two colours - black and red.

The museum has published embroidery charts and a cutting pattern for this shirt. The embroidery charts were developed by Oleksandra Storchai and Oksana Shuliar, the cut by Natalia Holubnycha. So the Kodaky shirt from the Kyiv region can be reproduced today from a museum original.

The Left Bank: two other traditions

A small part of the oblast on the left bank - almost all of left-bank Kyiv, Velyka Dymerka, Kalyta - belongs to the region Middle Dnipro. Chernihiv area: this territory was once part of Chernihiv Governorate. Geometric ornaments in straight and slanted satin stitch are typical here, with cutwork and cross-stitch also found. The embroidery could be single-coloured or combine red, black and white. The wider tradition is described on the page Chernihiv region.

The main part of the left bank - Boryspil, Yahotyn, Pereiaslav - belongs to the region Middle Dnipro. Poltava area. Shirts with white-on-white ornaments are found here, and the techniques are very varied: straight and slanted satin stitch, cutwork, chain stitch, slanted and grain drawn-thread work, openwork and, of course, cross-stitch. The ornament sometimes takes on a floral and geometric character: "broken twig", "little tree", "pumpkin leaf". The tradition itself is described on the page about Poltava embroidery.

On the left bank of the Kyiv region, threads were dyed with natural dyes, oak or alder bark, or unbleached threads were used on white linen. At the end of the 19th century red and black Brocard embroidery came into fashion and gradually displaced the old ornaments and techniques here as well.

The Kyiv region in 1966 expedition photos

How Kyiv region shirts were worn in the mid-20th century is shown by a 1966 photo collection described by ethnology researcher Oksana Kosmina for Lokalna Istoriia. Who the ethnographer and photographer on that trip were is unknown. The expedition visited five villages: Ostriv, Nalyvaikivka, Varovychi, Zalissia and Kopachi. The last three were abandoned after the Chornobyl disaster.

In the 1960s traditional clothing in the Kyiv region was still everyday wear. Photos from Ostriv show richly embroidered chest panels on women's shirts and standing collars with a frill. In Nalyvaikivka the chest panels carry a wide central band with two narrower vertical bands on either side, and the sleeve of one shirt bears a vase composition.

The ornament of these shirts is mostly floral, in the Brocard style: roses and strawberries in red and black cross-stitch, although satin stitch can also be seen in a few photos. The same rose motifs were repeated on embroidered aprons, which were also trimmed with bought lace.

Motifs and colours of Kyiv region embroidery

The ornament of a Kyiv region shirt depends on which part of the oblast it comes from. In the north it is geometric patterns, on the Right Bank Brocard roses, strawberries and other floral motifs, on the Left Bank the "little tree", the "pumpkin leaf" and white-on-white geometry.

The main pair of colours is red and black, and the Kodaky shirt is embroidered in exactly these. Alongside them there is white embroidery on white linen and ochre threads dyed with oak bark. Overall, Kyiv region embroidery is marked by old and new techniques, geometric and floral ornaments existing side by side, in every possible combination.

The region and the city

The city of Kyiv has no separate embroidery tradition of its own. Right-bank Kyiv belongs to the region Middle Dnipro. Kyiv area, and almost all of left-bank Kyiv to the region Middle Dnipro. Chernihiv area.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a single Kyiv pattern?

No. The oblast is divided into four ethnographic regions: Polissia in the north, the Kyiv area on the Right Bank, and the Chernihiv and Poltava areas on the Left Bank. Each embroidered in its own way.

How does the north of the oblast differ from the centre?

In the Polissian north the old techniques of zanyzuvannia and zavolikannia and geometric ornament prevail, mostly in red or black. On the Right Bank, Brocard embroidery spread from the end of the 19th century: floral patterns in red and black cross-stitch.

Which is older: Polissian geometry or Brocard flowers?

Geometry. Brocard embroidery came into wide use in the central Kyiv region only from the end of the 19th century, and in the rest of Ukraine in the 20th century. Zanyzuvannia in the north and white-on-white embroidery belong to the older techniques.

Which colours are typical of Kyiv region embroidery?

Most often red and black. Besides them, there is white-on-white embroidery, ochre threads dyed with oak bark, and on the Left Bank threads dyed with oak or alder bark.

Where can you see a genuine shirt from the Kyiv region?

The Ivan Honchar Museum in Kyiv holds, among others, a shirt from the village of Kodaky from the first half of the 20th century (KN-22006). The museum has published its description, embroidery charts and cutting pattern.

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