Ukrainian ornament on the wedding towel

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

Famous wedding towels (towels) are certainly present at all weddings in different regions of Ukraine. Weddings here are loud and involve many events: matchmaking, bride price, blessing by parents, painting in the registry office, wedding, meeting a new family with bread and s alt, a noisy feast with dances, games and songs. Many towels are prepared for such a wedding, each towel has a Ukrainian ornament.

Towels at Ukrainian wedding

A lot of embroidered towels are prepared in advance for the wedding, in some regions up to forty pieces. This is one of the main attributes at a Ukrainian wedding:

Under the feet of the young (this is the most important towel at every wedding).
Under the loaf (young people are often met with it, and then this towel flaunts on the festive table of the young under wedding bread).
Two towels for the icons, two - for the blessing of the parents of a young couple on a new marriage. These towels can be taken to church for a wedding, but they are not left in the church. A separate option is being prepared for the church, as a gift from a young couple, but this is not necessary.

In total, you need to prepare five different options, you also need to add a towel, which is used to bandage the hands of young people, andtowels that a young wife gives to parents, godparents, you can count up to 20-30 pieces at a Ukrainian wedding.

Ukrainian ornament and a pledge of family happiness

The main towel, which will be the key to a happy family life, is the one on which the couple will stand during the wedding. In the Kyiv region, the girl embroidered it herself; showing someone her work was considered a bad omen. In some regions, the godmother embroiders the towel. The fact that the fabric should be whole and white is already known to everyone. White is a symbol of a long and happy journey, and under no circumstances can a canvas be joined from two pieces of fabric.

The size of the towel should be proportional to the pattern you have chosen. That is, if the towel is divided into 3 parts, then 2 parts are embroidery on the left and right sides, and the central part remains clean. This is the place where the young go. Now the drawing itself. Each region has its own Ukrainian ornament and embroidery technique. Basically, these are geometric ornaments or plant-type ornaments: rims, trees of life. The tree of life was previously embroidered with symbols of a kind.

The rule for embroidering the main towel

The fabric for the main towel is linen, its width is 45 cm, but the length can be different. Threads of two colors are used: red and black, they must be silk or woolen. You should always start embroidering a Ukrainian ornament on Thursday, before that you should pray. It is impossible to swear and keep negative thoughts during embroidery. You need to embroider a towel for a wedding very carefully, it is strictly forbidden to make knots on the inside of a wedding towel.

In Ukraine, it is believed that if the front side is facing people, then the wrong side is facing God. The first shows what we specifically do, and the second shows what we actually think. Therefore, if the wrong side of the towel is untidy, then the whole life in marriage will be only for show. The right side of the towel is embroidered first, and then the left. The right side is for the groom, and the ornament on the towel is always different on both sides.

Which ornament to choose?

It is not at all necessary to become attached to ornaments made with a cross, there are more than twenty variants of them in the Ukrainian embroidery technique. Many patterns of satin stitch embroidery, can be embroidered with simple stitches.

You need to choose the motif of the ornament that you like best (roses, daisies, viburnum or something else). Such embroidery (Ukrainian ornament) scheme has the following:

The lower part of the ornament is like a small "bank".
The main part is a wreath, a tree of life or a main ornament.
The so-called spread is not required at all.
"Wave" - a thin strip of ornament that unites both edges (also not always).

You need to embroider only those symbols that bring happiness and love, prosperity and prosperity that you like, and in no case rip or cross out the ornament with new meanings. Nothing can be fixed.

Drawings of geometric ornament were used mainly on towels under the loaf. If you decide to make a Ukrainian ornament (the pattern of a cross-stitch pattern can be any), try not to close the motifs in rectangular strokes and do not abuse horizontal lines, separating one pattern from another. When the ornament is selected and it seems to you that everything is fine and everything is taken into account, do not rush to start embroidering right away, it is better to consult with specialists. This article provides several options for schemes for a towel. If desired, you can remove the ornament by cells.

Now that everything is defined and taken into account, you can start embroidering, thinking about your loved one and a happy life. So, a wedding towel is a very individual thing. And treat her with respect.