Vintage cross-stitch: schemes, meaning and traditions

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:35

The art of embroidery has a long history. This is the most common type of folk art. Thanks to archaeological excavations, it is known that people embroidered back in the 9th-10th centuries. In written sources, references to this type of craft begin several centuries later. Many old cross-stitch patterns have survived to this day.

The villagers practiced this craft in the winter, when there was no land work, and only in daylight. The peasants made cloth mainly from flax and hemp, and most often woolen threads were used for embroidery. Noble ladies embroidered on silk or velvet with silver and gold threads, pearls and other expensive materials.

Types of embroidery in Russia

Several embroidery stitches were known (satin stitch, in attachment, and others). But the most popular was the cross. It was considered a special symbol that protects against the evil eye and damage.

Girls from an early age embroidered dowries. This process took them about 8-10 years (girls were taught the art of embroidery from the age of 7, and at 16-17 they were already married). The quality of embroidery could be judgedhow accurate the future bride is. Before the wedding, a dowry show was arranged, where everyone could see the work of the girl.

Among the schemes of ancient cross-stitch, as well as in other techniques, the preferred patterns were:

• birds;
• divine theme;
• animals;
• flowers and trees;
• curls, diamonds, triangles.

In the old days, the color of embroidery was also of great importance - shades of red prevailed. This color was considered a symbol of vitality. The black color in embroidery symbolized the earth, or rather fertility, blue - heaven.

Vintage embroidery on products

Needlewomen embroidered men's shirts, ladies' shirts, dresses, clothes for children. Most often, embroidered patterns were located on the neck, belt, cuffs. The clothes of the nobles were embroidered very richly - with the help of expensive materials, because they judged the viability of a person.

Technique, as well as old cross-stitch patterns, were passed down from generation to generation, from mother to daughter. Not only clothes were decorated with embroidery, but also household items - towels, napkins, tablecloths, bedspreads.

Sacred meaning of vintage cross stitch

While embroidering, the craftswomen read prayers, as it was believed that in this case the thing would have powerful energy and strength. There should be no bad thoughts while working.

A secret meaning was invested in many patterns - they had elements that were considered a talisman. According to beliefs, they are not onlyprotected a person from dark forces, but also brought good luck and we alth.

A product embroidered in one day, from dawn to dusk, was considered ideally “clean”. Sometimes more than one craftswoman worked on it in order to complete the work on time. People believed that such a thing could protect against the evil eye, disasters and other troubles.

Modern embroidery

In our time, such a variety of materials are used for embroidery that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers could only dream of. Now in stores you can find a huge variety of basics for embroidery - velvet, organza, mesh, felt and many others. And the choice of embroidery materials themselves is breathtaking - beads, glass beads, beads, pearls, floss, gimp, sequins, etc.

When cross-stitching, as before, the base fabric and threads are used. In rare cases, craftswomen supplement their work with some other materials. Many schemes of ancient cross-stitch have survived to this day. They can be seen printed in magazines, on specialized sites, and many manufacturers produce entire kits for working with canvas and threads in the kit. Among these sets, you can also find patterns of ancient cross-stitching of flowers, protective motifs, landscapes, scenes from the everyday life of Russian people.