Ukrainian Embroidery
is an organic part of the national culture

Taking about Ukrainian embroidery we have to realize that it takes its roots from many century customs and traditions and its designs are deeply symbolic. Each area of Ukraine has its own favorite technique, combination of colors, its special language of symbols. There are more than 200 different stitching techniques which can be identified in Ukrainian national embroidery designs.

Each embroidered symbol has its special meaning. Roses stand for love, sunflower symbolizes sun, bees are the symbol of spiritual purity. Art of embroidery is pretty popular in Ukraine. If you travel around the country, you will be able to see a lot of ryshnyki (embroidered ritual towel), colorful vishivanky (national shirt), table clothes, napkins, and so on.

Ryshniki often hang on the wall surrounding an icon or a cross, take part in wedding ceremonies, serve as a cradle for newborn and support coffin to be lowered into the ground when some person died. Even if you are not going to use them for some ritual purposes, they are still lovely piece of art which keeps love and warmth of those hands which made them.

Some samples of beautiful embroidery from Ukraine can be found at Rushychok.org site. Almost all of them have charts in case you would like to make it yourself. Besides that you can look at some of them at Ebay action presented in a table below. It not a machine-made embroidery. They are handmade. They are alive. You will feel it once you touch them.