Where and by whom was the embroidery of the cake created. History of embroidery. History of Russian embroidery

When you start to embroider, do you ask yourself: is there really nothing else for me to do? Why do we always give our free time to hobbies? And ask yourself: is anyone interested in my hobby besides myself? You know the saying: “The best gift is a handmade gift”. Embroidery - most of all reflects the essence of the saying, because with its help we can show all our love and devotion to a person. We try to put a piece of ourselves into each work, so such work becomes much more valuable, unlike a factory product. The recipient will undoubtedly appreciate your work and care for him, will think that you have invested a lot of time and effort in making his gift! This gift will remind you of your attention and will never be forgotten. Therefore, when allocating your time, think that the gift that you make yourself, with your own hands, will be much more valuable and closer than a purchased one.

Cross-stitch is one of the oldest types of needlework. The exact time of the appearance of embroidery is unknown. There is no information when cross-stitching became a separate type of needlework. Nowadays, there are samples of embroidery even from the 10th century. However, it undoubtedly arose much earlier. In different countries, their own specific color prevailed, and the styles of the pattern differed from each other. The embroidery reflected the national flavor and individual vision of beauty in each nation.

In the 16th century, counted embroidery gained particular popularity in Western Europe. At that time, it included most of the biblical texts and stories. Already in the 18th century, the classic cross stitch became more noticeable in embroidery, and the subject matter became more diverse. In eastern countries, embroidery was traditionally used to decorate household items - capes, carpets, pack bags. They have always been distinguished by a huge variety of colors and the complexity of the ornament. Over time, embroidery has become an integral part of the costume and household utensils in the West as well.

Since the 18th century, embroidery has entered the homes of all segments of the population without exception. Folk embroidery was associated with rituals and customs, while urban embroidery was formed under the influence of the West. Embroidery played not only the role of decoration. She played the role of a talisman, located at the places of contact of the human body with the outside world (ie, on the collar, sleeves, hem). Nowadays, cross-stitch is a common hobby.

Embroidery is one of the types of needlework, which has its roots in primitive culture. Initially, hemp fibers, animal skin, wool, and hair were used as a material for embroidery.

Since embroidery was done with a needle, which is, as it were, the sharp end of a thread: paper or woolen, silk, then the needle, until it became metal and came to perfection, was made from various materials: bones, trees, and ancient people had fish bones, wood needles, bristles and more. They embroider with paper, silk, thread, gold, wool, using beads, silver, beads, glass beads, sometimes real pearls, using sequins, coins, and also semi-precious stones. The embroideries of India and Iran are distinguished by a great variety of birds, animals, plant motifs and a classic national literary plot. Cross-stitch in the Byzantine Empire, distinguished by the beauty of silk embroidery (silver, gold), various patterns, significantly influenced the development of the art of cross-stitch in many European countries during the Middle Ages, when their own unique ornaments, colors and cross-stitch techniques appeared, their own for each nationality .

Cross-stitching can easily be turned into a favorite pastime, doing which you can create cute interior items with which any home can take on a cozy look. And embroidery on pillows, shirts and towels can serve as an excellent souvenir.

In the past, ladies embroidered using completely different tools and working materials for this than they do now - fragments of animal bones served as a needle, and hard veins served as threads for them.

They also used various improvised means, such as animal skin, hemp fibers. Thinking about which now it is impossible to imagine them suitable for embroidery. This is not surprising, because bone fragments have long been replaced with metal needles, and canvas is used instead of animal skin.

At present, there is a wide variety of embroidery techniques: embroidery with satin stitch, cross stitch, ribbons, carpet technique, tapestry. Thanks to such a huge variety of embroidery techniques, it will undoubtedly turn out to translate into work any ideas of designers. Also, on sale there is a very large variety of embroidery kits. And any scheme can be viewed in magazines, newspapers and in the online embroidery store. Embroidery kits can also be a separate gift.

Who cares we go under the cut ....

Cross-stitch - one of the most popular types of needlework, the art goes back to the era of primitive culture, when people used stitches with stone needles when sewing clothes from animal skins. Initially, the materials for embroidery were animal skin, veins, hemp or wool fibers, and hair.
Passion for decorating yourself and your clothes, in order to stand out from the environment, is inherent in human nature, even in its primitive, semi-wild state.
The legend of Arachne tells that the daughter of the dyer Idmon in Colophon, having learned to weave and embroider from the goddess, surpassed her teacher in this art and, having challenged her to a competition, won in a large embroidery depicting the adventures of the gods. Minerva, angry at her defeat, threw the canoe at her rival's head; Arachne hung herself out of grief and was turned into a spider by the goddess. The Odyssey mentions embroidery and points to the magnificent cloak of Ulysses, the front of which was richly decorated with gold embroidery. In the same way, Homer says that Paris brought to Troy rich embroideries from Tire and Sidon, already famous in those days for their art, and in the third song of the Iliad, Helen’s occupations are described, embroidering on the snow-white fabric of the battle because of her Trojans and Greeks.

The more developed art of embroidery was borrowed by the Greeks from the Persians, when, during the campaigns of Alexander the Great, they became acquainted with the luxury of the Asian peoples. In the time of Moses, the art of embroidery was highly developed, and Ahaliab from the tribe of Dan was especially famous for his art. The clothes of Aaron and his sons, during divine services, consisted of cloth made from linen, embroidered with multi-colored patterns.
Since the ancient peoples were shepherds, the first fabrics and embroideries were made from wool. Subsequently, when the fibrous properties of certain plants, mainly hemp and flax, were discovered in Egypt, fabrics were made from them, which, in their whiteness, turned out to be especially suitable for the splendor of religious rites and were used for this purpose among all ancient peoples. Later, a cotton plant was found in India, and there they began to make the finest fabrics, on which they embroidered with woolen, paper, and, finally, gold threads. Since cross-stitching is done with a needle, which serves as a sharp continuation or end of a thread: woolen, paper or silk, then the needle, until it became metal and reached its modern improved state, was made from the most diverse materials: from wood , bones, and in ancient times, among the savages, wood needles, fish bones, bristles and so on were used for this. They embroider with threads, paper, wool, silk, gold, silver, using beads, glass beads, sometimes real pearls, semi-precious stones, sequins, and also coins.
In our country, embroidery has an ancient history. She decorated clothes, shoes, horse harness, housing, household items. The museums of our country have collected many examples of folk embroidery. The best preserved items of the XIX century. In those days, embroidery was conditionally divided into urban and peasant (folk) embroidery. Urban embroidery was influenced by Western fashion and did not have strong traditions, while folk embroidery was inextricably linked with the old customs and rituals of the Russian peasantry.

All women, young and old, mastered this art to perfection. Embroidery was based on ancient rituals and customs. This is especially true for cross stitch. The cross has always been considered by the Russians as a talisman that is able to protect a person and a tenant from evil spirits and the evil eye.
In pagan times, towels, sheets, towels, tablecloths, curtains, various bedspreads were mainly decorated with embroidery. Clothes were also decorated with embroidery: sundresses, hats, shirts.
After the arrival of Christianity in Russia, embroidered items acquired a new meaning. People began to decorate windows, mirrors and icons with embroidered things. Products embroidered in one day were considered especially valuable. Usually several craftswomen worked on such things at once. They started at dawn, and if they managed to finish the work before sunset, then the product was considered perfectly clean and able to protect against evil forces, natural disasters, diseases and other misfortunes.
The motives of the embroidered works were very diverse. There was a lot of symbolism and hidden meaning. There were human figures with raised hands, birds of paradise, fabulous animals. In ornaments, for example, a rhombus and a circle symbolized the sun, a hooked cross - a wish for good and mutual understanding.
Initially, embroidery in Russia was an occupation for the elite. Until the seventeenth century, nuns and representatives of the nobility were engaged in it. The materials were expensive fabrics such as velvet and silk, precious stones, pearls, gold and silver threads.

Since the 17th century, this type of needlework has been included in the category of compulsory activities for peasant girls. Starting from the age of seven or eight, girls began to prepare their dowry for the wedding. It was necessary to embroider tablecloths, bedspreads, towels, tablecloths, as well as various clothes. It was also customary to embroider special gifts for relatives and guests of the groom. On the eve of the wedding, in front of all honest people, an exhibition of the prepared dowry was arranged. This helped everyone to appreciate the skill and diligence of the bride.
Originating in antiquity, the art of embroidery has been constantly improved over the centuries. A person who constantly lived among nature and watched it, already from ancient times learned to create simple patterns, conventional signs-symbols, with the help of which he expressed his perception of the world around him, his attitude to incomprehensible natural phenomena. Each line, each sign was full of clear meaning to him, was one of the means of communication.
Over time, individual figures changed, became more complex, combined with other forms, creating patterns-drawings. This is how ornaments arose - a consistent repetition of individual patterns or a group of them (such a repetition of several elements of a pattern is called rapport.)

In the ornament, especially in folk art, where it is most widespread, the folklore and poetic attitude to the world is imprinted. Over time, the motifs lost their original meaning, retaining their decorative and architectonic expressiveness. Aesthetic social needs played an important role in the genesis and further development of the ornament: the rhythmic correctness of generalized motifs was one of the early ways of artistic development of the world, helping to comprehend the orderliness and harmony of reality.
By the nature of the patterns and methods of their implementation, Russian embroidery is very diverse. Separate regions, and sometimes districts, had their own characteristic techniques, ornamental motifs, and color schemes. This was largely determined by local conditions, way of life, customs, natural environment. Russian embroidery has its own national characteristics, it differs from the embroideries of other peoples.
A large role in it is played by geometric ornament and geometrized forms of plants and animals: rhombuses, motifs of a female figure, a bird, a tree or a flowering bush, as well as a leopard with a raised paw. In the form of a rhombus, a circle, a rosette, the sun was depicted - a symbol of warmth, life, a female figure and a flowering tree personified the fertility of the earth, a bird symbolized the arrival of spring.
The location of the pattern and embroidery techniques were organically linked with the form of clothing, which was sewn from straight pieces of fabric. The seams were made according to the number of threads of the fabric, they were called countable. With such seams it is easy to decorate the shoulders, the ends of the sleeves, the slit on the chest, the hem of the apron, the bottom of the apron, the bottom of the clothes. Embroidery was placed along the connecting seams.
In "free" embroideries, along a drawn outline, floral patterns prevailed.
Old Russian stitches include: painting or semi-cross, set, cross, counting surface, goat, white small line. Later, cutouts, colored interlacing, cross stitching, guipure, tambour embroidery, white and colored smooth surface appeared.
Russian peasant embroidery can be divided into two main groups: northern and central Russian stripes. The north includes embroideries from Arkhangelsk, Novgorod, Vologda, Kalinin, Ivanovo, Gorky, Yaroslavl, Vladimir and other regions.
The most common techniques of northern embroidery are cross, painting, cutouts, white stitching, through sewing done on a grid, white and colored smoothness. Most often, the patterns were made with red threads on a white background or white on red. Embroiderers skillfully used the background as one of the elements of the pattern. Squares and stripes inside large figures of a bird - pava, leopard or tree were embroidered with blue, yellow and dark red wool.
With the development of new technologies, the release of the latest embroidery technology, the process of creating embroidery has greatly accelerated and simplified. With the help of embroidery machines, special software for embroidery, an opportunity has been obtained for the manifestation of creativity in almost anyone who wants to touch this type of arts and crafts. Machine embroidery has simplified and facilitated the work of embroiderers, leaving more time for ideas and fantasies in relation to embroidery.

The art of embroidery has a long history. The existence of embroidery in the era of Ancient Russia is evidenced by the finds of archaeologists dating back to the 9th-10th centuries. These are fragments of clothing, decorated with patterns, made with gold threads. In ancient times, household items, clothes of noble people were decorated with gold embroidery.
The traditions of embroidery art were constantly developing; in the 14th-17th centuries, embroidery became even more widespread in decorating costumes and household items. Church vestments, clothes of kings and boyars rich in silk and velvet were embroidered with gold and silver threads in combination with pearls and gems. Wedding towels, festive shirts made of fine linen fabric, and scarves were also decorated with colored silk and gold threads. Embroidery was mainly common among women of noble families and nuns.
Gradually, the art of embroidery spreads everywhere. Since the 18th century, it has entered the life of all segments of the population, becoming one of the main occupations of peasant girls.
Household items - towels, valances, countertops (tablecloths) were decorated with embroidery. Festive and everyday clothes, aprons, hats, etc. Products, as a rule, were made from simple, inexpensive materials, but they were distinguished by high artistic skill.
Each embroidery had its own purpose. Embroideries on shirts were located at the points of contact of the human body with the outside world (i.e., along the collar, sleeves, hem) and served as a talisman. The embroidery of towels reflected the cosmological ideas of people, ideas associated with the cult of fertility and the cult of ancestors. First of all, this concerns the ornament of folk sewing, in which ancient symbols are preserved until the 2nd quarter of the 20th century.
The most common motif in the ornament of folk embroidery is the "rhombus". In the embroidery of different peoples, it looks different and has different meanings. A rhombus with hooks in embroidery is considered as a symbol of fertility associated with the idea of ​​a mother - an ancestor - the immediate beginning of all births on earth. Rhombus - "burr" in folklore is compared with oak, a sacred tree of many peoples, and is a metaphor for the heavenly "color" - lightning that strikes demons, protects livestock.
Among the favorite motifs was a "rosette", consisting of 8 petals - blades connected in the center. It acts as a symbol of the feminine, fertility.
Among the motifs of floral ornament, a prominent place is occupied by the "world tree" - the tree of life. A common motif in facial embroidery is a stylized female figure. She can perform in various compositions: in the center, riders or birds on the sides; holding branches or lamps; with birds in their hands, etc.
All these stories differ in the nature of their interpretation. But in most of them, the female Mother Goddess, personifying Cheese - the Earth, acts as the patroness of agriculture, the fertility of the earth. It was called upon to ensure the blessings of life and the reproduction of the family.
Traditional embroidery is a source of knowledge of the ethnic history and culture of the people and their evolution over time.
Embroidery techniques, patterns, their color embodiment were improved by their generation after generation. Gradually, all the best were selected, and unique images of embroideries with characteristic features were created.
Artistic products of folk craftsmen, decorated with embroidery, are distinguished by the beauty of patterns, the harmony of color combinations, the perfection of proportions, and the refinement of professional techniques. Each embroidered product meets its practical purpose.
The museums of our country have collected many examples of folk embroidery. The most preserved and survived to this day are embroideries of the 19th century.
Embroidery was divided into peasant (folk) and urban. Urban embroidery did not have strong traditions, as it was constantly influenced by the fashion that came from the West. Folk embroidery was associated with the ancient customs and rituals of the Russian peasantry. So, peasant girls by the age of 13-15 had to prepare a dowry for themselves. These were embroidered tablecloths, towels, valances, garments, hats, gifts.
At the wedding, the bride presented the groom's relatives with products of her own work. Before the wedding, they arranged an exhibition of the dowry, which was supposed to testify to the skill and diligence of the bride.
Women were engaged in needlework in a peasant family - they spun, weaved, embroidered, knitted, wove lace. In the process of work, they polished their skills, learned from each other and from their elders, adopting from them the experience of many generations.
Women's clothing was made from homespun linen and woolen fabrics. It was decorated not only with embroidery, but also with lace, braid, and colored chintz inserts. In different provinces, clothing had its own characteristics, differences. It was different in purpose (everyday, festive, wedding), performed for different ages (girls, for a young, elderly woman).

A girl of seven or eight years of age began to prepare a dowry for herself, and by the age of fifteen or sixteen she should have had festive and everyday clothes, tablecloths, valances, towels, which should have been enough for several years. Towels were prepared, which were presented at the wedding to the relatives of the groom and honored guests. Before the wedding, an exhibition of products was arranged, and by their number and quality they judged the skill and diligence of the bride

The art of embroidery has a long history. In ancient times, when people lived in isolation, each nation, and sometimes even a small village, had its own characteristics in embroidery and other types of folk art. With the expansion of ties between individual regions, local features enriched each other. From generation to generation, patterns and color schemes were worked out and improved, embroidery patterns with characteristic national features were created.

By the nature of patterns and methods of their implementation, Russian embroidery is very diverse. It is known that each region, and sometimes even a region, has its own embroidery techniques, its own ornamental motifs, and color schemes, which are common only here.

Russian embroidery is different from the embroidery of other peoples. A large role in it is played by geometric ornament and geometrized forms of plants and animals: rhombuses, motifs of a female figure, a bird, a tree or a flowering bush, as well as a leopard with a raised paw. In the form of a rhombus, a circle, a rosette, the sun was depicted - a symbol of warmth, life; a female figure and a flowering tree personified fertility, a bird symbolized the arrival of spring.

The location of the pattern and embroidery techniques were organically linked with the form of clothing, which was sewn from straight pieces of fabric. The seams were made according to the number of threads and were called countable. They decorated the shoulders, the ends of the sleeves, the cut on the chest, the hem of the apron, the bottom of the clothes, and were also located along the connecting seams.

In "free" embroideries, along a drawn outline, floral patterns prevailed.

Old Russian seams include: seam painting or semi-cross, set, cross, counted smooth surface, "goat", white small line.

Later appeared cutouts, colored interlace, cross stitch, guipure, tambour embroidery, white and colored satin stitch.

Russian peasant embroidery can be divided into two main groups: northern and central Russian. The north includes the works of Arkhangelsk, Novgorod, Pskov, Vologda, Kalinin, Ivanovo, Gorky, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vladimir; to Central Russian - Kaluga, Tula, Ryazan, Smolensk, Orel, Penza, Tambov and Voronezh regions.

The most common techniques of northern embroidery: cross, painting, cutouts, white stitching, through sewing, performed on a grid, white and colored smooth surface.

Northern plot compositions were most often performed stitched painting and set. In some regions of the Russian North, patterns on aprons, shirt hems and towels were embroidered with a cross, as a rule, in one color: red on white or white on red canvas. In patterns, pictorial motifs prevailed over geometric ones. Complex compositions were conveyed in silhouette, contour, in one color, in one technique. Here, along with a women's costume and small household items and embroidery, decorative items were decorated: towels, valances, etc.

Peasant embroideries of the Central Russian zone differed significantly from the Northern ones. The patterns were dominated by geometric shapes with a comb-shaped rhombus figure with "marks", that is, with two protrusions at each corner, called "burr" or "burr". They were distinguished by an unusual variety of patterns and color options.

The embroideries of the Central Russian strip are multicolored. The background is visible, as well as the ornament itself. In addition to embroidery, the design of the product includes patterned weaving, stripes of ribbon, calf, colored fabric, as well as lace and braid.

In the southern regions, it was mainly used to decorate women's clothing and towels.

One of the most interesting and widespread embroideries of the Central Russian stripe is color intertwine Smolensk, Tula, Kaluga regions. In addition to perevity, there are seams: set, painting, "pigtail", "goat", cross, counting smooth surface, hems.

Based on the study of the traditions and experience of old masters, creative teams of art crafts create decorative items that meet the aesthetic requirements of modern art.

Modern embroidery can be used to decorate children's and women's clothing, as well as household items: window curtains, napkins, cushion covers, rugs and panels, towels, aprons, bags, souvenirs, etc.