Who cares about the cat ...

Cross-stitch - one of the most popular types of needlework, the art goes back to the era of primitive culture, when people used stone needle stitches when sewing clothes from animal skins. Initially, the materials for embroidery were animal skin, veins, hemp or wool fibers, hair.
The passion for decorating oneself and one's clothes, in order to stand out with something 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, challenging her to a competition, won a large embroidery depicting the adventures of the gods. Minerva, angry at her defeat, threw the shuttle at her rival's head; Arachne hanged 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, which were already famous for their art at that time, and the III Canto of the Iliad describes the occupations of Helen, who embroidered on the snow-white fabric of the battle for 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. At the time of Moses, the art of embroidery was highly developed, especially Ahaliab from the tribe of Dan was famous for his art. The clothes of Aaron and his sons, during the divine services, consisted of fabric made from linen embroidered with multi-colored patterns.
Since the ancient peoples were shepherds, the first fabrics and embroidery were made of wool. Subsequently, when the fibrous properties of some plants, mainly hemp and flax, were discovered in Egypt, fabrics began to be made from them, which, in their whiteness, turned out to be especially suitable for the splendor of religious rituals and for this purpose were used by all ancient peoples. Later, a cotton plant was found in India, and there they began to make the finest fabrics, which were embroidered with woolen, paper and, finally, gold threads. Since cross stitching is carried out using a needle that serves as a kind of sharp continuation or end of a thread: woolen, paper or silk, the needle, until it became metal and reached its modern improved state, was made from the most diverse materials: wood , bones, and in ancient times and among savages, wood needles, fish bones, bristles and so on were used. They embroider with threads, paper, wool, silk, gold, silver, using beads, beads, bugles, sometimes real pearls, semi-precious stones, sequins, and also coins.
In our country, embroidery has an ancient history. She was used to decorate clothes, shoes, horse harness, dwellings, and household items. The museums of our country have collected many samples of folk embroidery. The best preserved items of the 19th century. In those days, embroidery was conditionally subdivided into urban and peasant (folk). Urban embroidery was influenced by Western fashion and did not have strong traditions, while folk embroidery was inextricably linked with the ancient customs and rituals of the Russian peasantry.

All women, young and old, mastered this art to perfection. The embroidery was based on ancient rites and customs. This is especially true for cross stitching. The cross has always been considered by the Russians as a talisman that is able to protect a person and a dweller 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, embroidery products acquired a new meaning. People began to decorate windows, mirrors and icons with embroidered things. Items embroidered in one day were considered especially valuable. Usually several craftswomen worked on such things at once. They started at dawn, and if it was possible to finish the work before sunset, then the product was considered perfectly clean and capable of protecting from 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 arms, birds of paradise, fabulous animals. In the 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 used 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 occupations for peasant girls. Beginning at the age of seven or eight, girls began to prepare their wedding dowry. It was necessary to embroider tablecloths, bedspreads, towels, tablecloths, as well as various clothes. It was also customary to embroider special gifts for the groom's relatives and guests. 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 hard work of the bride.
Originating in antiquity, the art of embroidery has been constantly improving over the centuries. A person who lived constantly among nature and watched it, already from ancient times learned to create simple patterns, conventional signs-symbols, with which he expressed his perception of the world around him, his attitude to incomprehensible phenomena of nature. Each line, each sign was full of meaning he understood, 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 - the sequential repetition of individual patterns or their groups (such a repetition of several elements of the pattern is called rapport.)

In the ornament, especially in folk art, where it is most widespread, a folklore-poetic attitude to the world is imprinted. Over time, the motives lost their original meaning, retaining their decorative and architectonic expressiveness. Aesthetic social needs were of great importance in the genesis and further development of ornament: the rhythmic correctness of generalized motives was one of the earliest ways of artistic development of the world, helping to comprehend the orderliness and harmony of reality.
By the nature of the patterns and techniques for their implementation, Russian embroidery is very diverse. Individual regions, and sometimes districts, had their own characteristic techniques, ornamental motives, and color schemes. This was largely determined by local conditions, life, customs, natural surroundings. Russian embroidery has its own national characteristics, it differs from the embroidery of other peoples.
Geometric ornament and geometrized forms of plants and animals play an important role in it: rhombuses, motifs of a female figure, a bird, a tree or a flowering bush, as well as a leopard with a raised paw. The sun was depicted in the form of a rhombus, circle, rosette - 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 the techniques of embroidery were organically related to the form of clothing, which was sewn from straight pieces of fabric. The seams were made by counting the threads of the fabric, they were called counted. It is easy to decorate with such seams 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. The embroidery was placed along the connecting seams.
In "free" embroideries, along the drawn contour, floral patterns predominated.
Old Russian seams include: painting or half-cross, set, cross, counted surface, goat, white small stitching. Later, there were cutouts, color intertwining, cross stitching, guipure, chain stitching, white and colored satin stitch.
Russian peasant embroidery can be divided into two main groups: northern and central Russian. The northern embroidery includes the Arkhangelsk, Novgorod, Vologda, Kalinin, Ivanovsk, Gorkovsk, Yaroslavl, Vladimir and other regions.
The most common techniques of northern embroidery are cross, painting, cutouts, white stitching, through-stitching performed on a net, white and colored satin. Most often, patterns were made with red threads on a white background or white on red. The embroiderers skillfully used the background as one of the elements of the pattern. Squares and stripes inside large figures of a bird - pea, leopard or tree - were embroidered with blue, yellow and dark red wool.
With the development of new technologies, the release of the latest embroidery techniques, the process of creating embroidery has significantly 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 decorative and applied art. Machine embroidery has simplified and facilitated the work of embroiderers, leaving more time for ideas and imaginations 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 9-10th centuries. These are fragments of clothing decorated with patterns made with golden threads. In ancient times, household items, clothes of noble people were decorated with gold embroidery.
The traditions of the art of embroidery were constantly evolving, in the 14-17 centuries, embroidery became even more widespread in the decoration of 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 girls - peasant women.
Embroidery was used to decorate household items - towels, valances, countertops (tablecloths). Festive and casual clothes, aprons, hats, etc. The products, as a rule, were made of simple, inexpensive materials, but they were distinguished by their high artistic skill.
Each embroidery had its own purpose. Embroidery on shirts was 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 reflects the cosmological ideas of people, ideas related to 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 up to the 2nd quarter of the 20th century.
The most common motif in folk embroidery is the "rhombus". In the embroidery of different nations, it looks different and has different meanings. A rhombus with hooks in embroidery is considered a symbol of fertility associated with the idea of \u200b\u200bthe mother - the progenitor - the immediate beginning of all births on earth. Rhombus - "burr" in folklore is compared with an oak, a sacred tree of many peoples, and is a metaphor for the heavenly "color" - lightning that strikes demons, protects cattle.
Among the favorite motives was the "rosette", consisting of 8 petals - blades, connected in the center. It acts as a symbol of the feminine principle, fertility.
Among the motifs of plant ornament, a prominent place is occupied by the "world tree" - the tree of life. A common motif of 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 hand, etc.
All these plots differ in the nature of their interpretation. But in most of them the Mother Goddess woman, personifying the Cheese - the Earth, acts as the patroness of agriculture, the fertility of the earth. It was designed to ensure the benefits 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 have been improved by their generations. Gradually, all the best was selected, and unique images of embroidery with characteristic features were created.
Artistic products of folk craftsmen, decorated with embroidery, are distinguished by the beauty of the patterns, the harmonious combination of colors, the perfection of proportions, and the perfection of professional techniques of execution. Each embroidered product meets its practical purpose.
The museums of our country have collected many samples of folk embroidery. The most preserved and survived to this day are embroidery of the 19th century.
Embroidery was divided into peasant (folk) and urban. Urban embroidery did not have a strong tradition, 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 work. Before the wedding, an exhibition of a dowry was arranged, which was supposed to testify to the skill and hard work of the bride.
Women were engaged in needlework in a peasant family - they spun, weaved, embroidered, knitted, weaved lace. In the process of working, they honed their skills, learned from each other and from their elders, adopting the experience of many generations from them.
Women's clothing was made from homespun linen and woolen fabrics. She was decorated not only with embroidery, but also with lace, braid, inserts of colored chintz. In different provinces, clothes had their own characteristics, differences. It was different in purpose (everyday, festive, wedding), was performed for different ages (maiden, for a young, elderly woman).

Cross stitch is a modern hobby and an ancient art that has passed down to us from our distant ancestors.

In ancient times, embroidery in Russia was considered the most widespread type of women's needlework. Every self-respecting girl had to be able to embroider. When a girl was taken as a wife, the groom always looked at how she was embroidering, especially the reverse side of the embroidery. She was used to judge the character of the girl and which of her was a craftswoman. Among pagan tribes, embroidery played not only the role of decoration, but also a kind of amulet. It was believed that she protected her wearer from the evil eye and other evil spirits, helped in battle and even healed from wounds. Such protective and healing properties were attributed to cross stitching.

The origin of cross stitch

For your information, cross-stitching originated in Russia. The heyday of cross stitching was in the eighteenth century. At this time, needlework was no longer the privilege of noble women and nuns. In every peasant family it was established that a girl who turned seven or eight years old began to learn to embroider. She sat on long winter evenings and embroidered. The embroidery was applied, first of all, to the dowry of a poor bride. Scarves, tablecloths, napkins, shirts, towels and much more were decorated with various patterns made up of medium-sized crosses. The belief that embroidery had a saving power still did not fade away. Products with embroidery were necessarily used in everyday life, they were presented for the birth of a child, when he was baptized, at the wedding of young people, and the red corner with icons was also decorated in the house with embroidery.

The patterns, colors, and the nature of the embroidery itself differ from each other depending on the territory. For example, needlewomen from the northern and central regions of Russia use traditional ornaments with their characteristic use of shades. The most widespread is embroidery with repeating patterns. These can be both geometric shapes and images of something. On the fabric, they are depicted as a chain. Identical patterns or groups of patterns are repeated one after another in a certain sequence. The whole chain of patterns is called rapport.

The reports are divided into groups:

• Floral ornament... The embroidery depicts plants, trees, berries, leaves, and all this in various variations.
• Animal and bird ornament... The embroidery depicts images of various birds, animals and insects.
• Ornament consisting of geometric shapes... Sequential image of figures of varying complexity.
• Meander ornament... This type of ornament originated in Byzantium and came to us from there. It is a series of broken lines that are not broken.
• Human ornament... The embroidery depicts the figure of the person himself or part of his body.

Materials and accessories for cross stitching

Cross stitch is one of the types of needlework that is embroidery of fabric. Small crosses are made on the fabric itself, applied to it with a needle and multi-colored threads. To get started with cross stitching, you need to have the following items on hand:

• the cloth... In cross stitching, it is best to use canvas. This specialized fabric has many holes formed as a result of the loose intersection of the longitudinal and transverse threads. These holes will make your job easier. With their help, the crosses will be as even and the same size. The canvas can be made from cotton, linen, silk or other materials. Canvas sizes also vary. Most often, the fourteenth and eighteenth canvas sizes are used.
• Threads... Besides the fabric, there are also special threads for embroidery. They are called floss. They also come in a wide variety of colors and compositions.
• Needles... You can choose the needles at your discretion. But mostly needles with a blunt end are used so as not to prick.
• Embroidery hoops or frames... These devices are used in order to stretch the fabric and make it easier for yourself to work. The hoop is made from different materials: plastic, wood or metal. The hoop is two different-sized hoops that are inserted into one another, and between them there is a fabric that is stretched if you start tightening the screw on the outside of the device. The frames are the same hoop, only they have a square shape. They are used when embroidering larger canvases.
• Scissors... You need to have scissors on hand to trim the threads. You can use regular or special ones. Special ones are small in size, but sharp and short blades.

Varieties of crosses

There are a variety of stitches. Most popular in modern embroidery:

• Simple cross... It consists of two diagonal stitches intersecting in the center. This is how an ordinary cross is formed.
• Half-cross... A single diagonal stitch.
• Petite... It is performed in the same way as a regular cross, only in a smaller size. Four of these petits are equal to one regular cross.
• Backstitch... It is also called back stitch. They outline the contours of the embroidery.

Introduction

Cross stitch is a method of embroidering a pattern on a canvas using a needle and colored floss threads or other embroidery threads, including woolen threads, using a full cross or half cross technique.

Cross stitching is one of the most widespread types of folk art. The history of the emergence of cross stitching goes back far into the depths of the centuries, when the first stitch made by primitive people when fastening the skin of a dead mammoth appeared. The material for cross stitching was animal veins, threads of flax, cotton, hemp, silk, wool, and natural hair was also used.

Lush ornaments for cross stitching in different countries have acquired national characteristics. On white linen fabric, they embroidered mainly with red threads - the color of life, to which the power was attributed to protect against evil spirits. The growing popularity and expressiveness of cross stitching continues today. It seems that the motto of this art for all eras has become a quote from Goethe: "Only those who can apply inheritance to life are worthy of inheritance."

Cross-stitching is a simple handicraft, which, nevertheless, can "get sick" for a lifetime. This type of embroidery is perfect for working out small details with numerous color transitions, and from a distance it looks almost like a painting. You can become the owner of a unique copy of a famous artist's canvas by mastering the art of transforming a priceless masterpiece of world painting into a picture embroidered with a cross.

Cross stitch is one of the oldest types of needlework, which is carried away by many men and women around the world. And this is not surprising, because all that is needed for embroidery is patience.

This topic, in my opinion, is very relevant in our time. There are many specialized stores where you can purchase both ready-made kits, which include a ready-made scheme, threads, a needle, a canvas, and all these materials separately of your choice and taste.

The goals of my work:

To master the technology of making decorative panels with a simple cross stitch.

Prove that hand embroidery is a self-disciplined activity.

develop the creativity of my personality;

learn to plan activities - time, resources;

evaluate the result of their activities;

learn to speak in front of an audience;

study the history of the appearance of embroidery;

learn how to strictly distribute the working day for the time of work and rest;

make sure that the work done with your own hands is cost-effective;

Description

The history of the development of cross stitch

The most ancient embroideries that have survived to this day are dated by scientists to the 6th-5th centuries BC. They were created on the territory of Ancient China. Silk fabrics served as the basis for embroidery. The drawing was done with hair, raw silk, gold and silver threads. The embroidery art of Ancient China had a huge impact on the needlework of Japan, Russia and other countries.

The first fabrics that were suitable for embroidery were made from wool. But the first place was taken by linen fabric, which was distinguished by its whiteness and suitable structure. Her homeland is Ancient India.

During the Middle Ages, embroidery appeared in Byzantium. From there, through Italy, it spread to the North and West of Europe. It was then that the drawings of ancient German embroidery on linen began to be used and are still used. Later this type of needlework was called “cross stitch.

Cross stitch reached its special popularity in Western Europe in the 16th century. This was a period of popularity of the church, and most often icons, biblical scenes and texts of prayers were embroidered. The patterns strictly obeyed the "square" pattern of the linen weave fabric.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, embroidered items were enriched with plant and floral details.

Embroidery was widely used in the East as well. Flowers were most often embroidered there and a huge number of colored threads were used. The embroideries of Iran and India were distinguished by many plant motifs, images of various birds. Byzantine embroidery was distinguished by the beauty of silk embroidery and a variety of patterns.

In Russia, cross-stitching has an ancient history. The cross has always been considered by the Russians as a talisman that is able to protect against evil spirits, evil eyes and other misfortunes.

Embroidery in Russia was used to decorate shoes, clothes, dwellings, horse harness, household items. The motives used by the embroiderers were varied. Most often, you can find an image of a human figure with arms raised up, a sacred tree, symbolic birds of paradise and fabulous animals.

The best preserved items of the 19th century. In those days, cross-stitching was subdivided into peasant (folk) and urban. Folk embroidery was associated with the customs of the Russian peasantry, while urban cross-stitching was influenced by Western fashion and did not have strong traditions.

By the age of 13-15, peasant girls had to prepare a dowry for themselves. These were embroidered tablecloths, towels, hats. Before the wedding, a public display of the dowry was held as a testament to the bride's skill.

On the territory of Russia, archaeologists have discovered fragments of clothing embroidered with gold threads. These findings date back to the 9th-12th centuries. This means that cross-stitching existed and developed in the era of Ancient Rus. Since pagan times, embroiderers have created scenes of everyday life in their cross-stitches. Embroidery was used to decorate sheets, wedding and festive shirts, towels, curtains, canvas sundresses, scarves. Later, in Christian times, a custom appeared in Russia to decorate icons of mirrors and windows with embroidered towels.

Types of crosses

· A simple cross begins to embroider from the top right, diagonally to the left down, and ends from the bottom right, diagonally to the left up. All top stitches should be in the same direction.

· Half-cross is the first stitch of a regular cross.

· Elongated cross - the embroidery technique for this cross is similar to a simple cross, only the cross fills not one cell of the canvas, but two or three cells located vertically.

· Elongated cross with stitching - an elongated cross with a small horizontal stitch in the center.

· Slavic cross - elongated crosses crossing with an inclination.

· Straight cross - consists of vertical and horizontal lines.

· Interlaced crosses - this embroidery consists of ordinary crosses and other straight lines. Begin to embroider from left to right; pass the thread through four vertical threads and between four horizontal threads from top to bottom.

· Double cross - alternation of simple crosses and small straight lines between them.

· Cross "Star" - another type of cross, consisting of a straight cross, on which four diagonal oblique stitches of the same or smaller size are superimposed.

· Cross Leviathan (Bulgarian) - the seam differs from a simple cross in that it is complicated by two more intersecting lines (vertical and horizontal).

Rice stitch - first fill the entire background with large crosses through four and four threads, and then just proceed to rice stitches. These are stitches passing through the ends of the four branches of a large cross so that they converge in the space between the crosses, forming, in turn , a new cross. For the first crosses, they take a rather thick thread, and for the second, a thinner thread of a different color.

17.03.2010

Many needlewomen are interested in where the embroidery originates from, that is, the history of its origin. It is also interesting to study the chronicle of its development and distribution among different peoples. In this article we will look at the history of the art of embroidery, its main points, and we will also make a short excursion to each type of embroidery.

Embroidery in the primitive period

Yes, oddly enough, but embroidery originates precisely at this time. Our great-great-great-grandmothers first began to embroider only in the primitive age. Of course, this embroidery was not much like modern beautiful creations, but still this beginning means a lot in the life of every needlewoman!

Primitive women in their work used all the available means that could be compared with modern needles, thread and fabric - chiseled stone in the form of a needle, sharp bones, veins and skin of animals, hair, wool, etc. You must admit that cross-stitch embroidery made with hair and embellished with housing would not look very attractive at the present time. But in those days, other materials did not exist in nature, but we had to start somewhere.

The first stitches were more practical: women sewed pieces of leather that they wore as clothing. Then they began to embellish their robes with primitive ornaments. This became the first purpose of embroidery as an aesthetic decoration and served as the further development of this needlework.

First embroidery on fabrics

It is recorded that in history such embroidery first appeared in Ancient China. Of course, this is very relative information about their primacy, but it is still believed that it was in China, in the VI-V centuries BC, that they embroidered on silk fabrics. The drawings were associated with nature, and often depicted birds. By the way, in the same place, in China, the first silk fabrics began to be produced. They were very expensive, so only women from the nobility were engaged in embroidery.

It is also known that the first fabrics that were suitable for embroidery were made of wool. But the first place was taken by linen fabric, which was distinguished by its whiteness and suitable structure. Her homeland is Ancient India, where the first flax was grown.

Pagan times among the Slavs

In pagan times, the Slavs began to strongly attach importance to embroidered ornaments. Everything that was embroidered carried some kind of "subtext". Embroidered towels were especially held in high esteem. They depicted variegated motifs that symbolized wealth in the home and health. Various rituals were performed with their help. They also trimmed everyday and festive clothes, bed linen, curtains, etc.

Christianity

During this time, women supported the handicraft traditions of their pagan ancestors, and also came up with new ornaments. It was then that icons began to be decorated with embroidered towels, and it was during Christianity that the technique of "cross stitching" was used very often. The cross was not only of aesthetic value, but also possessed (according to the beliefs of that time) very magical properties - to protect from damage, "bad eyes", as well as from evil spirits. In the XII-XV centuries, they began to often embroider patterns composed of rhombuses and hooks.

Rhombuses with hooks in Russian embroidery of the 12th-15th centuries, click to enlarge (the picture shows: 1 - the image of the embroidered cover on the icon "The Throne Prepared" attributed to A. Rublev, 15th century; 2 - a pattern based on embroidery on the frontispiece of the Moscow Gospel , XV century; 3 - the image of the embroidery of clothes on the Yaroslavl icon of the Archangel Michael, the end of the XIII century; 4 - gold embroidery from the treasure of the XII-XIII centuries in Chernigov).

Since all the materials needed for embroidery were very expensive, until about the XVII-XVIII centuries. n. e. this occupation was the prerogative of women from wealthy families, as well as nuns. After this turning point, ordinary peasant women began to engage in embroidery. They meticulously sat over embroidery with a cross and dreamed from childhood that they would marry in their own embroidered clothes, having with them a dowry of embroidered things (blankets, pillows, towels, etc.).

In Russia, women usually embroidered with these types of seams: cross-stitch, half-cross, counted surface, small white stitching, through sewing.

As for other countries, in Rome and Greece, gold thread embroidery was very revered. These were incredibly luxurious ornaments, often they adorned silk fabrics.

Embroidery today

Modern needlewomen stopped paying such close attention to the meaning of ornaments and stitches, although the cross is now considered a good sign. Sometimes women embroider amulets for family and friends. But most often embroidery is done for the soul - it smoothly migrated from mystical activity to a hobby.

Now it is much easier to choose an interesting pattern, because there is a great opportunity to buy a book, a magazine with diagrams, or ready-made ones. In ancient times, patterns were inherited - from grandmother to mother, from mother to daughter, etc., and also, as they say, "from hand to hand" - for example, close friends often changed ready-made patterns.

Nowadays, there is such a direction as machine embroidery.

A brief excursion into the history of different types of embroidery

• Cross-stitch appeared in the primitive age. This is the most popular type of embroidery, which gained great popularity with the advent of Christianity.
• Stitch embroidery first adorned a canvas in China in the 1st-2nd century BC. This country has always been ahead of others in terms of needlework.
• First embroidery gold thread according to legend, it belongs to the Phrygian kingdom (west of Asia Minor). It was also common in Rome and Greece.
• Embroidery ribbons - the property of France. It appeared in the second half of the 18th century and was a very favorite occupation of Louis XV.
• Beadwork appeared around the time when beads were made (the first beads appeared in Egypt around the 3rd millennium BC).
• originally from France - it was there, in 1821, that the first embroidery machine appeared.
• Richelieu embroidery appeared in Europe in the 17th century and was named after its "discoverer" - Cardinal Richelieu.

The art of sewing and embroidery has been rapidly developing for millennia and has managed to turn into a favorite pastime of many women around the world.

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Today, among many craftswomen, the art of embroidery is especially popular. Once worn of a purely household character, embroidery has become one of the finest hobbies, helping to create amazing motifs using simple threads and a needle. Many thousands of years ago, primitive “needlewomen” came up with a wonderful way to attract attention - embellishing outfits with embroidery. However, everything has its own background and embroidery is no exception.

Once upon a time, our distant ancestors lived in caves, warmed themselves by the fires, went hunting and had no idea what high fashion or a simple embroidered pattern is. They simply fastened the scraps of skins in order to obtain products that could cover the body and give warmth. And it was here, perhaps quite by accident, that one of the primitive fashionistas came up with the idea of \u200b\u200bdecorating nondescript clothes in a completely special way, using for this unusual, open-to-eye seams.

Time passed, new ways of creating a pattern on fabric appeared, the tools of craftswomen changed and improved: a thin needle replaced a stone and bone awl, animal skins - graceful and light fabrics, and a simple line of threads turned into many different options for overlaying a stitch. One of the most popular stitches has become and still is a cross stitch, which is probably why the history of cross stitch is one of the most interesting and informative.

In our time, embroidery decoration of finished products is very popular. The embroidered products look not only beautiful and unusual, but also help women of fashion express their individuality more vividly.

Of course, the work done by the hands of a craftswoman is much more appreciated, but in our age of technology development, machine embroidery has become an alternative to hand embroidery.

Machine embroidery

Hand stitch embroidery

The motifs created by the skilled hands of embroiderers have also changed over time. Once upon a time, amulets flaunted on clothes, the motives for which were taken from everyday life and the surrounding nature.

At the same time, all the materials at hand were used in the work: hair, beautiful pebbles, beads, ribbons, shells, herbs and dried flowers. The surviving motives of the works of needlewomen from the past are a real historical heritage that gives us a more complete picture of the life of our distant ancestors.

It is much easier for modern craftsmen, in stores and on the Internet there is a huge selection of embroidery tools and various threads of all kinds of colors and shades.

Embroidery is not only a beauty created for the soul, but also a great opportunity to understand the customs of a particular people, get acquainted with its culture and values, learn about the events that once happened to them. We can say that ancient works are a way of communication between nationalities and even entire generations, an attempt by ancestors to convey to their descendants the most important life wisdom.

Where did this magic art come from? Scientists believe that the birthplace of embroidery is China. It was there that the most ancient works, dating from the 5th century BC, were discovered.

Time has passed, and embroidery is still visible in the interior and clothing of modern people. Look around your home and you are sure to find embroidered items in the most unusual places. That is why this art form stands alongside painting and sculpture.

The history of the emergence of cross stitch in Russia

What was the history of cross-stitching in Russia? The art of embroidery in Russia has been known since time immemorial, and proof of this fact can be found in books. Whether you read fairy tales or the works of the classics, the needlewomen described in the books were everywhere and everywhere engaged in embroidery. Remember the same Frog Princess, who needed to embroider a towel (in some versions of the tale, a carpet or shirt) for the king as a gift overnight.

Girls were taught to hold a needle in their hand from an early age, and by the time she grew up, the girl could already create works that were in no way inferior in beauty to the works of the fairy princess. The finished canvases were decorated with motifs that emphasize the beauty and originality of Russian nature, the depth of rivers and lakes, the shadow of forests and the vastness of fields. Looking at them, it is hard not to fall in love with an unusual and Great Russia.

However, the origin of embroidery in Russia is of a deeper nature than a simple desire to brighten up everyday life and look attractive. Cross stitch is one of the symbols of the life of our ancestors. The cross for the Slavs has always been a talisman that helps to ward off evil spirits and protect, and therefore the craftswomen, armed with needles and threads, created real masterpieces on clothes and household items.

The beginning of the history of the emergence of cross stitching among the Rusichi is not known for certain, but canvases found on the territory of the ancient state, dating back to the ninth - twelfth centuries, indicate that already at that time the art of embroidery was not only developed, but was at the highest level. Most often, people decorated household items: sheets, bedspreads and tablecloths. Among the clothes, embroidery flaunted on hats, shirts and sundresses. Cross-stitching occupied a special place on ritual items: wedding dresses, decorations for sacred trees and grave crosses, panels for decorating pagan temples.

Embroidery of towels was also a responsible and painstaking business, since they played a greater role for our ancestors than for us. From the moment the young wife crossed the threshold of her husband's house, the family used only towels made by the hands of the new mistress. In addition, they were an integral part of the wedding celebration, icons were placed on them and covered the red corner in the huts. This extremely responsible work was entrusted only to the most skilled craftswomen, whose skill was simply amazing.

Do not think that the skill of our ancestors ended with the embroidery of Old Church Slavonic symbols. The needlewomen did an excellent job with depicting everyday scenes, animals and various landscapes.

In 988, the young Russian state made a huge step forward, overthrowing paganism and adopting Christianity, the symbol of which is also the cross. Thanks to this, the history of cross-stitching was further developed, and the works performed in this technique became attributes of Orthodox life, taking their places of honor on iconostases and altars.

Products made at a certain time were of particular value: the beginning of work fell on sunrise, and the last knot was tied with the last ray of the setting sun.

Since the scope of work supposed for this period was huge: several embroiderers made amulets for birth, christenings, weddings and other significant events at the same time. It was believed that the amulets made in this way acquired special magical properties and could not only help in everyday life, but even ward off deadly ailments.

Patterns for cross stitching carried a special, sacred meaning: hooks, ovals, rhombuses - all these figures symbolized certain things that occur in everyday life. For example, a crocheted rhombus was considered a symbol of fertility, just like the image of a unicorn. Only a knowledgeable person could decipher such an embroidery, and today there are practically no such experts left.

If you look at the paintings of the masters of the past centuries, you can see that not only motives of everyday life, magic talismans, but also mysterious animals and creatures served as the subjects for embroidery. Many works that have survived to this day were decorated with silver and gold threads, pearls and other precious stones, embroidered on velvet and silk. As one of the types of needlework, cross stitching from the moment of its inception was considered an occupation for noble persons. The fact is that the materials used in this case were simply not affordable for the common people.

Finished products, embroidered with silk and jewels, served as decoration for the royal chambers, temples and churches. Unfortunately, only the names of the few embroiderers of that time became known to the ancestors.

One of the most skilled craftswomen of the 16-17 centuries was the daughter of Boris Godunov named Ksenia. Her works conquered not only the king himself, but also all those who at least once saw them.

Much later, namely in the 18th century, embroidery became a common occupation of village girls. Naturally, the materials and threads they used were much cheaper. However, for all the cheapness of the material and the absence of jewelry, the work they embroidered surpassed many merchants in their skill. The girls compensated for the lack of expensive stones, threads and pearls for decorating their works with their unsurpassed ability to select colors and emphasize the most important details in their works.

The history of cross-stitching is very rich, and patterns embroidered in this technique adorned many things, including a dowry for the bride. The dowry for the girl began to be prepared from early childhood. Already at the age of seven or eight, peasant girls began to think about a wedding, because by the time of marriage it was necessary to prepare a lot of necessary things: clothes for holidays and everyday life, tablecloths, towels and other things that should have been enough for the first couple of years of family life. Moreover, all the products had to be made perfectly, because the very next day after the engagement, the bride had to present her dowry to the court of the people.

This was done for a reason, this tradition helped the groom and his relatives to appreciate the accuracy and hard work of the future relative. The most important attribute of the planned celebration - a wedding dress made by the hands of a Russian beauty, was an unusual sight and represented a riot of colors and magnificently embroidered motifs. In Russia, white was considered the color of purity and holiness and that is why it was not used as the basis of a wedding dress.

Regardless of who did the work, all embroidery can be divided into northern and central Russian. What is the difference between products made by craftsmen of different latitudes? The fact is that craftsmen from different fields used different materials, colors and even motives. Central Russian works are more colorful, both threads and bases. Northern peoples were more restrained, preferring white and red colors. Most often in their works they used such embroidery techniques as a cross, painting, white stitching, through-stitching, as well as white and colored satin stitch.

Another distinctive feature of embroidery by Central Russian craftswomen is the use of a mirror effect. The ornaments they depict seem to be reflected in a mirror, repeating themselves several times. The cross-stitching of the paintings involved the image of female figures, lizards, snakes, roosters, chickens and other birds. In addition, colored parts of fabrics not covered with embroidery were often used as patterns. Most often, jewelry was located in the places of folds and seams on clothes, the hem of sundresses and dresses, as well as along the edge of the cuts. In their works, the craftswomen of Central Russian latitudes were not limited to any one type of seams, just like the northerners, to give the product originality and uniqueness, they used seams such as satin stitch, goat, pigtail, hemstitch, cross and others that have survived to this day ...

Thanks to the research carried out, it became known that the development of embroidery in Russia was influenced by the culture of Byzantium. Looking at the work of our ancestors, you can see that all of their originality, originality and uniqueness is the result of a mixture of many styles.

Despite the fact that cross-stitch embroidery has a long history, it has not lost its popularity today. And every year this hobby has more and more fans and admirers.