Russian patterns and ornaments. The meaning of elements of Russian folk ornament of embroidery and hand weaving

Any nation has used various ornaments and patterns throughout its existence. Many images of stunning beauty have come to us from time immemorial. Each nation has its own unique style, depending on many factors. Culture, location on the planet and the individual characteristics of each master play a role. One cannot help but be glad that these national ornaments and patterns are an art that has reached our days and has not disappeared to this day.

Any people during their existence used various ornaments and patterns

The tendency to keep dishes with folk paintings at home and decorate the interior with ornaments and patterns is becoming more fashionable every day. Even if you are not an artist, you can purchase stencils or print them. Then use ready-made templates as your inner voice will tell you.

Folk workshops, where you can order such stencils or invite an artist, usually exist in the outback. But even in the capital, if you wish, you can find craftsmen who can apply both a simple ornament or pattern, and a more complex one. Decorating, for example, a child’s room with such painting is a great joy for children.

There are geometric ornaments that do not carry any subtext. There are those that contain some meanings and symbols.

Russian ornament: stencils that are easy to make yourself

Russian ornaments, for example, on embroidery, are known to everyone. Everyone has seen folk costumes at least once in their life. This is the kind of beauty that comes out of the hands of masters. And these are not the most difficult options. You can’t say anything - art is art. And Rus' has always been rich in talent.

If you decide to take up the art of ornamentation, you need to start with stencils, which are simpler. And it’s worth starting with a Russian ornament. If you can’t purchase stencils, you can make them yourself. Anyone can do these, you just need to show perseverance and patience.

If you decide to take up the art of ornamentation, you need to start with stencils, which are simpler

Once you get simple patterns, you can switch to more complex ones.

Gallery: ornaments and patterns (25 photos)

Buryat patterns: song of the steppe

The Buryat ornament, like the paintings of all Mongol-speaking representatives, basically consists of simple geometric figures:

• broken lines;
• zigzags;
• circles;
• diamonds;
• other figures.

If your hand is at least a little trained in the simplest drawings, you can take up Buryat ornaments and Mongolian designs. Here are some of them. It is easy to discern Buddhist motifs and Bashkir style in them.

Yakut ornament

Yakut works of art patterns amaze with their beauty. It is especially difficult to look away from works done in gold. Keeping in mind Yakut gold, it would be surprising not to see it in folk art.

It seems to be nothing complicated, but it looks magical.

Yakut works of art patterns amaze with their beauty

As in any form of art, there are also simpler ornaments. Among the geometric shapes, the Yakut people love to use circles.

Tatar pattern: patterns of a great people

Tatar and Bashkir craftsmen specialized in bright ornaments and patterns. This is especially visible in national clothing (hats, shoes with multi-colored mosaics).

Decorating your home with carpets of stunning beauty is one of the main highlights of the Tatar nation. Any home, whether rural or urban, was always filled with carpets that were superior in beauty to Persian ones. The Tatars have always been dominated by bright floral motifs.

Embroidered flowers can be seen not only on clothes, but also on household items. Towels, pillowcases, tablecloths, aprons, prayer rugs.

We can talk about headscarves for a very long time. Every house has a whole chest filled with such scarves. Everyday, festive, wedding - for each event there is its own scarf, and for each scarf - its own special pattern. This is such a beauty - a Tatar and Bashkir embroidered scarf that you can’t take your eyes off it

Tatar and Bashkir craftsmen specialized in bright ornaments and patterns

The most widespread was the art of ornamentation in carved wooden architecture. Then came embroidery, patterns on shoes and carpets. Fabric applique occupied a very small place among the Tatar people. But on the other hand, in this application, interestingly, oriental and Greek motifs were clearly visible.

The most popular was and remains floral ornament. Trefoil, carnation, tulip, dahlias, peonies and chrysanthemums - all this is very popular among Tatar craftswomen.

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Looking at these works of folk craft, I want the house to have at least one such pattern, pleasing to the eye.

Geometric patterns in the interior: the trend of the season

Geometric solutions in interior design are the most fashionable trend of the year. Strictness, harmony, aristocratic aesthetics - all this admires and is used in the work of designers more and more often.

Geometric style came to homes in different forms:

• like furniture
• as accessories
• like patterns and ornaments.

Such ideas are embodied today by designers in the design of apartments and offices.

Geometric solutions in interior design are the most fashionable trend of the year

Simple and beautiful. And this becomes the motto of fashionable modern designers and customers of such interiors who strive for harmony.

Oriental patterns: visiting a fairy tale

Oriental patterns are gaining popularity again today. More often they are used for painting fabrics, silk, and large canvases. Eastern ornament is based on rhythm and construction of elements, on abstraction and stylization of real things. The roots of this art go back to the culture of Persia and Mesopotamia. Each of the patterns symbolizes something. For example, an ordinary rosette is a symbol of the universal cycle. Made in the shape of a flower, it had many varieties. This is only one of the few symbols that have been deciphered. What other patterns hide within them may remain an eternal mystery.

Oriental patterns are gaining popularity again today

The most common motifs of oriental patterns are the plant motif, magical birds and the World Tree. The latter combines a lot of symbols along with real details. The oriental pattern has another feature. This is carpet filling. It is difficult to find an unoccupied space on the surface of the pattern. Lines, leaves, cones, spikelets, blades of grass - the entire space is filled with them. In particular, this technique is used in architecture, the manufacture of decorative dishes and clothing.

Patterns for children: creating together with kids

Developing a child’s abilities by teaching him the art of patterns and ornaments is a way that gives excellent results. Try making a light floral pattern first. Below are step-by-step instructions that make everything very easy to do.

The operating procedure is as follows:

Draw the selected area into eight identical sections. Draw horizontal lines and start making the ornament.

Complete the following sketch.

Add some small details at your discretion.

The unnecessary lines along which the sketch was made must be erased with an eraser.

The ornament of clothing, of course, should decorate it, but it turns out that initially it also served another function. The ornament in Russian folk costume was a kind of protector from evil forces, a talisman, a kind of talisman. That is why the pattern of the ornament is not located just anywhere, but in places where the edges of the clothing meet the open surface of the skin, so to speak, unprotected. This is the collar, cuffs, hem. In this ornament, the embroiderers contained secret signs and ideograms, which they selected individually for each owner. These signs were supposed to protect the wearer from an external enemy and from accidental harm. Hence the popular expression “He won’t spare his shirt.” This is what they said about an extremely generous person who is ready to give his shirt, and with it all his protection.

The meaning of patterns

The word “pattern” itself is derived from the word “zorya” - an obsolete Russian word meaning sunset and the moment the stars appear in the sky. Everything depicted on the ornament of the folk costume very symbolically reflected the vision of the world of the people of that time. The way they perceived space, the sun, the stars and their place in it all. For example, a running white horse was often depicted against a background of stars. The horse symbolized the sun, which is why it was surrounded by stars. Images of the spring sun god Lado are also common.

The rituals that existed among peoples at that time were also reflected in the ornaments of folk costumes. For example, the spring ritual - rainbow, the holiday of Ivan Kupala and others. The ornamental design also changed depending on where it was located. If it was a hem, that is, a part of clothing located closer to the ground, then rhombus and cross-shaped compositions were depicted on it, meaning earth, fertility, fire. If these were patterns on headdresses, that is, closer to the sky, then they embroidered signs personifying the sun, sky, birds, and so on.

All these facts give reason to conclude that there is a strong connection between past culture and worldview and the cult of nature. The ornament also reflects the ideas of the people of a given culture about their existence. In fact, it was a unique product of folk art, attitude and thoughts. Ornamental embroidery was one of the first magical arts of humanity, which is passed down from generation to generation and thus does not allow the current generation to forget about their ancestors and how they lived, felt and what they believed.

Russian women did not have the European abundance of fabrics to create clothes. All that was available to them was linen, cotton and wool. But still, the Russians managed to create outfits of amazing beauty from little. And this was achieved thanks to the ornaments of Russian folk costume. At that time, the ornament acted not only as decoration, but also as a talisman. Thus, elements of folk costume were enriched with protective embroidery and patterned weaving. This kind of amulets were embroidered on the edges of clothes, namely on the hem, cuffs and collar. These were embroidered ideogram letters that protected a person from harm. The ornaments were made in certain colors, which also have a special meaning. The most popular color is red, which symbolizes fire, life and blood.

More details...

The main element of Russian folk costume was a shirt with a collar richly decorated with embroidery. The sleeves of the shirt had to be wide and long, but wrapped with braid at the wrist. Women wore it over their shirt. It had the shape of a high skirt with straps and was made of linen, wool and cotton fabric. Ribbons, fringe, braid and colored stripes of chintz were used as decoration. The third integral element of the outfit was the skirt. It is worth noting that married women wore a poneva, which differed from a regular skirt in its swinging style with an unstitched slit on the side.

Don't forget about the apron. Women wore it over a shirt or sundress. The apron, as an element of the Russian costume, was also equipped with a rich symbolic ornament, personifying Russian ancient traditions and amulets associated with nature.

The final element of the Russian national costume was the headdress, which at that time was a kind of calling card. From it it was possible to determine the age and place from which a woman came, and her social status. Girls' hats had an open crown. Bandages and tapes were most often used. But married women completely covered their hair. The headdresses were decorated with beads, ribbons and embroidery.

In the modern world, an ornament is a pattern that decorates household items without carrying any meaning. For us, rhombuses on a carpet are just rhombuses, and circles are just circles. But there were times when people knew how to read patterns, encrypted in them their ideas about life, about the other world, about eternal truths.

We can say that a decorative design is the result of a found relationship between the perception of nature and the decorative reflection of reality. Over the many years of the existence of decorative art, various types of patterns have developed: geometric, floral, complex, etc., from simple joints to complex intricacies.

The ornament can consist of objective and non-objective motifs, it can include human forms, the animal world and mythological creatures; naturalistic elements are intertwined and articulated in the ornament with stylized and geometric patterns. At certain stages of artistic evolution, the line between ornamental and subject painting “blurs”. This can be observed in the art of Egypt (Amaranian period), the art of Crete, ancient Roman art, late Gothic, and Art Nouveau.

First, geometric patterns arose, this was at the dawn of human culture. What could be simpler than straight or wavy lines, circles, cells, crosses? It is these motifs that decorate the walls of clay vessels of primitive people, the most ancient products made of stone, metal, wood and bone. For ancient man, they were conventional signs with the help of which he could express his concept of the world. A straight horizontal line meant earth, a wavy line meant water, a cross meant fire, a rhombus, circle or square meant the sun.

According to ancient belief, the symbols in the patterns carried spiritual power, capable of conjuring any evil and injustice of the elemental forces of nature. These symbolic signs, which came to us from ancient ritual holidays, have magical symbolism. For example, in the Filimonov toy (Russia) we see symbols of the sun, earth, water, and fertility. The masters passed all the images and symbols through their perception of the world and showed their perception of the world in the painting. Ancient symbols are also found in the Dymkovo and Kargopol toys. But they are different in ornamentation everywhere. In every craft we notice symbols of the sun, water, etc. The ancient symbolism of peasant religion runs through them as a thin thread.

And the ornament is in Russian folk costume. The main motives of which were solar signs - circles, crosses; images of a female figure - a symbol of fertility, mother - raw earth; wavy rhythmic lines – signs of water; horizontal straight lines indicating the ground; images of a tree are the personification of ever-living nature. Embroidery on peasant clothes not only decorated them and delighted those around them with the beauty of the patterns, but was also supposed to protect the one who wore these clothes from harm, from an evil person. If a woman embroidered a Christmas tree, it means she wished the person a prosperous and happy life, because a spruce is a tree of life and goodness. A child was born to a peasant woman. And she will decorate his first simple shirt with embroidery in the form of a straight line in a bright, joyful color. This is a straight and bright road that a child should follow. May this road be happy and joyful for him.

The image of the sun occupies one of the main places in decorative and applied arts. The sun in the form of round rosettes, diamonds, can be found in different types of folk art.

A straight equal-pointed cross was also an image of the sun in folk symbolism. The rhombus was revered as a symbol of fertility and was often combined with the sun sign inscribed in it.

The tree of Life

In addition to the geometric one, in the ornaments of Ancient Rus', one can often find various ancient pagan themes. For example, the female figure personified the goddess of the earth and fertility. In pagan art, the tree of life embodied the power of living nature; it depicted the divine tree, on which the growth of herbs, cereals, trees and the “growth” of man himself depended. Very often you can find plots of magical calendar rituals that are associated with the main stages of agricultural work.

The most diverse symbolism is characteristic of images of the plant world, which included flowers, trees, and herbs.
In Egyptian ornaments, the decoration often used a lotus flower or lotus petals - an attribute of the goddess Isis, a symbol of the divine productive power of nature, regenerating life, high moral purity, chastity, mental and physical health, and in the funeral cult it was considered a magical means of reviving the dead. This flower was personified with the sun, and its petals with the sun's rays. The lotus motif became widespread in the ornamental forms of the Ancient East (China, Japan, India, etc.).

The Egyptians also used the image of aloe in their ornaments - this drought-resistant plant symbolized life in the other world. Of the trees, the date and coconut palms, sycamore, acacia, tamarisk, blackthorn, persea (Osiris tree), mulberry tree were especially revered - they embodied the life-affirming principle, the idea of ​​the ever-fruitful Tree of Life..

The laurel in Ancient Greece was dedicated to the god Apollo and served as a symbol of cleansing from sins, since the sacred laurel branch was fanned by the person to be cleansed. Laurel wreaths were awarded to winners in musical and gymnastic competitions in Delphi, the main center of the cult of Apollo. The laurel served as a symbol of glory.

Hops is a cultivated plant, the picturesque appearance of which has contributed to the widespread use of plant forms in ornamentation. The image of hops combined with ears was used as decoration on household items.
Grapevine - clusters and branches were especially revered in antiquity and the Middle Ages. In ancient Greek mythology, this is an attribute of the god Bacchus, among Christians - in combination with ears of corn (bread and wine, meaning the sacrament of communion) - a symbol of the suffering of Christ.

Ivy is an evergreen climbing shrub, sometimes a tree; like the vine was dedicated to Bacchus. Its leaves have a variety of shapes, most often heart-shaped or with pointed lobes. They were often used in ancient art to decorate vases and wine vessels.
Oak is the king of forests, a symbol of strength and power. Oak leaves were widespread in Roman ornamentation. Their images are often found on friezes and capitals, church utensils and other types of Gothic applied art, as well as in the works of masters of the Italian Renaissance. Currently, images of oak leaves along with laurel can be found on medals and coins.

Oak is a symbol of power, endurance, longevity and nobility, as well as glory.

In ancient China, pine symbolizes immortality and longevity. a truly noble personality. The image of the pine tree echoes the image of the cypress, which in Chinese beliefs was endowed with special protective and healing properties, including protection from the dead. Among flowering trees, the wild plum occupies an important place - meihua - this tree is a symbol of the New Year, spring and the birth of everything new. Among flowers, the central place is given to the peony. The peony is associated with female beauty and family happiness. The orchid and chrysanthemum are associated with the divine world and ritual ceremonies. The most common symbol among vegetables is the gourd pumpkin, which has become a symbol of immortality and longevity.

Painted gourd, vessel and talisman (China, 19th century)

“Happy fruits”: pomegranate, tangerine, orange - symbols of longevity and a successful career.

Sakura motifs are often found in Japanese arts and crafts. It is a symbol of beauty, youth, tenderness, and the inevitable variability of the transitory world.

Flowers are widely used in ornamental motifs of all times and styles. They serve as decoration for fabrics, wallpaper, dishes and other types of decorative art.
The rose has polar symbolism: it is heavenly perfection and earthly passion, time and eternity, life and death, fertility and virginity. It is also a symbol of the heart, the center of the universe, the cosmic wheel, divine, romantic and sensual love. The rose is completeness, the mystery of life, its focus, the unknown, beauty, grace, happiness, but also voluptuousness, passion, and in combination with wine - sensuality and seduction. A rosebud is a symbol of virginity; withered rose - transience of life, death, sorrow; its thorns are pain, blood and martyrdom.

Heraldic roses: 1 – Lancaster; 2 – York; 3 – Tudor; 4 – England (badge); 5 – German rose Rosenow; 6 – Russian stamp.

The heraldic medieval rose has five or ten petals, which connects it with the Pythagorean pentad and decanate. A rose with red petals and white stamens is the emblem of England, the most famous breastplate of English kings. After the "Wars of the Roses", named after the badges of the families fighting for the English crown, the scarlet rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York were combined in the form of the "Tudor Rose". The bright crimson rose is the unofficial emblem of Bulgaria. The famous tea rose is the emblem of Beijing. Nine white roses are in the coat of arms of Finland.
In ancient ornaments, along with plants, various animals are often depicted: birds, horses, deer, wolves, unicorns, lions. They form a horizontal structure of the tree of life: at the top are birds; at the level of the trunk - people, animals, and also bees; under the roots - snakes, frogs, mice, fish, beavers, otters.

Animals can be seen on embroidered towels and aprons , on a painted chest X, on carved and painted spinning wheels; on the walls of ancient Russian cathedrals and in the decorations of huts , in the ornaments of initial letters. Ancient images of a horse and a bird were preserved in folk toys and dishes. Pommels for horse whips and combat bows were carved in the shape of animal or bird heads. Stylized animals and birds decorated hair combs, utensils and dishes. In ancient times, many natural phenomena were personified in the images of animals and everyone looked at these phenomena from the point of view that was closer to him, depending on his lifestyle and occupation: the point of view of the shepherd differed from the views of the hunter, and both of them - from the warrior. People transferred their knowledge about earthly animals to atmospheric phenomena.
A bird in folk arts and crafts could represent wind, cloud, lightning, thunderstorm, storm and sunlight. Ladles and salt shakers were carved in the shape of birds; embroidered birds decorated women’s clothing. . The image of a bird has widely entered the folklore of almost all peoples of the world.

The horse also personified all natural phenomena associated with rapid movement - wind, storm, clouds. He was often depicted as fire-breathing, with a clear sun or a moon on his forehead, and with a golden mane. A wooden horse, made for children's fun, was often completely decorated with solar signs or flowers. . It was believed that this protected the child from evil forces. Images of horses can often be seen on household items (bucket handles, spinning wheels , spindles), on clothes .

In the northern regions, natural phenomena associated with horses were also attributed by ancient people to deer . Deer were often depicted near the tree of life on an embroidered towel; sometimes they were placed instead of a ridge on the roof of a hut. The sacred role of the horse and deer in Scythian art is often associated with the hope of the successful ascension of the soul to another world.
In the mythology of many peoples, the lion was a symbol of the sun and fire, and at different times among different peoples it personified higher powers, power, power and greatness, generosity, nobility, and intelligence. The image of a lion has existed in decorative and applied arts since ancient times.
For many centuries, the lion remained one of the favorite figures in Russian symbolism. In ancient Russian images associated with grand-ducal power, the image of a lion, depending on what surrounded it, had two meanings: power bestowed by God and the defeated power of evil.

Folk craftsmen often carved lions on the front board of the hut or painted them on chests surrounded by floral patterns; craftswomen embroidered them.

Feminine. The Great Mother, in her terrible form as the weaver of fate, is sometimes depicted as a spider. All lunar goddesses are spinners and weavers of fate. The web that the spider weaves, weaves from the center in a spiral, is a symbol of the creative forces of the Universe, a symbol of the universe. The spider in the center of the web symbolizes the center of the world; The sun is surrounded by rays; The moon, representing the cycles of life and death, weaving the web of time. The spider is often associated with luck, wealth or rain. Killing a spider is a bad omen.

Spider depicted on an American Indian amulet

Thanks to the stability of religious canons, the meaning of symbols in the ornamentation of Egypt and the art of the countries of the Ancient East remained unchanged for many millennia. Therefore, for ethnographers and archaeologists, ancient ornaments are signs with which one can “read” a kind of magical texts.

Ethnocultural contacts, trade, military campaigns, religious missions, ambassadorial gifts and visiting artists contributed to the movement of works of art from one country to another, which led to the spread of artistic ideas and styles.
Often subsequent generations of artists use previous art and create their own variations on it. Such a striking example is the swastika element, one of the earliest symbols, which is found in the ornaments of almost all peoples of Europe, Asia, America, etc. The oldest images of the swastika are found already in the culture of the Tripoli tribes of the 5th-4th millennium BC. e. In ancient and medieval cultures, the swastika is a solar symbol, a lucky sign, with which ideas about fertility, generosity, well-being, movement and power of the sun are associated.

Kolovrat or Solstice is one of the oldest ancient Russian symbols, personifying the Sun and the solar gods Svarog, Dazhdbog and Yarila. The name of the symbol comes from the word “kolo” - sun.

The symbol itself looks like a circle with curved rays, which is why many associate it with the fascist swastika. Although this is fundamentally not true: the fascists really used this solar symbol, but not vice versa.

In 1852, the French scientist Eugene Bournouf first gave the four-pointed cross with curved ends the Sanskrit name “swastika,” which roughly means “bringer of good.” Buddhism made the swastika its symbol, giving it the mystical meaning of the eternal rotation of the world.
There is virtually no modern symbolism in the ornaments of modern times, despite the fact that it exists in abundance in the surrounding reality. As an exception, there may be the work of modernist artists. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. these artists tried to create their own symbolism and reproduce it in their work.
Ornament in their works no longer played a supporting role, but became an integral part of the image, organically woven into the outline of the plot.
At the same time, A. Bely, a theorist of Russian symbolism, wrote: “The symbolist artist, saturating the image with experience, transforms it into his work; such a transformed (modified) image is a symbol.” And further A. Bely records the main slogans of symbolism in art: “1. a symbol always reflects reality; 2. a symbol is an image modified by experience; 3. the form of an artistic image is inseparable from the content.”
In these three points, the famous poet and prose writer precisely formulated the basic principles of creating a symbolic work, which can be used in any form of art, including ornamental.

Russian culture originated many centuries ago. Even in pagan times, Russians decorated themselves and their living space (house, yard, household items) with original patterns. If a pattern repeats and alternates individual details, it is called an ornament.

Folk ornament necessarily uses traditional motifs. Each nation has its own. Russian ornaments are no exception. When we hear this phrase, embroidered shirts and towels immediately appear in our imagination. They feature horses, ducks, roosters and geometric shapes.

Traditional Russian ornament

Excursion into history

The primary unit of society is the family. And it is to families that we owe the first folk patterns. In ancient times, animals and plants had totemic significance. Each family believed that it had one patron or another. For generations, family members used objects with symbols of their family, considering them protection and help.

Gradually, the family drawing went beyond the family and became the property of relatives. Several genera exchanged their patterns. Thus, the entire tribe was already using symbols that originally belonged to certain families.

Over time, there were more patterns, and the circle of their users expanded. This is how Russian folk ornaments appeared in Russia.

It can be seen that different areas used different colors for handicrafts. There is a simple explanation for this. In the old days, only natural dyes were used. They were produced in a handicraft way. So, the availability of raw materials for paints often determined the entire palette of works.

Different regions had their own favorite “decorations”. It is no coincidence that “paisley” is one of the motifs for ornaments in the eastern regions. The homeland of the “Indian cucumber” is Persia in the east.

Meaning and significance

A creative fusion of nature and religion. This is how we can briefly describe national, including Russian, ornaments. In other words, an ornament is a symbolic description of the world.

Elements of ornament were not only decoration. They carried a semantic and ritual load. They can not only be viewed, but also read. Very often these are conspiracies and amulets.

Each character has a specific meaning:

• Alatyr is perhaps the most important of the Russian and Slavic signs. This is a symbol of the infinite universe, the dual unity of the world and its balance. The source of life, consisting of male and female principles. The eight-pointed Alatyr Star and the Alatyr Stone were often used in patterns. They were expected to help in various life situations.

• Another symbol that was very revered and often used in patterns is the World Tree of Life (or Tree of Kingship). It was believed that it grows on Alatyr Stone and the gods rest under its crown. So people tried to protect themselves and their family under the branches of the Tree of Life and with the help of the celestials.

• Various swastikas are also a popular motif in Russian and Slavic needlework. Of the swastikas, you can find Kolovrat more often than others. An ancient symbol of the sun, happiness and goodness.

• Orepei or Arepei is a diamond shape with combs on the sides. Its other names: Comb Diamond, Oak, Well, Burdock. It was considered a symbol of happiness, wealth, and self-confidence. When placed on different parts of clothing, it had different interpretations.

• Animals and plants that surrounded people and were deified by them are a constant theme in the patterns.

Of particular importance was the number of alternations of elements in the ornament. Each number carried an additional semantic load.

Beauty and protection

The aesthetic meaning of the ornaments was combined with the totemic one. Magi and shamans applied symbols to ritual clothing and utensils. Ordinary people also put special meaning into traditional drawings. They tried to protect themselves with embroidery as a talisman, applying it to certain parts of clothing (to protect the body). Table linen, household items, furniture, and parts of buildings were also decorated with appropriate patterns (to protect the family and home).

The simplicity and beauty of ancient ornaments make them popular today.

Trades and crafts

Gradually, with the development of civilization, ancient patterns were transformed, some became identification marks of individual folk crafts. They developed independent crafts. Usually crafts have a name corresponding to the area where they are made.

The most popular are:

• Porcelain and ceramics "Gzhel". Her style is a characteristic drawing with blue paint on a white background. Named after the settlement of Gzhel, Moscow region, where the production is located.

• “Zhostovo painting” can be recognized by flower bouquets on a black (less often green, blue, red) metal tray coated with varnish. The fishing center is located in Zhostovo (Moscow region). This craft began in Nizhny Tagil, where the production of Nizhny Tagil trays still exists.

• "Khokhloma" is a decorative painting on wood. It is characterized by black, red and sometimes green patterns on a golden background. Her homeland and place of registration is Nizhny Novgorod region.

• The settlement of Dymkovo is the birthplace of Dymkovskaya, and the city of Kargopol is, accordingly, Kargopolskaya, the village of Filimonovo is Filimonovskaya, Stary Oskol is the birthplace of Starooskolskaya clay toys. They all have a characteristic pattern and color.

• Pavlovsky Posad woolen shawls are the calling card of Pavlovsky Posad. They are characterized by a voluminous printed floral pattern. Red and black are their traditional colors.

The continuation can be very long: Fedoskino and Palekh miniatures, Gorodets painting, Orenburg down scarf, Vologda, Yelets, Mtsensk lace. And so on. It is very difficult to list everything.

Drawing in folk style

Today, many people wear clothes and use things in folklore style. Many craftswomen want to create something unique themselves. They can take the finished product as a basis or create their own sketch.

To successfully complete this idea, you first need to:

1. Decide whether it will be a separate pattern or an ornament.
2. Break down the drawing into simple details.
3. Take graph paper, make a marking, marking each fragment and its middle.
4. We draw the first simplest detail in the center.
5. Gradually, step by step, we add the following fragments.

And now the unique pattern is ready.

About Russian embroidery

The patterns, techniques, and colors of Russian embroidery are very diverse. The art of embroidery has a long history. It is closely related to the way of life, customs and rituals.

Color is an important component of needlework.

People endowed it with sacred properties:

• Red is the color of life, fire and sun. Of course it was often used in embroidery. After all, it is also beauty. As a talisman, it was designed to protect life.
• White is the color of pure snow. Symbol of freedom and purity. He was considered a protector against dark forces.
• Blue color of water and clear sky. Symbolized courage and strength.
• Black in the ornament meant earth. Zigzag and wave, respectively, an unplowed and plowed field.
• Green is grass, forest and their help to man.

The thread was also endowed with certain qualities:

• Linen is a symbol of masculinity.
• Wool is protection, patronage.

In combination with patterns, special-purpose products were created.

For example:

• Roosters and red horses were supposed to protect the baby.
• To successfully complete the work, they embroidered with green and blue linen.
• They embroidered with wool against illnesses and against bad influences.
• Women's clothes were often embroidered in black to protect motherhood.
• The men were protected by a green and blue pattern.

Of course, a special set of symbols and designs was developed for each occasion and person.

Folk costume

Folk costume embodies and reflects traditions. For centuries, craftswomen have transformed plain fabric into a unique work of art. From an early age, girls learned the secrets of needlework. By the age of fifteen, they had to prepare themselves everyday and festive clothes and a set of towels, tablecloths and valances for several years.

The cut of the suit itself is simple, rectangular. Linen or wool fabric of various qualities. Women pulled the fabric (removed some of the threads) and received new fabric. Hemstitching and other embroideries were done on it.

Of course, clothing varied in characteristic patterns depending on the area. It can be divided into two groups:

1. Central Russian. Differs in multicolor. Among the techniques, counted satin stitch, cross stitch, braids, and hemstitch stitches are often used. In the southern regions, lace, ribbons or strips of fabric are also used to decorate clothes. The design is often geometric. Orepey was especially loved in different versions.
2. Northern. Its characteristic techniques are satin stitch (colored and white), cross stitch, painting, white stitching and cutouts. Artistic motifs were used more often than geometric ones. The compositions were performed mainly in one color.

Russian embroidery is unique. It is distinguished by stylized images of animals and plants, as well as a wide variety of geometric patterns.

Keeping traditions

Exploring national traditions and handicraft techniques using preserved products, modern craftsmen adapt them to modern requirements. Fashionable original things are created on their basis. These are clothes, shoes, underwear.

One of the recognized fashion designers who includes folk motifs in each of his collections is Valentin Yudashkin. Foreign couturiers, for example Yves Saint Laurent, are also inspired by the Russian heritage.

In addition, folk crafts continue traditions and improve skills in accordance with modern requirements. You can add enthusiasts who are not indifferent to traditional creativity. They independently study, collect and create in folk style.

Russian patterns continue to bring beauty and joy to people, and also preserve historical information.