26.04.2026

About Chornobyl embroidery

An overview of characteristic ornaments and cuts of the Chornobyl region, based on authentic twentieth-century examples used in the development of the collection.

This collection focuses on the embroidery of the Chornobyl region — a local tradition of Polissia that developed within the territory of present-day Kyiv Oblast. Few examples from this area have survived, yet they provide a clear picture of the embroidery style and cut. Chornobyl shirts inherit the hallmarks of Polissia: a red-and-black palette, embroidered sleeves, and restrained ornamentation.

“Квітчання”: нова колекція, що звертає увагу на подільський настінний розпис

One of the distinctive women’s cuts of the Chornobyl region of Kyiv Oblast is the shirt with a full sleeve, embroidered chest panel worked up to the neckline, and a side fastening. This construction creates a recognizable silhouette and reflects the local particularities of Polissia cutting tradition, found across both Kyiv and Zhytomyr oblasts. Distinctions exist within the region: floral motifs are more characteristic of Kyiv Oblast, while geometric compositions predominate in Zhytomyr Oblast.

These are precisely the forms documented in surviving museum specimens and archival materials as typical of this region. Below are photographs from the holdings of the State Research Center for the Protection of Cultural Heritage from Technological Disasters.

Photograph of a girl from the Chornobyl region, resettled territories.

The shirt of Maria Pryimachenko — known the world over — likewise displays the cut and embroidery characteristic of this region.

Our reproduced pieces preserve the characteristic cut and museum ornamentation unchanged. The chosen colors are classic off-white and a grey-black mélange, evoking associations with earth and ash. The collection is presented as a shirt and a long shirt-dress.

Polissia Embroidered Blouse, Ivory

158 USD

Polissia Embroidered Blouse, gray melange

158 USD

Polissia Embroidered Dress, gray melange

191 USD

Polissia Embroidered Dress, Ivory

191 USD

Another distinctive cut — one particular to the Chornobyl region of Kyiv Oblast and notably different from other regions — features a yoke and square neckline. The yoke and full sleeve were decorated with the same floral, and less commonly animalistic, motifs in the red-and-black tones characteristic of Polissia as a whole. Below are photographs of embroidered shirts from the Chornobyl district of Kyiv Oblast, twentieth century, from the holdings of the State Research Center for the Protection of Cultural Heritage from Technological Disasters.