A craftswoman from Reshetylivka spoke about wedding towels in honor of Vyshyvanka Day

In honor of Vyshyvanka Day, Ukrainian artisan Nadiya Vakulenko shared details about the creation of traditional wedding towels in Reshetylivka. She explained how authentic towels are made, how machine embroidery differs from hand embroidery, and also clarified the price differences: machine-made items cost around 10,000 hryvnias, while hand-made ones can reach 30,000–35,000.

The director of the All-Ukrainian Center for Embroidery and Carpet Weaving shared these exclusive professional secrets in an interview with Glavkom.

According to the artisan, the Center actively creates custom-made wedding towels. Since authentic handwork is extremely labor-intensive, customers are offered alternative options.

“Yes, we receive orders for handmade wedding towels. But since such embroidery takes a lot of time, these towels are expensive, so we offer much cheaper ones—with machine embroidery. I’m not referring to computer-programmed embroidery, but rather to custom work done on a sewing machine, during which the artisan manually moves the fabric through the hoop while the machine sews the stitches. We select techniques that resemble hand embroidery. “Our craftswomen are so skilled that a layperson wouldn’t be able to tell machine embroidery from hand embroidery,” says the craftswoman.

According to the director of the All-Ukrainian Center for Embroidery and Carpet Weaving, the price of the product directly depends on the method of applying the ornament and its complexity. A standard Poltava towel has fixed dimensions to fully comply with traditions.

“We make it three meters long—so the embroidered edges lie nicely, and the couple stands on the plain field. If the embroidery is machine-made, such a towel costs about ten thousand hryvnias, and if it’s hand-made, then 30–35 thousand,” says Nadiya Vakulenko.

Nadiya Vakulenko also explained in detail which patterns are characteristic of her native region and warned couples against a common mistake when choosing a “foot” towel.

“Most often, Poltava towels feature the tree of life, adorned with various flowers, depending on the artist’s imagination,” says the artisan.

According to the artisan, the Poltava region is famous for its unique openwork technique, which, however, has limitations in its use at weddings.

“White towels made using the openwork technique, which we call ‘openwork twig,’ are also characteristic of the Poltava region. That is, these are towels embroidered on a mesh created on the fabric by the artisan. I have designed a whole series of such towels; they are very delicate and beautiful. But it is not recommended to buy transparent towels for weddings. Unless, perhaps, for the bread-and-salt ceremony. For the newlyweds to stand on the towel, you need a sturdy fabric with surface embroidery,” Vakulenko shares her secrets.

The All-Ukrainian Center for Embroidery and Carpet Weaving, headed by Nadiya Vakulenko, is located in Reshetylivka. This small town, 35 km from Poltava, is recognized as the capital of “white-on-white” embroidery. Every president of Ukraine owns a Reshetylivka “white-on-white” shirt; Khrushchev wore one, and it was gifted to Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and movie superstar Sophia Loren.