Ukrainian Folk Sampler

See if you can find «Слава Україні!» hidden in the border!

I designed this sampler in 2022 to reflect the stitching tradition of “thread coding” in traditional Ukrainian embroidery — where the stitcher uses symbols instead of letters to create a coded pattern or design within their project. This unique sampler for the Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet guides the viewer and stitcher in this symbolic embroidery alphabet of traditional Ukrainian embroidery (i.e. the little red designs under each letter in the pattern). This piece took me three months to design and three months to stitch — using all repurposed cloth and thread. The flora and fauna accents in the pattern come from every region of Ukraine, making this pattern a