Wedding towel and embroidery symbols

In this article: #1 Animal ornaments #2 Unearthly ornaments #3 Elemental ornaments #4 Floral ornaments #5 Rule for embroidering a wedding towel #6 Example of a Family Tree #7 Requirements for a towel embroiderer You
should like the wedding towel and its design. Take and embroider the pattern you like. Be sure to learn the embroidery symbols before you start embroidering. Ornament should come from the heart and soul. But the best thing, of course, is to come up with your own design for a towel or duplicate your grandmother’s, if there is one in the family.

Animal ornaments

The rooster is a symbol of men's health, happiness and wealth.

Dove – represents family, love and loyalty.

Roosters, falcons and doves in pairs symbolize the bride and groom. The birds are always positioned with their heads facing each other and their wings down, thereby symbolizing their readiness to start a family. But under no circumstances should you embroider nightingales and cuckoos on wedding towels, as they are symbols of a widow and a single guy.

Peacocks are birds of family happiness and are depicted with a wreath on wedding towels. Sometimes peacock feathers were woven into the bride's wedding wreath.

The swallow is a symbol of good.

Present

According to custom, they began to divide the wedding loaf, and at this time the young wife presented all her husband’s relatives with belts, linen, scarves, and towels. After this, all the guests presented gifts to the newlyweds.

The ornaments on wedding towels have a certain meaning, namely:

The tree of life is a symbol of eternity and infinity of life. The mother embroidered it for the wedding of her daughter, sister or christening as a wish for happiness, a good family, a strong family.
Man and woman - geometric patterns determined the relationship between them. Such patterns were embroidered on wedding towels under a loaf or as a gift to newlyweds on their first wedding night.
Dove and dove are a symbol of peace and love. If they look in the same direction, this is the beginning of love between a guy and a girl. And if the birds look in different directions, then this is strong love. Between the dove and the dove, words were embroidered with various wishes: “Love me as I love you!”... Birds with raised wings represent a symbol of tragic love.
The symbol of children is an octagonal rosette. The long-standing pattern consists of four spikelets. A cross embroidered in the center protects from misfortunes and wishes happiness, health, and goodness.
The pattern for a happy family consists of four parts: husband, wife and children. It is complemented by other elements that are close in meaning: mother, child, stars... Such towels were donated to the church after the wedding or given for a wedding in the image of the Mother of God - the intercessor.
The family symbol represents an image of four small squares (the family itself), several flower wreaths (love in the family) and a squiggle as the keys to happiness.
Rooster - wishes for happiness, health, wealth, hard work and diligence.
The cross is the basis of all ornaments. Defines the symbol of the sun, goodness and happiness. The sun was the most important object of ancestral worship. Therefore, the cross can be found in any ornament.

Adviсe

Some tips that are needed or not - decide for yourself:

The width of the towel should be no more than 50 cm. Knowledgeable embroiderers recommend limiting it to 30-40 cm.
A towel on an icon is embroidered 1.5 m long and 30 cm wide, but there are no specific rules. It all depends on the design of the towel and the size of the icon.
For a wedding loaf about 2 meters long, the ends should hang almost to the ground, but a little shorter is allowed.
You cannot embroider closed wreaths on wedding towels. A closed circle means a completed circle of life. Such towels were made for burial.
An open wreath with embroidered initials must be present on the embroidered one.

Click on the links and download embroidery patterns for towels.

Thanks for reading.

Wedding towels updated: September 26, 2021 by:

Unearthly ornaments

Flowerpot and Bereginya - the protective ethnic ornament is a flowerpot (huge branches with birds and flowers) and Bereginya (an image of a female figure or a mysterious flower). They were usually embroidered with red threads and symbolized cleansing fire and the sun. This pattern was also associated with amulet, healing, cleansing and protective magic.

Crown - represents a request for God's Blessing of marriage. There should not be any inscriptions or patterns above it.

Maternal symbol. The Mother symbol is the main one on the wedding towel. It is based on an eight-pointed star, which is framed by a stylized garland of flowers, symbolizing the greatness of the mother, her important role in the continuation of life.

Elemental ornaments

Water and Sun. All embroidery is marked with the signs of the Sun and Water. These two elements created earthly life, so they must be understood as solar paternal energy and water maternal energy. An octagonal flower or rosette represents the Sun, and a curled one symbolizes Water.

Earth is a powerful symbol of fertility. Embroidered in the shape of a rhombus.

Floral ornaments

Oak - a sacred tree - oak, embodied the god Perun, the god of life, development, solar male energy.

Acorns - usually intertwined with viburnum on a wedding towel, symbolizing the fidelity of the spouses.

Hop leaves. The hop pattern is youth and wedding symbolism. Hops carry a sign of youthful exuberance, development and love.

Mallow is a symbol of girlhood, chastity and youth. Depicted with large red open flowers.

Rose - Patterns with roses represent the endless movement of the sun with eternal rebirth. These are star flowers that embody the people’s idea of the Universe as a system.

Viburnum - in ancient times, viburnum was associated with the birth of the fiery trinity: the Sun, Star and Moon. Viburnum berries have become a symbol of blood and immortality. That is why all towels for weddings, girls’ and men’s shirts are heavy with mighty bunches of viburnum.

Lilies - The lily flower is a symbol of innocence, purity and girlish charm. If you look closely at the outline of the pattern, you will see the silhouette of a pair of birds, and this is a sign of love. The inseparable composition of the triplicity is made up of a bud and a leaf. This flower contains the birth, development and infinity of life. When dew drops are embroidered over the lily, it signifies fertilization. Lily is an incredibly feminine symbol.

Grapes - personifies the beauty and joy of creating a family. Grapes symbolize wealth, fertility, and the desire to have many children. The vineyard is the field of life, in which the husband is the sower, and the wife’s responsibility is to grow and care for the family tree. Very often it appears on wedding towels.

Wedding symbols

A pair of doves is also a symbol of love and family well-being. It’s not for nothing that there is such a wedding tradition as releasing these birds into the sky.

Wedding rings are symbols of family, an unbreakable union between a man and a woman entering into marriage. By exchanging rings, spouses transfer part of their energy to each other. It is recommended not to take them off in the first months after the wedding and not let anyone try them on.

Veil – gives the bride protection from the evil eye. The custom of wearing it at a wedding came from Poland. It creates a kind of energy shield that reflects negativity directed towards the bride. At the same time, after the wedding, it is necessary to carefully store the veil; it will serve as a talisman that can protect the young family.

The bride's bouquet is another important attribute. According to legend, the girl who catches him should soon get married, this happens because she begins to emit special energy, and the wreath seems to come to her. It is better to have white flowers in the bouquet: they are a sign of purity and eternity.

A magical symbol for a family is a loaf. Only in order for it to become such, it must be baked correctly. The mother, relative or godmother of the bride, that close woman who has a good family life, should work on its production. It must be baked so that it has a neat shape, without cracks.

Family symbols are laid out on the loaf, which give protection to the young couple. Flowers, birds, viburnum, mint and rye are often used as them. The loaf is distributed to all guests, so that the energy of the two families merges together.

Towel - the bride must embroider it herself, in secret from everyone. She should be alone and in complete silence. First, the girl reads a prayer. When embroidering, her thoughts should be positive and filled with ideas about her future family life. Work must begin on Thursday. It is embroidered on a clean and whole canvas. The towel is a symbol of the life path that a family must go through together.

Parents bless the newlyweds on it, and no strangers should be at home

The towel has male and female halves, so it is important to stand on it correctly during the blessing. From this moment on, this attribute takes on the meaning of a talisman

The ceremony must certainly take place on Sunday.

Parental blessing is an important symbol of family happiness. The attributes for the bride are the icon of the Mother of God, and for the groom - the icon of Christ the Savior.

Rules for embroidering a wedding towel

Previously, a wedding towel was embroidered only by hand on a double-sided towel: one side for the bride, the other for the groom with the corresponding symbols. The drawings could be different, but they were arranged symmetrically with the same number of characters and sizes. The embroidery was on three floors: the first was the family tree, on which birds were depicted; the second - wishes to the newlyweds; the third - bereginii, female and male symbols, the initials of the young.

The border can be different, imitating lace or tassels. You can sew hand-knitted lace, or you can make tassels by wiping out the border. An embroidered border has its own design rules. They try to include the “rhombus” element in the embroidery, which symbolizes a sown field, that is, a wish for prosperity and wealth to a young family.

Next comes the family tree, alternating it with a variety of trees, with birds sitting in pairs (nowadays the most popular are peacocks under the tree). Between such trees is embroidered a tree of the genus - the most inconspicuous and most interesting on the entire towel. Family trees for the bride and groom are embroidered in the middle of the first level. Peacocks guard the clan tree, symbolizing the clan of the bride and groom, on the first level. The second contains the symbols or wishes of the bride and groom. For the bride, this could be: roses - a symbol of love and beauty, a lily - a symbol of purity and purity, or viburnum - a symbol of blood, birth and immortality of the family. Grapes are embroidered for the groom - a symbol of fertility, abundance and wealth.

By the way, wedding breads were decorated with wedding wreaths, for which grapevines were used. And so that there were children in the family, the bride was sprinkled with nuts, grains and dried grapes. It used to be that they embroidered oak, binding with viburnum berries. On the third level, between the beregins (these can be women with their hands raised up, trees, crosses, flowerpots) a wreath with a crown is embroidered, personifying God's blessing and crowns, which are held above their heads during a wedding in the church.

For the Family Tree, the following information is needed from both sides: ▪ Are there any brothers and sisters, are they older or younger? ▪ Are grandparents alive or dead? ▪ Are there maternal and paternal uncles and aunts, are they older or younger than the father and mother?

Embroidery of towels

In ancient times, towel embroidery was done on canvas, which women wove with their own hands using primitive looms. In those ancient times, needlewomen worked according to all the rules, and each product had its own pattern.
Towels were designed to perform a decorative and aesthetic function, and their patterns decorated people’s lives. Then they began to be ascribed enormous ritual and ceremonial significance, and the patterns were given a deep symbolic meaning about the connection between different generations of the same clan. In our time, a wedding towel is a necessary part of the marriage ceremony, and symbolizes the long road along which two people will walk together. The tradition of wedding ceremonies in the old days required the presence of several towels carrying different meanings. The number of embroidered towels could reach up to forty, and each was used for its purpose:

Covering the icon for blessing;
For bread;
They tied the hands of the young;
For "friends";
Wedding, on which the newlyweds stand at the time of the wedding, and so on.

Read

Basics of bead embroidery for beginners

It is customary to embroider a modern wedding towel with your own hands and in the singular, on fabric like AIDA 14. Its length should be approximately three meters, width about fifty centimeters, but no less. Embroidery of towels for weddings is done in a special way. One edge of the towel is specially embroidered for the bride and the other for the groom, and the cross stitch pattern is different for each edge. Only the size of the embroidery should be the same, and how it is designed in general. The face and back of embroidered towels should look beautiful, that is, the embroidery should be double-sided. According to legend, this condition must be observed so that the life of the husband and wife is good both externally and within the family.

Example of a Family Tree:

Let's read the drawing: this is the tree of the bride's family, the father and mother are alive; the bride has an older brother, the mother's grandfather and grandmother died (branches from right to bottom), both of the father's parents are alive, the father has no brothers and sisters, the bride has one aunt, because the mother has an older sister. The cloth of a wedding towel must be continuous and whole, because it symbolizes the path of life, so do not insert any ribbons or laces into the middle of the towel, since no matter how hard you try, you cannot sew a cut life back together. After the wedding celebration, the towels are rolled into a tube and kept in the newlyweds’ family as a symbol of a happy family life, so that the evil spirits will walk around in a circle and then realize that they have nothing to do here. All towels, and especially “under the feet,” are used only once. Only the pattern is inherited if the newlyweds live a very happy family life, but a new towel is still embroidered. You don’t rent fate, which means you don’t borrow a towel.