top of page

Counted stitch patterns

designed and worked by

Iryna Varabei

Belarusan Motifs

Collection

Counted stitch patterns published in

magazine

Iryna Varabei is a proud contributor to

A Needle Pulling Thread magazine,

which features Canadian designers in Needlework Arts.

Up to date, there are 17 of my designs (with their patterns along) been published

in the ANPT magazine.

Here, you can see the pages where they appear and read my interview and

articles which accompany the designs.

as I see that Belarus and its culture are quite a "white spot" on the world map for the most of Canadians, I tried to make my articles to slightly lift the curtain on it.

I hope you will enjoy them as well as my designs.

canvaswork needlework pattern
Ripples On Water. Spring 2010
There are many types and styles of needlepoint and each has unique techniques and stitches to set it apart. In this project, needleworkers can set their needles to Belarusan needlepoint, a traditional style from Belarus. The graphic geometric artistry of this framed project is reminiscent of the woven coverlets of the 1800s and the intricacy of the finest tapestry... read more
cross stitch needlework pattern
Home Sense. Summer 2010
The origin of the name ‘Belarus’, which means “white land”, is still uncertain. Some historians believe that “white” in the old Slavic languages meant “clean, free”, pointing to the fact that Belarus was never invaded or occupied by the Gold Horde (Mongolian-Tatars) unlike the other principalities in the area in the 13-15th centuries... read more
canvaswork needlework pattern
'Dazhinki' - Harvest Feast. Fall 2010
Belarusan embroidery symbols represent the ancient and current philosophy and knowledge of the world. The key to the Belarusan embroidery is to understand that the geometric designs were originally pictographs to communicate with an illiterate society. Belarusans have preserved ancient Aryan symbolic scripts by stylizing them into ornamental stitchery.... read more
cross stitch needlework pattern
The Country of Downy Diamods. Festive 2011

As any Belarusan having experienced the northern climates, I love winter and snow. Winter images are very popular in our culture, arts and folklore.

In our very souls, white snow is associated with the name of our country. “Bela-rus” means “white-land”.

What in the world can be whiter, cleaner and purer than first fallen snow?

The solemn, festive whiteness of the first snow evokes in our spirits the feeling of the triumph of primordial purity. .... read more

  • Spirit Of Belarus Page
  • Blog. (in Belarusan)
  • Pinterest SoB
  • Etsy shope
  • Craftsy shope
canvaswork needlework pattern
'Hramavik' - Thunder Spirit. Spring 2011

In our souls, we are all enthusiastic about the elements, and in the spring, after a long boring winter, we eagerly await the first thunderstorm to wash away all the remnants of snow and ice, even though it was, at times, nice.

My Hramavik - Thunder Spirit design is the result of three sources of inspiration: a Belarusan motif pattern, the Trianglepoint stitch technique and the colour palette Ice Is Nice proposed by A Needle Pulling Thread magazine. .... read more

canvaswork needlework pattern
United Family. Summer 2011

Among the other symbols in Belarusan motifs representing ‘children’, ‘mother’, ‘boy’, ‘girl’ etc., one in particular represents ‘family’, as in “united family”. In Belarusan language, the word for ‘family’ consists of two roots: ‘seven’ and ‘me’ – ‘seven-of-me’. And such is the symbol for “united family”—the rhombus divided into several pieces, which is also evolved into an intricate pattern within a pattern. .... read more

cross stitch needlework pattern
Mushroom Adventures. Fall 2011

Early, early in the morning ... We’re walking through a blue-gray meadow covered with a thick white veil of mist. The morning dew cools your bare feet (we are carrying our shoes to keep them not wet) on the path to the deep part of the birch forest. We are gripped with the sweet, thrilling sense of anticipation adventure which managed to get us up from our beds before dawn for our long walk.

Mushroom Adventure was a thrill to design and convert into a cross stitch pattern.
It’s an image that strongly evokes my childhood and youth memories.
.... ...read more

cross stitch needlework pattern
Spring Keys. Spring 2012

Who, pray tell, is not bothered with winter yet?
We anxiously watch the weather forecast on TV, waiting for someone to conjure up some sign of spring...
To shorten the time until spring's arrival our ancestors would gather to sing vociferously and without interruption believing their magical songs echoed from one village to another, always reaching further south. There, in distant southern lands, were larks that held the keys in their beaks that locked up winter and unlocked spring. It was believed that the larks returned to their northern home thus bringing spring, using our ancestors' songs to guide them back.” ... 
read more

cross stitch pattern
Special Delivery. Summer 2012

In some cultures it is told that babies are born in a cabbage patch.
Other cultures pick their babies off the sunflowers heads.
Belarusan folklore tells of babies delivered by storks
.

"Honey", "Sweety", are names endearment used all over the world, but Belarusans call their children "soneyka mayo" - "My sunny"..

..read more

belarusan nizanka needlework pattern
Lucky Charm Bookmark. Fall 2012

In this edition of ANPTmag, it is with great excitement to explore with you this distinctive type of Belarusan stitching technique called "Belarusan Nizanka"

To date, my designing work consisted in transforming Belarusan traditional patterns into modern stitching techniques and stiles. But I have often been asked if there is a specific, distinctive type of Belarusan stitching technique. Today, I am ready to say, “Yes, it exists”, and to introduce it to the readers of the ANPT, bringing it up for Canadian stitchers.

...read more

.. read about Nizanka

Spirit of wealth_canvaswork pattern
Bahach - Spirit of Wealth. Spring 2013

“It’s better to be rich and healthy, than poor and sick”. 
Would anybody disagree with this folk saying? 
My treasure box is not as large as I might like it to be, and it isn’t really filled with tangible valuables. It is still precious to me of that untouchable, symbolic content kept inside. I store my designing company’s leaflets, little flyers and business cards there. Remember? – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, …but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. My heaven is my stitching world.   
...read more

four-way-bargello needlework pattern
Ripples On Water #3. Summer 2013

Hypnotical... Intricate... Whimsical...

I have been never tired of marveling these magnificent patterns that were used for traditional Belarusan woven coverlets.
And I can never get enough of these  geometrical patterns, and the more I think about it I'm in complete wonder how they were ever designed in the first place!   

...read more

 needlework pattern
Kaliada Star. Festive 2013

Kaliady is the pre-Christian celebration of the end of year and the beginning of the new one. It is believed the word “Kaliady” takes its root from word “kola” (wheel, circle) symbolizing the Sun, seasonal cycle and winter solstice. Later is was adopted for Christmas celebration by Orthodox and Catholic churches.
Celebrating this holiday people get together for frivolous fun and feisty frolics called “going kaliadaing”...  
read more

belarusan nizanka needlework pattern
Talisman For Baby. Spring 2014

Embroidered talismans were very popular in the old Slavic culture. A talisman is an object containing the magical power of providing good luck and protection for the possessor. It’s believed to be charged with the magical powers by its creator (unlike an amulet which usually is made by the Nature), and embroidery is considered practically the most significant charging process.  ...read more

belarusan nizanka needlework pattern
Traveń Centerpiece. Summer 2015

The Traveń Centerpiece is inspired by the colour of grass in spring that turns lush in summer. You can call it ‘a patch of of grass. The word Traveń in Belarusan means the month of May and is translated literally as “grass” or “the month of grass”.
This project explores the unique Belarusan Nizanka technique for four-sided item such as a table cloth.

  ...read more

cross stitch pattern
cross stitch pttern
16) Love And Cherish Talisman Wedding Gift. Issue 46, 2018. Love Birds

Quite long ago, during my first years in Canada, I made a gift for my ESL teacher for her wedding. It was an embroidered piece using the traditional Belarusan symbol of love, Love Doves, a very popular and beloved symbol in Belarusan culture.

I decided to stitch them once again for this very appropriate lovebirds issue. 
To leave room for your creativity, you have the opportunity to choose to make it in one of two colourways: Belarusan traditional colours and in alternate one in pastels. This is a flexible design where with a small amount of effort, you can substitute even these suggested colours to those to suit your personality, décor and accessions.

Besides the Love Doves in this design, the overall piece is very symbolic, where every item has a meaning:
Fern Flower is a magical flower which blooms only once during the night of the summer solstice: it is believed to make wishes come true for those who can find it deep in woods... 

 Vase is the symbol of woman’s destiny. 
Harmony and Compliance are beneath birds’ feet symbolizing the reliable base for a durable marriage.
Child Star, two of them at the top of the design as the supreme goal of a marriage. 
The black background is used here as the traditional colour palette representing the magical summer solstice night. In Belarusan mythology, it talks of the Night of the Marriage of the Sun and the Earth. 

haedanger pattern
17) 'Hramnicy' Candle Talisman. Issue 47, 2018. Chakras, mandalas, meditations...

My design is dedicated to Haramnicy holiday that is celebrated in Belarus. Hramnicy can be akin in some way to western European Candlemas Day and Imbolc holidays. 
One of the characters worshiped and featured at this holy day is a holy candle. Its traditional symbol is in the center of my design.

People light up their blessed Hramnicy Candles during the church service and carry them home in the hopes the candles wouldn’t go out, so it can bring goodness to their homes. 
From a Belarusan perspective, the Hramnicy Candle symbolises the dual nature of humans. The candle corpus made of wax given by the nature represents a human body; and the wick made of handmade linen fabric represents a human soul. 
It is belived that humans receive their bodies from God (or Mather Nature) the same way as we take wax from bees. We grow our souls during our lifetime the same way as we grow flax, weave linen and twist a wick with our own hands. 
The Hramnicy Candle recalls the great opportunities and latent energy of life in a man. Like fire, the energy of the soul can be destructive. And it can also warm up, heal, illuminate and guide.
The tamed fire of the soul can be called a will. A man with an awakened will is able to maintain and revive the culture and way of life. 

It is possible to light up a Hramnicy Candle blessed at the Hramnicy service at any time of the year and pray for wishes in front of it. 
Or we can pray while stitching its image. Because, according to Belarusan beliefs, stitching is a magical action and connects the stitcher to the spiritual world.
  

  

DSC01942_650.jpg
18) Belarusan Nizanka Snowflake. Issue #48, 2018. Ornaments

As easy as beautiful, as well as unique and intricate to do

The ancient technique Nizanka was very common in Belarusan lands for making sacral embroidered items such as ‘roushniks’ which played an important role in old rituals and customs.

There are two Nizanka stitching rules that meet sacral requirements. ...read more

DSC02848_850.jpg
19) 'Pavouk' Talisman. Issue #49, 2019. Rainy Day fun

The idea of stitched ‘Pavouk’* came from the 3D straw decoration very popular in Belarus.
“Salamiany Pavouk” – 'Straw Pavouk' – is one of the oldest Belarusan traditional talismans made of straw.
It is considered a sacred thing because its shape and the process of its making repeat God’s geometrical way of the Universe creation. A 'Straw Pavouk' is done at the beginning of a new year believing it to serve as a protector for a home and family for that year long. It can catch an evil power and destroy it.  ...read more

*My great thanks to Carla A. Canonico, the Editor-in-Chief, for edditing my awkward :) English

bottom of page