Rushnyky (in Ukrainian) are embroidered ritual cloths that are used in religious and ceremonial events as well as everyday use in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. A baby would receive one at birth and then, at the end of life, be buried with it. Many Slavic cultures and others who live nearby, like Romania for one, have a similar type of embroidered “towel” that decorates icons or hangs on the wall on display. They are most often stitched in red: the color of life, fertility, the sun, and health. Stitched on hand-woven linen, they are one loom width and usually 3 yards long.

There is a wealth of variations in floral patterns and stitches– up to 200– that depict the tree of life. The stem and chain stitches outline while the satin stitch fills in basic shapes. One style will incorporate blackwork stitches to fill in patterns outlined with the stem stitch and sometimes they are made in cross stitch. Here are just a few rushnyky from my travels some examples gathered from research. We can see a similarity with the tree of life stitched in Hungarian írásos.