“In our rich, colorful, knightly past, patterned native fabrics played a significant role, with the kilim at the forefront, serving as an essential backdrop for life in the camp, in the palace, in the noble manor, in the inn at the Kiev contracts, and for ceremonies on the steps of altars“- writes the catalog of the kilim exhibition in Lviv, 1913.
The first item I put in my All Slavic Store was a handmade vintage bedcover from Poland. I chose it purely because I found it spectacular, and I didn’t know if anyone else would feel the same way. It sold!
Now, I realize there are many questions out there. Even after such a long time, I still learn something new all the time. So, here are answers to common questions about vintage Polish, Romanian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian kilims, rugs, carpets, and bedcovers.
History
From the beginning of time until the second half of the 1900s, “homemade textiles” were a natural part of life in every Slavic country. In books or old magazines, you’ll often read about “tkanina samodziałowa” or “samodział,” meaning cloth made at home. Initially, it was simple gray linen (flaxen), hemp, or later cotton textiles used for anything from tablecloths to undergarments. But people also needed something special: decorative bedcovers to put in a dowry chest, carpets, and so on. When my mom bought a house in Podlasie, she found one such traditional bedcover in the attic, lying there with the loom:
At my Podlasian home, remnants of such a loom were also present in the attic. It was a large machine, so not every house had space for it. There was also a narrow loom (hence, some Slavic carpets or Polish bedcovers are made of two narrow parts stitched together at the center – this is not a flaw!).
Up until the 1960s, wool was often gathered, dyed, and woven locally, and a double-warp loom could be found in many village houses. Most women from a given area could create simple striped patterns or the most popular carpet designs.
Few knew more complicated patterns, and only some could weave unique designs from their imagination. This is why carpets/kilims from Janów Podlaski are so cherished – most of them feature unique, uneven patterns, which are very complicated to make.
About the Textures
Polish carpets or Slavic kilims vary greatly in color, texture, and “feel” depending on the material used, technique, and purpose. For example, Lithuanian bedcovers are often very delicate, made of silk weave on a cotton or woolen frame. On the other hand, some woolen, local carpets from Podlasie are very harsh to the touch and can weigh up to 4 kg.
Colors of Folk Carpets
What still inspires me is how many color variations there are. There is really no limit to the options, from rainbow stripes on Podlasian pasiaki to delicate pearly-white Lithuanian bedcovers, with wall-rugs and kilims in every hue in between.
PASIAK
“Pasiak Łowicki” is the first thing that comes to mind, but actually, different kinds of pasiaki (striped woolen cloth made by hand on a loom) were very popular in most areas of Poland.
It is a staple in many folk costumes, where skirts and aprons are made of the same pasiak as bedcovers and kilims.
PEREBORY
A distinctive and lesser-known form of kilim is Podlasian perebory, often made with woolen thread over a simple, one-color cotton or linen frame. Special symbols would be used, as well as purely decorative floral motifs like in this example from my collection:
Woolen Carpets in Slavic Countries
With roots deep in the steppes of the East, the kilim has rooted itself surprisingly well in Slavic tradition from the West to the East and from South to North. For many, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of an immigrant home or a home visited in a Slavic country in the 1980s or 1990s is often a rich tapestry on the wall, used not only for decorative purposes but also for warmth – just as in the tents of the past. Reddit memes alone will show You:
Until the 20th century, it was all done by hand at homes. Gradually, it migrated to small, and then bigger, factories. Nowadays, what remains of handmade kilims in Poland are dozens of enthusiasts and old-school masters from Janów Podlaski or other villages in Podlasie.
ON SYMBOLS
There are symbols that are meaningful, especially in Eastern Slavic tradition – like two birds facing each other, meaning love or “a tree of life.” Some suggest that the most profound are the “psychedelic” geometric patterns of Belarusian, Podlasian, and Lithuanian traditions, which resemble frequency patterns observed today due to quantum physics. However, most modern kilims are purely decorative, with geometric patterns and flowers that have no significant meaning. Some kilims from Janów Podlaski, on the other hand, have specific themes – for example, a wedding, an orchard, etc.
“Fabrics made on a double-warp loom have a plain weave structure. They feature a dual-layer design with contrasting colors that blend at the edges of the patterns, so that one side of the fabric is the color reverse of the other,” writes the catalog of the Ethnographic Museum in Krakow. As the Ethno Museum in Kraków claims, in Rus’, double-warp looms were known as early as the 11th century. Many artists improvised, but most used variations of already known patterns. The hardest to make are unique, irregular patterns like those found in many of Janów Podlaski’s kilims.
When the loom broke or the lady who used it passed away, it was usually taken to the attic. Many rugs from Podlasie, Łowicz, etc. survived intact simply because they were stored in dowry chests for years, decades, and are now sold by family members. Some are still used as bedcovers, wall-covers, and all-purpose home textiles.
How to Take Care of a Slavic Carpet?
Depending on age, material, and so on, care instructions for these items can vary. I wash some of my own in 30°C in a washing machine, and they’re fine. Others, I’ve delicately washed by hand and still ruined them. Here are some general care tips for vintage Polish kilims, carpets, and bedcovers:
- Some stains can be removed with soap and cool water.
- I try to avoid white when buying these Slavic textiles, as stains are easily visible and very hard to remove. They also tend to get yellowish with age and piling looks bad on them.
- If there’s any small imperfection in woolen ones, any lady who knows crochet can fix it.
- I’ve learned the hard way not to wash the handmade ones in hot water because the hand-dyed wool can lose its color, dyeing anything in its path…
I hope this short guide on kilims, Polish rugs, and other Slavic bedcovers will be useful. If you want to see more historical variants, feel free to download a free booklet from All Slavic.
