Kresttsy Embroidery

or Kresttsy white stitch, a type of Russian folk embroidery named after the settlement of Kresttsy, the center of the embroidery industry that originated in the 1860’s.

The embroidery is done by interweaving threads along a net formed by pulling out some threads from the fabric (flax, cotton, or silk). It is characterized by regular designs of open-work and solid geometric and decorative forms (circles, stars, squares) against a transparent background; the forms are precisely drawn by tightly winding spooled threads around the warp ends. Kresttsy embroidery is presently used in the bedspreads, pillow covers, tablecloths, and napkins manufactured by the Krestetskaia Strochka Factory. Its leading embroidery artists include N. M. Zhigunova, S. A. Vlasova, and A. I. Tikhanova.