Plakhta

(1) An ancient Ukrainian woman’s garment worn around the waist; it was worn like a skirt over a longer shirt, which was embroidered along the bottom. The plakhta consisted of two long narrow pieces of woolen fabric sewn lengthwise to their midpoint. The flaps (krila) were then crossed over, so that the sewn part (stanok) was at the back and the unsewn part hung freely at the sides or was tucked up. A special apron was worn over the garment. Beginning in the early 20th century, the plakhta was replaced by the spidnitsia, a skirt.

(2) The name of the fabric from which the plakhta was made; it is now used primarily for decoration. The pattern consists of squares and rectangles in a checkerboard arrangement and divided by stripes, usually having different designs.

(3) In the Western Ukraine, an outer garment of linen.

(4) A cloak worn over the head or around the shoulders by several Slavic peoples—the Poles, Lusatians, and Slovaks.