Embroidery is one of the core of the Chuvash national ornamental art. Modern Chuvash embroidery, its ornamentation, technique, colors are genetically related to the artistic culture of the Chuvash people in the past. For the analysis of ancient Chuvash embroidery available explorer has samples pertaining to the 19th and early 20th centuries. Only a small number of objects ornamented stored in museum collections, dates from the 18th century. However, even these relatively recent models indicate a long-standing their origin and early acquaintance with the art of ornamentation Chuvash tissues. Treatment of animal and vegetable fibers has been known Chuvash a woman a long time.
Old clothes were homespun, richly embroidered. Pallas in the second half of the 18th century. wrote about women's clothing Chuvash 'Apparel from them as well as in mordvinok, thick canvas, embroidered with a motley, specially of those that sineyu, red and black hair and made a small than perfectly. " Embroidery done on hand-woven, canvas, hemp usually woolen threads and threads of plant fiber of spinning. Also in 18, and 19 cc. significant distribution was embroidered with silk. In the bazaars and hawker then sold the raw silk, which is spun and then dyed chuvashki themselves.
Painted in the old thread only for embroidery, canvas himself, from which the clothes were made, remained white. Pestryadinnaya grassroots Chuvash clothes appear in use until much later, in the late 18th century. And gets especially popular since the mid-19th century. For yarn dyeing using different vegetable dyes. In spring and summer women dug roots and gathered bunches of herbs needed for dyeing. Pallas says that in dyeing to produce a yellow rabbit ate poppy Chuvash (Adonis vernalis), sagebrush plain, with admixture of gorse (Genifta tinctoria), for green – leaves heterophyllous thistle (Carduus hete rophyllus). The most common dye, which gave a red color, was madder (Rubia tinctorum). After drying, it pounded in mortars or milled at the mill, then, gravies water, placed in a hot oven. The next day was added water and boiled for a long time. For the strength of paint put the ashes. In broth madder dyed wool and four times, drying after each fold. In addition to the madder, more used oregano (Origanim) and collected in the spring young leaves of apple, flower heads and leaves of apple oregano pounded, then added scalded malt and water poured into the solution put more yeast. Pallas said that these vegetable ink give a good color, and many do not fade after washing. Skills in dyeing of yarn in the future developed and improved. With the advent of the polychrome embroideries (19th and early 20th centuries.) Require a greater number of dyes. Old Chuvash embroidery is extremely diverse. Various types of ornamentation used in individual pieces of clothing. The primary affiliation of ancient Chuvash clothes are (linen shirt), chest, skirt, sleeves and back which is richly ornamented. With embroidered shirts, primarily female shirts, as the most colorful and richly decorated with ornaments, and should begin the description of the Chuvash national embroidery.