Stitched Narratives: The Ukrainian Canadian Embroidered Pillow

Abstract

To increase the breadth of knowledge pertaining to the phenomenon of the Ukrainian Canadian embroidered podushka (pillow) this project applied a multiple method research strategy to gain a deeper understanding of both the nature of these historic artifacts and the artisans who created them. In 2015, information was gathered in fifteen major urban centres across Canada from fifty-eight individuals who participated in a series of separate and/or small group interviews. Each participant presented at least one Canadian-made embroidered podushka at their respective session, for a total of 496 podushky. Data was documented from artifact analysis and the recorded interviews, then analysed and interpreted. The research approach was successful in producing a significant corpus of relevant data; providing insight from a Canadian perspective with respect to the production, consumption, and change over the last 125 years of this eclectic artifact.