A History of Ukrainian Loom Beading by Yuliya Klochan

November 02, 2026

I’m a Ukraine-born, Chicago-based artist using traditional Ukrainian loom weaving for contemporary beaded art.

That sentence is the start of my artist statement, one that I’ve submitted in dozens of exhibit applications. I lived in Ukraine until age 15—about half my lifetime. There, I learned loom beading as a child, though I don’t remember when or how. In July 2023, I started beading to reconnect with my culture and realized that I had a distant muscle memory for the craft. Since then, my practice has grown to a full-time job, and I’ve picked up almost 700,000 beads by hand.

This is a post by one of Mirrix's 2026 Brand Ambassadors, Yuliya Klochan. Follow Yuliya on Instagram @yuliyaklochan here .

I’m a Ukraine-born, Chicago-based artist using traditional Ukrainian loom weaving for contemporary beaded art.

But in all that time, there was one component of my artist statement that I knew much less about: What is the story of Ukrainian loom beading? I encountered many Ukrainian beaded jewelry makers, but I never learned the history of their craft in school.

Fortunately, I worked as a journalist for years before becoming an artist, and I love research rabbit holes. Here’s what I learned, primarily from Ukrainian-language sources. I’m excited to share my culture with you.

“First Embroidery” (woven on the 16” Big Sister Mirrix Loom)—in 10,846 Toho Aiko beads, this artwork celebrates a child's first crafting experience. The background is in the style of traditional Ukrainian embroidery from my birth region of Luhansk.

Gerdan (Necklace)

Likely the most prominent loom-woven item in Ukrainian culture today is the gerdan (plural: gerdany)—a beaded neck decoration (necklace), often with a geometric pattern. Gerdany started as ornaments for men: The more opulent the gerdan, the more respectable the gentleman. Women adopted the accessory later.

Gerdany were typically made by crafters in western Ukraine, and they weren’t a known part of Eastern Ukrainian culture (which is why I never learned about them in school). It’s likely that gerdany spread in western Ukraine in the 19th century with the influx of beads through trade with Venice and Bohemia. The tradition of gerdany was likely inspired by Hungary.

The first gerdan I ever made took months! Flower pattern created by Ukrainian artist GalaFitz (found on Etsy)

The gerdany’s designs often featured traditional regional embroidery and symbolism. Shapes conveyed deep meaning: rhombuses symbolized fertility, triangles the harmony of earth and sky, and wavy lines the flow of life. Colors played an important role as well: red was for life, love, and the sun; black was for fertile soil and protection, and green was for nature and youth.

Beaded works such as gerdany were an important part of Ukrainian daily life, as they could signal belonging to a particular social group, region, age, and even marital status. Knowledgeable beaders could pinpoint one’s geographic location within a valley or two from the gerdan alone. Gerdany for occasions such as weddings and feast days stood out from those for ordinary Sundays.

“Passing the Gerdan” (woven on the 12” Little Guy Mirrix Loom)—an artwork in the shape of a gerdan that honors the cultural transfer of craft. The design of the pendant at the bottom is inspired by traditional embroidery from the Donetsk region, my childhood home.

A History of Beadwork

The Ukrainian word for beads, “biser,” comes from the Arabic for “fake pearls.” Beads have been around the Ukrainian region since the times of the Kyivan Rus—the first East Slavic state (between late 9th to mid-13th century)—though until about the 11th century, beaded works were typically made by foreign crafters. Before commercially produced glass beads arrived from other countries, Ukrainians used wood, clay, and semi-precious stones such as amber.

In the 11th century, Ukrainians began wearing beaded bracelets. In the second half of the 12th century, with the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar army, crafting slowed.

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, people in Ukrainian villages began designing traditional regional clothing and accessories. In the 18th and 19th centuries, bead-weaving spread as an essential part of festive outfits. Ukrainian people began weaving headdresses, necklaces, bracelets, bags, as well as decorating braids and furniture. In some places, only women wore beaded accessories—in others, both women and men. The two techniques used most commonly for beading were bead threading and loomworking.

In the early 20th century, beaded items gained popularity, and making them became a profitable industry—not just a craft for individual use. Although the Soviet government banned symbols of Ukrainian identity, people maintained traditions by embroidering small symbols or weaving blue and yellow beads side-by-side (today, blue and yellow are the colors of the Ukrainian flag).

“Capturing Peace (in Ukraine)”—an artwork featuring Ukrainian symbols such as the embroidered vyshyvanka (shirt), yellow-and-blue flag, and stalk of wheat.

Today, there’s a resurgence of bead-weaving, with weavers often combining traditional techniques with modern trends. As throughout history, Ukrainians continue to use foreign-made beads, such as Czech Preciosa or Japanese Miyuki and Toho beads, for loom weaving. These are known for their precision and consistency, necessary for loom work.

Beadwork is mostly made in western ethnographic regions of Western Volyn', the Boyko Region, Transcarpathian Region (Zakarpattia), the Hutsul Region, Bukovyna, and the Lemko Region. In many places throughout Ukraine, children learn bead-weaving in school. Beaded accessories like gerdany are now an officially recognized part of the Ukrainian cultural heritage.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to reach out to me via my website at www.yuliyaklochan.com/contact or via Instagram DM @yuliyaklochan.