Costume and embroidery of Skopska Blatija, Macedonia

The basic garment here is the chemise, koshula. This is traditionally made of heavy linen or hemp. This cut is typical for Macedonia, and has obvious similarities to that of Dalmatia.

As you can see, there is embroidery on the hem, sleeves and front. The basic colors used are black, red and gold with some admixture of green and blue. The motif known as ‘9 flowers’ is often em - broidered on the lower sleeve, and as you can see, sometimes repeated on the hem and front opening.

Historically, it is recorded that the women in this region wore a garment called saya over the che - mise. This is a type of overgarment with short sleeves that opening in front. Over the saya was worn the apron and a sash, which held this garment closed.

The apron is made of two rectangular tapestry woven pieces sewn together, gathered at the top and trimmed around the edges. The basic pallette traditionally being red black and white with yellow and green used as minor accents The men’s costume, besides the stockings and opanci, consist of a shirt which is very full at the bottom, linen pants which are narrow in the calf and wide in the seat, and a wide sash, which holds the shirt in at the waist. A leather belt is often worn over the sash. This very full shirt looks rather like a foustanella.

A round lambswool hat completes the costume. This basic men’s costume, with minor variations is found over most of Macedonia.

A beaded ornament called kostek can be worn by both men and women. It is often draped around the neck and the other end tucked into the sash or a pocket. To me it looks like a home-made imitation of a watch chain and fob. There is a lot of variation in detail of this ornament. You can see it being worn in some of the images in this article. Just a few more images of this costume.