Downloads
Pysanka (and Related) Downloads
On this page you will find links to download files about pysanky, including my class handout from a few years ago, children’s handouts and many pattern sheets. Download at will! (Note that the information on symbolism, history and legends, and the basic steps, as well as other topics, is available on my web pages on this site, and may be more up-to-date. I try to update the handouts regularly, but don’t always succeed.)
Click on the underlined text to download. Please feel free to print these out and share them (e.g. classes). If you wish to reproduce this content in a publication, or on another web site, please ask (e-mail link below).
About Pysanky: these are all taken from my handout, and are all in pdf format. I’ve posted the same content on the website, and have made some changes to text as I have lived and learned.
Size: 11 KB
Ukrainian pysanka traditions and legends
Size: 3.5 MB
An in depth discussion, with illustrations, of the symbols used on pysanky and their meanings
Size: 6 KB
The symbolism of color use in the pysanka
Size: 796 KB
Everything you ever wanted to know about Ukrainian Easter traditions!
Pysankarstvo: these are pdf versions of pages from my website. The text and photos have been formatted for easy printing.
Size: 260 KB
How dyes work, and why vinegar is important (added 2-24-2007)
Size: 860 KB
How to repair damaged pysanky (added 2-24-2007)
Instruction Sheets: these are pdf versions of my web pages. The text and photos have been formatted to print out on standard paper.
Size: 356 KB
How to make pysanky, including tips and tricks from yours truly (updated 1-20-2008)
Size: 712 KB
How to draw stars on pysanky; step-by-step instructions for writing two types of stars (added 2-10-2007)
Kids’ Handouts: I put together a bilingual booklet about pysanky this year (2007) for the classes I was teaching at our church’s Ukrainian school. It was quickly thrown together, so some of the graphics aren’t the best. I’ve converted it to a pdf document. You can pick and choose the pages you want to print.
Size: 1.5 MB
There are three sections: myths and legends about pysanky, symbolism of pysanky, and how to make
pysanky. The symbolism section has mixed English and Ukrainian text, but the other pages are in
one language only (per page). (added 3-27-2007)
Size: 36 KB
This is an additional page (different formatting) on which I have children design their own pysanky, using
the symbols they’ve learned about. There are two ovals so they can draw both sides of the pysanka–
or two pysanky, as they wish. (added 3-27-2007)
Size: 83.3 MB
I created this handout for a class I taught at our local Ukrainian school. It is a very large file because of
all the illustrations I included. This handout discusses the Trypillian culture within the context of
Ukrainian history, and discusses their many accomplishments: agriculture, animal husbandry, weaving,
pottery, tool-making and metallurgy. (added 11-8-2008)
Ukrainian Materials: this is (for the moment) a pdf version of my old Ukrainian language instructional materials. I will add tother items as I create them.
Size: 23.7 MB
This is a scan of the first pysanka handout I ever produced, back in the 1970s. Th original was a
mimeograph, and I had to learn to use an Ukrainian typewriter to use it (a long, painful process). It is
in Ukrainian, and all the illustrations were hand-drawn by me. I think we used it in ODUM, Ukrainian
youth group I was active in.
Patterns: these are step-by-step designs for making pysanky. I use them for teaching classes, to give students design ideas and to help them understand how to plot eggs and how color sequences work. They are available in two formats: jpg and pdf (low and high resolution). The pdf version generally prints out better, but you may wish to download both versions, and see which works better for you.
Simple Eggs: Three (3) simple traditional pysanka patterns. Good for beginners.
JPG 144 KB
PDF 483 KB
Spiral Pysanka: Rooster and pine branches pattern. A fairly easy pattern.
JPG 112 KB
PDF 374 KB
Star Pysanka: Another fairly easy pattern with a traditional 8-pointed red star.
JPG 98 KB
PDF 501 KB
Advanced Pysanka: A more advanced pattern featuring a windmill motif.
JPG 136 KB
PDF 563 KB
Traditional Patterns: these are also step-by-step designs for making pysanky, but of traditional patterns from various regions of Ukraine. I created them for teaching classes in Ukraine, but have used them here in the States as well, to give my students some idea of what sorts of pysanky their ancestors used to make.
I have moved these pdf downloads to a separate page, as there are 19 of them altogether, and this page was getting too big (and thus slow to load). You can find them here.
