Hanna was born in a small village in the Ukraine in July 1888. She was the second youngest of nine children. Her parents, Raphaël and Rachel, came from two different social backgrounds : both Jews, he was an intellectual and a Zionist ; She came from a wealthy family and had her feet on the ground.
From her childhood, Hanna had as examples her mother and her grandmother, two strong, professionally active women who exercised the important function of midwife, which for a long time ensured the family protection against anti-Semitic attacks since they helped give birth to many of the village children, especially non-Jews.
When Chana's older brothers were called up to join the army to fight the Turks, Raphaël Orloff considered immigrating with his family to Palestine. Everything was decided when in 1905 their house was ransacked and then burned. Victim of anti-Semitic hatred, the Orloffs embarked on a boat bound for Palestine.
They settle in Petah Tiqwa, the future suburb of the future Tel Aviv. The boys work in the fields for a pittance and it is Chana who supports the family with her sewing. Her way of doing things terrifies the customers : she takes few measurements and makes the cuts by gauging the model by eye !
The family organizes itself between work during the day and Hebrew lessons in the evening. It was Chana's older brother, Zwi, who encourages her to go to France, renowned for Haute Couture, to complete her training, come back with diplomas and teach.