Traditional embroidery in chain stitch on a Kazakh rug, contemporary.

Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. Embroidery is most often recommended for caps, hats, coats, blankets, dress shirts, denim, stockings, and golf shirts. Embroidery is available with a wide variety of thread or yarn color.

A characteristic of embroidery is that the basic techniques or stitches of the earliest work—chain stitch, buttonhole or blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, cross stitch—remain the fundamental techniques of hand embroidery today.

Machine embroidery, arising in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, mimics hand embroidery, especially in the use of chain stitches, but the "satin stitch" and hemming stitches of machine work rely on the use of multiple threads and resemble hand work in their appearance, not their construction.

History[link]

Detail of an embroidered silk gauze ritual garment. Rows of even, round chain stitches are used both for outline and to fill in color. From a 4th century BC, Zhou era tomb at Mashan, Hubei province, China.

The art of Embroidery became a very crucial aspect of Ottoman culture.

Embroidering process in the textile industry in England, 1858.

The origins of embroidery are unknown, but early examples survive from ancient Egypt, Iron Age Northern Europe and Zhou Dynasty China. Examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have been dated to the Warring States period (5th-3rd century BC).^[1]

The process used to tailor, patch, mend and reinforce cloth fostered the development of sewing techniques, and the decorative possibilities of sewing led to the art of embroidery.^[2] In a garment from Migration period Sweden, roughly 300–700 CE, the edges of bands of trimming are reinforced with running stitch, back stitch, stem stitch, tailor's buttonhole stitch, and whipstitching, but it is uncertain whether this work simply reinforces the seams or should be interpreted as decorative embroidery.^[3]

The remarkable stability of basic embroidery stitches has been noted:

It is a striking fact that in the development of embroidery ... there are no changes of materials or techniques which can be felt or interpreted as advances from a primitive to a later, more refined stage. On the other hand, we often find in early works a technical accomplishment and high standard of craftsmanship rarely attained in later times.^[4]

In the 16th century, in the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, his chronicler Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak wrote in the famous Ain-i-Akbari: "His majesty (Akbar) pays much attention to various stuffs; hence Irani, Ottoman, and Mongolian articles of wear are in much abundance especially textiles embroidered in the patterns of Nakshi, Saadi, Chikhan, Ari, Zardozi, Wasli, Gota and Kohra. The imperial workshops in the towns of Lahore, Agra, Fatehpur and Ahmedabad turn out many masterpieces of workmanship in fabrics, and the figures and patterns, knots and variety of fashions which now prevail astonish even the most experienced travelers. Taste for fine material has since become general, and the drapery of embroidered fabrics used at feasts surpasses every description."^[5]

Embroidery was a very important art in the Medieval Islam World, one of the most interesting accounts of embroidery were given by the 17th century Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi called it the "craft of the two hands". Because embroidery was a sign of high social status in Muslim societies, it became a hugely popular art. In cities such as Damascus, Cairo and Istanbul, embroidery was visible on handkerchiefs, uniforms, flags, calligraphy, shoes, robes, tunics, horse trappings, slippers, sheaths, pouches, covers and even on leather belts. Many craftsmen embroidered with gold and silver. And each of these embroidery cottage industries employed over 800 people.^[6]

Elaborately embroidered clothing, religious objects, and household items have been a mark of wealth and status in many cultures including ancient Persia, India, China, Japan, Byzantium, and medieval and Baroque Europe. Traditional folk techniques are passed from generation to generation in cultures as diverse as northern Vietnam, Mexico, and eastern Europe. Professional workshops and guilds arose in medieval England. The output of these workshops, called Opus Anglicanum or "English work," was famous throughout Europe.^[7]

Industrial Revolution[link]

The development of machine embroidery on a mass production scale came about in stages. The earliest machine embroidery used a combination of machine looms and teams of women embroidering the textiles by hand. This was done in France by the mid-1800s.^[8]

The manufacture of machine-made embroideries in St. Gallen in eastern Switzerland flourished in the latter half of the 19th century.

Classification[link]

Japanese free embroidery in silk and metal threads, contemporary.

Embroidered Easter eggs. Works by Inna Forostyuk, the folk master from the Luhansk region (Ukraine)

Embroidery can be classified according to whether the design is stitched on top of or through the foundation fabric, and by the relationship of stitch placement to the fabric.

In free embroidery, designs are applied without regard to the weave of the underlying fabric. Examples include crewel and traditional Chinese and Japanese embroidery.

Cross-stitch counted-thread embroidery. Tea-cloth, Hungary, mid-20th century

Counted-thread embroidery patterns are created by making stitches over a predetermined number of threads in the foundation fabric. Counted-thread embroidery is more easily worked on an even-weave foundation fabric such as embroidery canvas, aida cloth, or specially woven cotton and linen fabrics although non-evenweave linen is used as well. Examples include needlepoint and some forms of blackwork embroidery.

Hardanger, a whitework technique. Contemporary.

In canvas work threads are stitched through a fabric mesh to create a dense pattern that completely covers the foundation fabric. Traditional canvas work such as bargello is a counted-thread technique.^[9] Since the 19th century, printed and hand painted canvases where the painted or printed image serves as color-guide have eliminated the need for counting threads. These are particularly suited to pictorial rather than geometric designs deriving from the Berlin wool work craze of the early 19th century.^[10][11][12]

In drawn thread work and cutwork, the foundation fabric is deformed or cut away to create holes that are then embellished with embroidery, often with thread in the same color as the foundation fabric. These techniques are the progenitors of needlelace. When created in white thread on white linen or cotton, this work is collectively referred to as whitework.^[13]

Materials[link]

Phulkari from the Punjab region of India. Phulkari embroidery, popular since at least the 15th century, is traditionally done on hand-spun cotton cloth with simple darning stitches using silk floss.

Laid threads, a surface technique in wool on linen. The Bayeux Tapestry, 11th century.

The fabrics and yarns used in traditional embroidery vary from place to place. Wool, linen, and silk have been in use for thousands of years for both fabric and yarn. Today, embroidery thread is manufactured in cotton, rayon, and novelty yarns as well as in traditional wool, linen, and silk. Ribbon embroidery uses narrow ribbon in silk or silk/organza blend ribbon, most commonly to create floral motifs.^[14]

Surface embroidery techniques such as chain stitch and couching or laid-work are the most economical of expensive yarns; couching is generally used for goldwork. Canvas work techniques, in which large amounts of yarn are buried on the back of the work, use more materials but provide a sturdier and more substantial finished textile.^[12]

In both canvas work and surface embroidery an embroidery hoop or frame can be used to stretch the material and ensure even stitching tension that prevents pattern distortion. Modern canvas work tends to follow very symmetrical counted stitching patterns with designs developing from repetition of one or only a few similar stitches in a variety of thread hues. Many forms of surface embroidery, by contrast, are distinguished by a wide range of different stitching patterns used in a single piece of work.^[15]

Machine[link]

Much contemporary embroidery is stitched with a computerized embroidery machine using patterns "digitized" with embroidery software. In machine embroidery, different types of "fills" add texture and design to the finished work. Machine embroidery is used to add logos and monograms to business shirts or jackets, gifts, and team apparel as well as to decorate household linens, draperies, and decorator fabrics that mimic the elaborate hand embroidery of the past.

See also[link]

• Sachet (scented bag)

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Berman, Pat (2000). "Berlin Work". American Needlepoint Guild. http://www.needlepoint.org/Archives/01-01/berlinwork.php. Retrieved 2009-01-24. 
• Caulfield, S.F.A., and B.C. Saward (1885). The Dictionary of Needlework. 
• Embroiderers' Guild Practical Study Group (1984). Needlework School. QED Publishers. ISBN 0-89009-785-2. 
• Gillow, John, and Bryan Sentance (1999). World Textiles. Bulfinch Press/Little, Brown. ISBN 0-8212-2621-5. 
• Lemon, Jane (2004). Metal Thread Embroidery. Sterling. ISBN 0-7134-8926-X. 
• Levey, S. M. and D. King (1993). The Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection Vol. 3: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750. Victoria and Albert Museum. ISBN 1-85177-126-3. 
• Marie-Jo Quinault (2003). Filet Lace, Introduction to the Linen Stitch. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 1-4120-1549-9. 
• Netherton, Robin, and Gale R. Owen-Crocker, editors, (2005). Medieval Clothing and Textiles, Volume 1. Boydell Press. ISBN 1-84383-123-6. 
• Readers Digest (1979). Complete Guide to Needlework. Readers Digest. ISBN 0-89577-059-8. 
• van Niekerk, Di (2006). A Perfect World in Ribbon Embroidery and Stumpwork. ISBN 1-84448-231-6. 
• Wilson, David M. (1985). The Bayeux Tapestry. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-25122-3. 
• Crummy, Andrew (2010). The Prestonpans Tapestry 1745. Burke's Peerage & Gentry, for Battle of Prestonpans (1745) Heritage Trust. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Embroidery

• Embroidery at the Open Directory Project
• Embroidery Stitch Identification Guide – Henry Art Gallery Embroidery Stitch Identification Guide
• "Embroidery". Textiles. Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/textiles/features/embroidery/index.html. Retrieved 2011-02-15. 

v t e Embroidery Styles Assisi Bargello Berlin work Blackwork Broderie Anglaise Broderie perse Candlewicking Canvas work Celtic cross stitch Counted-thread Crewel Cross-stitch Cutwork Darning Drawn thread work Free embroidery Goldwork Hardanger Machine Needlepoint Quillwork Smocking Stumpwork Surface Suzani Trianglepoint Whitework 85px Stitches Backstitch Blanket Buttonhole Chain stitch Couching and laid work Cross stitches Embroidery stitch Featherstitch Holbein Parisian Running Satin stitch Sashiko Shisha Straight stitch Tent stitch Tools and materials Aida cloth Embroidery hoop Embroidery thread Evenweave Perforated paper Plainweave Plastic canvas Sampler Slip Yarn Regional and historical Art needlework Bunka shishu Brazilian Chikan Chinese English Indian Jacobean Kaitag Kantha Kasuti Korean Mountmellick Nakshi Kantha Persian Opus Anglicanum Rushnyk Ukrainian Vietnamese Vyshyvanka Zardozi Embroideries Butler-Bowden Cope Bayeux Tapestry Bradford carpet Hastings Embroidery Hestia tapestry Margaret Laton's jacket New World Tapestry Overlord embroidery Quaker Tapestry Designers and embroiderers Emilie Bach Leon Conrad Kaffe Fassett Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum François Lesage Ann Macbeth May Morris Jessie Newbery Charles Germain de Saint Aubin Mary Elizabeth Turner Teresa Wentzler Kathleen Whyte Erica Wilson Lily Yeats Organizations and museums Embroiderers' Guild (UK) Embroiderer's Guild of America Embroidery Software Protection Coalition Needlework Development Scheme Royal School of Needlework Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum Han Sang Soo Embroidery Museum Related Applique Crochet Knitting Lace Needlework Quilting

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