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Embroidery

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Gold Embroidery
Cross-stitch embroidery, Hungary, mid-20th century
File:2006 08 26 Phulkari.JPG
Phulkari from Punjab region, India
15th century embroidered cope, Ghent, Belgium
File:Elizabeth Bettes detail.jpg
Elizabethan embroidery styles include blackwork on linen and dense patterns worked in colored silk and metallic threads on velvet or other rich fabrics

Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with designs stitched in strands of thread or yarn using a needle. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. Machine embroidery is created by using a specialized machine that can read a computerized design to automatically create a stitched design.

Types of embroidery

Embroidery is classified according to its use of the underlying foundation fabric. One classification system divides embroidery styles according to 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 embroidery.

A second division classifies embroidery according to whether the design is stitched on top of or through the foundation fabric:

  • In Surface embroidery, patterns are worked on top of the foundation fabric using decorative stitches and laid threads. Surface embroidery encompasses most free embroidery as well as some forms of counted-thread embroidery (such as cross-stitch).
  • In Canvas work, threads are stitched through a fabric mesh to create a dense pattern that completely covers the foundation fabric. All canvas work is not counted-thread embroidery. There are printed and hand painted canvases where the painted or printed image is meant to serve as a color guide. Stitches are of the stitcher's choosing.

History

The origins of embroidery are lost in time, but examples survive from ancient Egypt, Iron Age Northern Europe and Song Dynasty China.

Elaborately embroidered clothing, religious objects, and household items have been a mark of wealth and status in many cultures including ancient Persia, India, Byzantium, medieval England (Opus Anglicanum or "English work"), and Baroque Europe.

Hand embroidery is a traditional art form passed from generation to generation in many cultures, including northern Vietnam, Mexico, and eastern Europe.

The Bayeux Tapestry is not a true Tapestry; it is an elaborately embroidered wall hanging originally displayed at the Bayeux Cathedral, and now housed at a special museum in Bayeux, Normandy.


Embroidery and needlework organizations

See also

References

  • S.F.A. Caulfield and B.C. Saward, The Dictionary of Needlework, 1885.
  • Virginia Churchill Bath, Needlework in America, Viking Press, 1979 ISBN 0-670-50575-7
  • Readers Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, 1979, ISBN 0-89577-059-8.
  • Chinese embroidery - Feature about the history, development and styles of the hand embroidery in China
  • Chinese embroidery silk art - Chinese embroidery,essential of traditional Chinese handicrafts,representing Chinese silk art as Needle Painting.
  • Embroiderers' Guild - web site of the Embroiderers' Guild, including online bookshop, magazine and membership subscribing.
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