Embroidery

 

What is Embroidery?

Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. 

While embroidery is practiced across the world, its origin stems from China and the Near East. Early embroidery can actually be traced back to Cro-Magnon days or 30,000 B.C. Archeological finds from this time period reveals fossilized remains of heavily hand-stitched and decorated clothing.

What are the Different Types of Embroidery?

Cross stitch uses aida fabric, a stiff even-weave fabric with holes in it. It uses a series of cross stitches and sometimes back stitches and is worked on a grid or graph format.

Huck embroidery is done on huckaback towelling and uses a darning stitch. Cotton floss and a blunt needle are normally used, and geometric patterns are commonly created with this style of embroidery.

Cutwork embroidery involves cutting holes or shapes into fabric and using stitches (such as a hem stitch pictured here) to decorate the border of the hole and prevent fraying. 

Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique is accomplished either by hand stitching or machine.

Darning stitch was the most commonly used technique to make phulkari and the quality of a piece could be measured according to the width of this stitch. The narrowest was the stitch, the finest was the piece.

Kantha is a type of embroidery craft in the eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, specifically in Bangladesh and in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Odisha. In Odisha, old saris are stacked on each other and hand-stitched to make a thin piece of cushion.