Embroidery: An Old Age Practice Giving Fashion a New Definition Frequently

Embroidery has been around us and in practice for decades as handicraft of decorating fabric or other

materials using fine craftsmanship of thread or yarn. In this way, it has been practiced for decades. The

beginning of embroidery can be connected to Cro-Magnon days or 30,000 BC in Europe. There are some

evidences showing the possibility of embroidery in the past era. According to an archaeological report,

Europe witnessed fossilized remains of lots of hand-stitched and decorated clothing. Of course! This art

is age old and still in practice in all parts of the world. Embroidered fabrics are also popular and widely

used by women in their formal as well as informal dresses.

Actually, it is the art of decorating fabrics with the help of stitched designs using a needle and yarn. With

the advancement of technology and styles, embroidery artists have started adding different materials,

such metal strips, pearl, beads and quills, in their designs. And it is done to give clothing and dresses a

vivid look, perfection, style, and appeal that are hard to resist. Initially, hand embroidery had its own

distinctive style that was popular in ancient Egypt, Persia, China, India, Russia and England. This

distinctive style could be easily perceived in designs that reflected a perfect combination of culture,

history and traditions. There is no dearth of historical evidences showing the growing importance of

embroidery during 1100-1300s.

After hand embroidery, sewing techniques came in and gave a new meaning to the decorative

possibilities. With the coming of the machine age, the use of freehand stitched thread embroidery

decreased and wool work came into the existence. Cross-stitch came in 1880's when it was used on

using square meshed canvas with a perfect touch of stitch-by-stitch thread designs. Then, printed

patterns in color and bead embroidery came in the industry with the new needlework stitches. In

traditional embroidery, artists were supposed to use different fabrics and yarns with reference to their

culture and popular style. Wool, linen, and silk were popular materials in the past for both fabric and

yarn.

Today, we have embroidery thread in wool, linen, silk, cotton, rayon, and yarn. Modern artists use

ribbon in silk or silk/organza mix in ribbon embroidery to create floral shapes. Chain stitch and couching

or laid-work is a surface embroidery technique that is less expensive and is used for gold work. On the

other hand, canvas work technique delivers a burly and substantial finished textile. Now, beaded

embroidered fabrics and embroidered satin fabrics are widely preferred and used in all parts of the

world. People still like to wear embroidered fabrics to give their fashion and taste a new touch.

Hence, it can be said that embroidery is an old age practice that is still giving fashion a new definition

with changing times.