Chinese Embroidery

Chinese embroidery is a general term for various decorative patterns embroidered on fabrics with needles and threads. It is also a traditional folk handicraft that uses needles and threads to add people’s designs and creations to any existing fabric.  Chinese embroidery is one of the most representative traditional handicrafts of the Chinese nation and one of China’s quintessential cultural heritages.

Basic Information

• Chinese Name: Chinese Embroidery
• Aliases: Silk Embroidery, Needle Embroidery
• Type: Traditional National Handicraft
• Representative Work: “The Cat”
• Embroidery Techniques: Colored Embroidery, Cutwork Embroidery, etc.
• Four Famous Embroideries of China: Suzhou Embroidery, Hunan Embroidery, Guangdong Embroidery, Sichuan Embroidery

Chinese embroidery first originated from the tattooing custom and later transformed into a handicraft applied to clothing, being closely associated with practical daily use and aesthetic decoration.  According to the Records of the Grand Historian (Shangshu), around the garment system in the 21st century BC, it was stipulated that “the upper garment should be painted, and the lower garment should be embroidered.” By the Zhou Dynasty, there was a record of “the joint responsibility of embroidery and painting work”. The embroidery works unearthed from the Warring States Period and the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties in Hubei and Hunan provinces were of extremely high quality. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the stitches in embroidery were even and fine, the color application was rich, and it was prevalent to use embroidery for calligraphy, paintings, ornaments, and other items.

General Introduction

Embroidery, as a handicraft with a wide geographical spread, has seen each country and nation develop its own unique strengths and advantages through long-term accumulation. In China, apart from the renowned “Four Famous Embroideries” – Suzhou Embroidery, Hunan Embroidery, Guangdong Embroidery, and Sichuan Embroidery, there are also other local famous embroideries such as Beijing Embroidery, Shandong Embroidery, Kaifeng Embroidery, Wenzhou Ou Embroidery, Hangzhou Embroidery, Hubei Embroidery, Fujian Embroidery, etc. Moreover, China’s ethnic minorities, including the Uyghur, Yi, Dai, Buyi, Kazakh, Yao, Miao, Tujia, Jingpo, Dong, Bai, Zhuang, Mongolian, Tibetan, and others, all have their distinctive ethnic embroideries.

 

 

Embroidery, also known as “needle embroidery” and commonly called “embroidery work”, uses an embroidery needle to thread colorful threads (silk, velvet, thread) and pierce and stitch on fabrics (such as silk and cloth) according to the designed patterns. The embroidery stitches form patterns or characters, and it is one of China’s outstanding traditional national handicrafts. In ancient times, it was called “zhǐ” or “needle zhǐ”. Later, since most embroidery was done by women, it was also known as “women’s handicraft”.

According to the Book of Documents, as far back as more than 4,000 years ago, the costume system stipulated that “the upper garment should be painted, and the lower garment should be embroidered.” In the Zhou Dynasty, there was a record of “joint responsibility for embroidery and painting.” The embroidery works unearthed from the Warring States Period and the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties in Hubei and Hunan provinces were of a very high level.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the stitches in embroidery were even and fine, with rich color applications. It was popular to use embroidery for calligraphy, paintings, ornaments, and other items. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the scale of court embroiderers in the feudal dynasties was large, and folk embroidery also developed further. Suzhou embroidery, Guangdong embroidery, Hunan embroidery, and Sichuan embroidery emerged successively, known as the “Four Famous Embroideries of China.”

In addition, there are also Gu embroidery, Beijing embroidery, Wenzhou Ou embroidery, Shandong embroidery, Fujian embroidery, Kaifeng embroidery, Hubei embroidery, Miao embroidery, etc., all of which have their own unique styles and have been passed down to this day, remaining popular over time. There are dozens of embroidery stitches, such as flat stitch, interlocking stitch, tying stitch, long and short stitch, French knot stitch, flat gold stitch, cross stitch, etc., which are rich and colorful, each with its own characteristics.

From the late Qing Dynasty to the period of the Republic of China, it was a tragic era when the Chinese nation suffered deeply and the people lived in extreme hardship. With foreign powers’ aggression, warlords’ separatist rule, internal turmoil, external threats, and continuous wars, embroidery, like other national industries and businesses, suffered an unprecedented impact and was on the verge of collapse.

It was not until the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 that embroidery, along with other industries and businesses, recovered and developed rapidly. In order to preserve and carry forward the local characteristics of embroidery techniques, many places established corresponding research institutions and allocated special funds to support and promote the collation and research of embroidery techniques. In particular, many unique embroidery techniques that had been lost among the people were systematically developed and utilized, greatly enriching the content of embroidery stitches, making the embroidered works more beautiful and increasing the variety of embroidered products. Especially on the basis of “double-sided embroidery”, the “double-sided completely different embroidery” was developed and researched. That is, on the same fabric, the front and back sides can be embroidered with completely different pictures, stitches, and colors, which has amazed the world, with people exclaiming that “it can be regarded as a world-class unique technique.”

Today, China’s embroidery craftsmanship can be found almost all over the country. Suzhou embroidery in Suzhou, Hunan embroidery in Hunan, Sichuan embroidery in Sichuan, and Guangdong embroidery in Guangdong each have their own unique characteristics and are renowned as the Four Famous Embroideries of China. The embroidery artworks that have evolved to this day feature intricate and sophisticated craftsmanship. For example, the double-sided embroidery “Cat” is one of the representative works of Suzhou embroidery. Craftsmen divide an embroidery thread as thin as a hair into halves, quarters, and even into twelfths or forty-eighths of its original thickness for stitching, and they manage to hide thousands of thread ends and knots completely out of sight. Whether viewed from the front or the back, one can see the playful and lively demeanor of the kitten. The most challenging part of embroidering a cat is its pair of eyes. Craftsmen need to use more than 20 different colors of silk threads to make the cat’s eyes bright and vivid, bringing them to life. Up to now, on the basis of double-sided embroidery, double-sided embroidery with different colors and patterns has been developed, opening up a new path for the embroidery craftsmanship. Common embroidery daily necessities such as quilt covers, pillowcases, cushions, and shoe uppers can be embroidered by many women in the Chinese countryside, making it quite popular.

The Gu embroidery from Luxiangyuan in Shanghai and the Phoenix embroidery in Beijing were the most famous embroidery styles at that time. The Gu family passed down their embroidery skills from generation to generation, and their reputation for being proficient in embroidery spread far and wide across the country and was even recognized by the imperial court. In the Qing Dynasty, Gu embroidery was not only renowned throughout China but also gained international fame, attracting many foreign merchants to Shanghai.

Now, there is also the golden silk and feather embroidery, which is extremely lifelike and has a strong three-dimensional effect. Feather embroidery can be used to embroider not only landscapes, flowers, and birds but also daily necessities, and even carpets and tapestries. The production method is simple. It makes use of the feathers of various poultry that people discard in their daily lives. After disinfection treatment, these feathers are hand-embroidered.

 

 

In 1958, an embroidery piece with dragon and phoenix patterns was unearthed from the Chu Tomb in Changsha, China. This embroidery dates back to the Warring States Period of ancient China over two thousand years ago and is one of the earliest physical embroidery items discovered in China so far.

For a long time, ancient Chinese embroidery didn’t sell well in the international art market and its prices remained mediocre. It was not until 1993 that in places like Hong Kong, China, and Singapore, some people began to specifically collect it. According to the inference of market analysts, it will still take collectors about 10 years of efforts to make embroidery items become the new favorites in the international market. In some domestic art auctions in the past two years, the prices of embroidery items up for auction have soared, which has attracted a great deal of competition among buyers.

So, what exactly is “embroidery”?

Commonly known as “embroidering flowers”, it is a technique that uses a needle to thread a line on the processed fabric, pierces it according to the design requirements, and organizes the embroidery threads into various patterns and colors through the movement of the needle.

 

Embroidery Methods

Colored Embroidery

Flat Stitch

Stitch Explanation: It is the basic embroidery stitch. Both the starting and ending stitches must be on the edge of the pattern. The embroidery threads are used to make parallel and closely filled stitches, and the stitches are arranged neatly and evenly.
Application Features: Generally used to embroider small flowers, small leaves, and other patterns. It is not suitable for large patterns.
Earliest Physical Data: The No.1 Han Tomb at Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan Province in the Western Han Dynasty.
Flat stitch has various names according to different arrangements of the stitches, such as straight flat stitch, horizontal flat stitch, oblique flat stitch, etc.

• Straight Flat Stitch: The needle moves vertically according to the pattern.
• Horizontal Flat Stitch: The needle moves horizontally according to the pattern.
• Oblique Flat Stitch: The needle moves obliquely, generally at an angle of 45 degrees.

Feather Stitch

Stitch Explanation: Make small-distance straight stitches at the tip, and the threads in the central part are slightly overlapped.
Application Features: Often used to embroider leaves to show their three-dimensional effect.

 

Open Feather Stitch

Stitch Explanation: Similar to the feather stitch, but the stitch distance is looser.

 

Raised Feather Stitch

Stitch Explanation: Insert the needle from the tip, insert it into the middle, bring the needle out from the contour line, pick up the tip, and then embroider the fabric as wide as the leaf. In this way, pick up alternately up and down and gradually move downward to fill the core.
Application Features: Used to embroider leaves with a three-dimensional effect.

 

Outline Stitch

Stitch Explanation: The stitched thread pattern does not show the needle holes. The stitches are connected one by one. The next stitch starts approximately one-third of the previous stitch. The needle holes are hidden under the previous stitch, and the connection is natural.
Application Features: Often used to represent elastic lines, and its surface effect is like a strand of thread. The lines are of uniform thickness and are often used to embroider the edges of plant branches, leaf veins, and other pattern designs, as well as firm lines.
Earliest Physical Data: The earliest physical object using this stitch is the Southern Song Dynasty imitation painting embroidery “The Picture of Riding a Crane on the Yao Terrace.”

• Outline Stitch with Wrapped Thread: Stitch Explanation: After embroidering the outline stitch, use another thread to wind around the outline stitch.

• Full Outline Stitch: Stitch Explanation: Completely fill the entire pattern with the outline stitch.

Couching Stitch

Stitch Explanation: It is a kind of stitch that uses a thin thread to nail the floating thread vertically onto the embroidery ground. It can serve as the outline line of the pattern or fill the pattern.
Application Features: The embroidery threads used for couching are relatively thin. The color matching of these threads can be used to add tonal changes to the patterns. Only when the stitch spacing is equal can it be neat and beautiful.
Earliest Physical Data: Unearthed from the Liao Dynasty Tomb at Yemaotai. (The “Embroidered Bag with Flower and Bird Patterns on Silk” and the “Embroidered Remnant with Patterns on Silk” in the Tang Dynasty) Couching stitch, also known as stem stitch embroidery or appliqué thread embroidery, is an embroidery method that nails and embroiders various ribbons and cords onto clothing or textiles according to a certain pattern. The commonly used couching methods include open couching and hidden couching. In the former, the stitch marks are exposed on the thread stem, while in the latter, they are hidden within the thread stem. The couching stitch embroidery method is simple and has a long history. Its decorative style is elegant and generous, and it has been widely used in kimonos in recent years. Bead embroidery, also known as sequin embroidery, uses materials such as hollow beads, bead tubes, artificial gemstones, and shiny sequins to embroider and embellish on clothing to produce a glittering and eye-catching effect. It is generally applied to stage performance costumes to add beauty and attraction to the clothing, and it is also widely used on shoe uppers, handbags, jewelry boxes, etc.

 

Gold and Silver Outlining Stitch

Stitch Explanation: Only nail around the outline of the pattern.
Application Features: It makes the pattern look neat and protruding, and can also coordinate the adjacent contrasting colors.
Earliest Physical Data: Unearthed from the Liao Dynasty Tomb at Yemaotai.

 

Gold Thread Coiling Stitch

Stitch Explanation: Coil gold threads all over the entire block pattern.

 

Drooping Couching Stitch

Stitch Explanation: Do not pull the embroidered thread tightly, allowing it to droop loosely into loops.

 

Full Couching Stitch

Stitch Explanation: That is, stem stitch embroidery. The coiling embroidery threads tightly wind around the floating thread and completely wrap it, giving it a three-dimensional and protruding effect.

 

Binding Stitch

Stitch Explanation: Horizontally nail one or several stitches in the middle of the long stitches of the evenly embroidered flat stitches. The stitches can be arranged in a straight line or in a decorative pattern, having a dual effect of pressing the thread and adding decorative patterns.
Earliest Physical Data: The earliest physical object using this stitch is the Southern Song Dynasty imitation painting embroidery “The Picture of Riding a Crane on the Yao Terrace.”

 

Mountain Stitch

Stitch Explanation: The stitches are in a continuous “V” shape.
Application Features: It can be used between two lines as an outline boundary or to fill the pattern.

 

Half Mountain Stitch

Stitch Explanation: It is a variant stitch developed from the mountain stitch.
Application Features: It can be used to embroider in rows or follow the curves of the pattern when stitching.

 

Long and Short Stitch (Qiangzhen Embroidery)

Stitch Explanation: Use short and straight stitches to embroider layer by layer according to the shape of the pattern. Embroidery threads of similar colors can be used to create a color gradation effect from light to dark.
Application Features: Embroidered works using this stitch are relatively sturdy, and the patterns have strong decorative properties.
Earliest Physical Data: The embroidered remnant with patterns on silk in the Tang Dynasty.

• Positive Long and Short Stitch: Embroidering layer by layer in sequence from the outer edge of the pattern inward is called the “positive long and short stitch.”

• Reverse Long and Short Stitch: Embroidering layer by layer from the inside out is called the “reverse long and short stitch.”

Pine Needle Stitch

Stitch Explanation: Move the needle in a radial pattern. The embroidery threads are arranged in a semi-fan shape or a circular shape. The ending stitches on the outer edge are on a circle, but the gathering stitches are all in the same needle hole.
Earliest Physical Data: The earliest physical object using this stitch is the Southern Song Dynasty imitation painting embroidery “The Picture of Riding a Crane on the Yao Terrace.”

 

Chain Stitch

Stitch Explanation: It is composed of interlocking embroidery loops and gets its name because the embroidery pattern looks like a chain. The embroidery pattern has strong decorative properties and a three-dimensional effect.
Earliest Physical Data: The imprint of single-strand volute pattern chain stitch unearthed from the Rujiacun Tomb in Baoji, Shaanxi Province of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1027~249 B.C.) and the remaining trace of chain stitch with diamond patterns attached to the bronze ware unearthed from the Fuhao Tomb in Yin Ruins, Anyang, Henan Province (1300~1200 B.C.) are two earliest examples of the use of chain stitch.

 

Various Variations

• Closed Chain Stitch
  Stitch Explanation: The starting and ending stitches of the loop are in the same needle hole.
• Open Chain Stitch
  Stitch Explanation: The loop has openings of different sizes.
• Herringbone Stitch
  Stitch Explanation: Pick the fabric from right to left, make cross stitches with the same upper and lower width, and move forward from left to right.
  Application: Used to embroider thick lines or fill areas, and can also be used to fix inlays, hems, etc.
• Dense Herringbone Stitch
  Stitch Explanation: Narrow the interval of the herringbone stitch and make two insertions in each needle hole for embroidery.
• Corded Herringbone Stitch
  Stitch Explanation: First, make the herringbone stitch, and then use another thread to wind around the crossing position.
• Double Herringbone Stitch
  Stitch Explanation: Enlarge the herringbone stitch, and then embroider once more with another thread in between, making staggered stitches. It is also called the “shadow stitch.”
• Flat-headed Herringbone Stitch
  Stitch Explanation: After making the herringbone stitch, fix it with another thread at the crossing position, similar to the binding stitch method.

Random Stitch Embroidery

Random stitch embroidery was founded in the 1930s by Mr. Lü Fengzi, a native of Danyang, a renowned painter and art educator. It is also known as “Zhengze Embroidery” and “Brocade Pattern Embroidery”. It is a new type of embroidery suitable for creating decorative artworks. Due to its unique embroidery method, it is hailed as the fifth most famous embroidery in China today. Random stitch embroidery mainly uses long and short intersecting lines and a technique of adding colors layer by layer to depict the image. The stitching method is lively, the lines are smooth, the colors are rich, the sense of hierarchy is strong, and the style is unique. It is especially good at embroidering works based on manuscripts such as oil paintings, photographs, and sketches.

 

Four Famous Embroideries of China

The Four Famous Embroideries of China took shape in the middle of the 19th century. Besides their own artistic characteristics, another important reason for their emergence was the commercialization of embroidery products. Due to different market demands and embroidery production regions, embroidery handicrafts, as a kind of commodity, began to develop their own local characteristics. Among them, the products from Suzhou, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Hunan had particularly wide markets, so they were known as the “Four Famous Embroideries of China”.

 

Suzhou Embroidery

Suzhou is located in the Jiangnan region. The birthplace of Suzhou embroidery is around Wuxian County in Suzhou. Adjacent to Taihu Lake, it has a mild climate and is rich in silk production. Therefore, there has always been a traditional custom that women are good at embroidery. The superior geographical environment, gorgeous and abundant brocades, and colorful embroidery threads have created favorable conditions for the development of Suzhou embroidery. In the long historical development process, Suzhou embroidery has formed a local style in art with beautiful patterns, harmonious colors, clear lines, lively stitching methods, and exquisite craftsmanship, and is praised as the “Oriental Pearl”.

From the perspective of appreciation, the main artistic features of Suzhou embroidery works are as follows: landscapes can show the charm of distance and proximity; pavilions and buildings can present a profound and solid body; figures can convey vivid expressions of gazing and looking; flowers and birds can show a graceful and intimate posture. The imitative painting embroidery and realistic embroidery of Suzhou embroidery are renowned worldwide for their lifelike artistic effects. In terms of embroidery techniques, Suzhou embroidery mostly uses the interlocking stitch as the main method, and the embroidery threads are connected without showing the stitch marks. Commonly, three or four different similar-colored threads or adjacent-colored threads are matched to create a smooth color gradation effect through interlocking embroidery. At the same time, when depicting objects, it is good at leaving a “waterway”, that is, leaving a thin line in the depth changes of the objects to make the layers distinct and the pattern outlines neat. Therefore, people often summarize Suzhou embroidery with the eight characters “flat, neat, fine, dense, even, smooth, harmonious, and bright”.

After long-term accumulation, Suzhou embroidery has developed into a complete art with a complete variety of products, rich images, and diverse changes, covering decorative paintings (such as oil painting series, traditional Chinese painting series, water town series, flower series, greeting card series, pigeon pattern series, vase series, etc.). Practical items include clothing, handkerchiefs, scarves, greeting cards, etc.

 

Guangdong Embroidery

Guangdong embroidery is the general term for Guangzhou embroidery and Chaoshan embroidery, with a history of more than a thousand years. In the “Du Yang Za Bian” written by Su E in the Tang Dynasty, there is already a record that Lu Meiniang, a young girl from Nanhai (now Panyu, Guangzhou), was “incredibly skillful and able to embroider seven volumes of the ‘Lotus Sutra’ on a chi of silk fabric”. The craftsmanship level of Guangdong embroidery in the Tang Dynasty was already extraordinary. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Jiugao, the Jiedushi (military governor) of Lingnan, presented fine embroidery works to Yang Guifei and was promoted to the third rank of officialdom, which shows that the highest social class at that time highly appreciated Guangdong embroidery.

 

 

By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, due to the convenient trade exchanges along the coastal areas of Guangdong, Guangdong embroidery had gained a reputation overseas. In the ninth year of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty (1514), the Portuguese purchased the sleeve pieces of the dragon robe embroidered by Guangzhou embroidery artisans and presented them to the Portuguese king. The Portuguese king was overjoyed and gave generous rewards.

Since the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the British have taken their garments to the Guangzhou embroidery workshops in China for processing. Queen Elizabeth I of the United Kingdom highly appreciated the Chinese embroidery with gold and silver threads. She initiated the establishment of the British Embroidery Guild and organized the royal embroidery workshop in the form of Guangzhou embroidery workshops, importing silk and silk threads from China to process and embroider noble costumes. King Charles I of England advocated the dissemination of Guangzhou embroidery art in the British Isles, which was praised by Western scholars as “a gift from China to the West” [5]. Museums in the UK, France, Germany, and the United States all have collections of Guangdong embroidery. In the 18th century, Guangdong embroidery became popular among the British royal family and the upper class.

Most of the embroidery workers in Guangdong are men from Guangzhou and Chaozhou, which is rare in the world. The main embroidered products include clothing accessories, hanging screens, money belts, screen centers, round fans, fan covers, etc.

In terms of art, the composition of Guangdong embroidery is dense and lively, the colors are rich and eye-catching, the stitching is simple, the embroidery threads are relatively thick and loose, the stitch lengths are uneven, and the stitch patterns are slightly overlapping and convex. It often takes phoenixes, peonies, pine trees and cranes, apes, deer, as well as chickens and geese as its themes.

Another type of famous product of Guangdong embroidery is the embroidery with brocade or gold couching as the base, that is, the famous gold couching embroidery. Especially the gold and velvet embroidery with a high padded lining is even more resplendent and magnificent, with a profound and powerful style. It is mostly used as costumes for traditional Chinese operas, stage furnishings, and decorative embroidered works in temples and monasteries, which is suitable for creating a warm and festive atmosphere.

 

Sichuan Embroidery

Sichuan Embroidery, also known as “Chuan Embroidery”, refers to the embroidery in Sichuan Province represented by Chengdu. Sichuan Embroidery has a long history. According to the records in “Huayang Guo Zhi” written by Chang Qu in the Jin Dynasty, the embroidery in Shu (ancient name of Sichuan) was already very famous at that time, and Sichuan Embroidery was listed alongside Shu Brocade and regarded as a famous local product of Sichuan.

There are relatively few pure ornamental works of Sichuan Embroidery, and most of them are daily necessities. The materials are mostly flowers, birds, insects, fish, folk auspicious sayings, and traditional patterns, etc., which are full of festive colors. They are embroidered on quilt covers, pillowcases, clothes, shoes, and painted screens.

In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, on the basis of the local traditional embroidery techniques, Sichuan Embroidery absorbed the strengths of Gu Embroidery and Suzhou Embroidery, and suddenly became one of the important commercial embroideries in the country. Sichuan Embroidery uses needles neatly and evenly, with a bright and smooth surface, clear silk threads, and no substitution of brushes. The edges of the patterns are as neatly cut as if by a knife, and the colors are bright and vivid.

 

 

Hunan Embroidery

Hunan Embroidery is a general term for embroidery products centered around Changsha, Hunan Province. In order to meet the needs of a group of newly emerging nobles who made their fortunes by suppressing the Taiping Rebellion, the merchants in Changsha City opened the “Gu Embroidery Workshop”. Before long, Hunan Embroidery overshadowed Gu Embroidery in name.

The characteristic of Hunan Embroidery is that it uses velvet threads (non-twisted velvet threads) for embroidery. In fact, the velvet filaments are treated in a solution to prevent fuzzing. Such embroidered works are locally known as “fine wool embroidery”. Hunan Embroidery mostly takes traditional Chinese paintings as its themes. The forms are vivid and lifelike, and the style is bold and unrestrained. It has the reputation of “Embroidered flowers seem to emit fragrance, embroidered birds seem to be able to make sounds, embroidered tigers seem to be able to run, and embroidered people seem to be vivid in spirit”.

The color matching of Hunan Embroidery’s humanistic paintings mainly features shades of gray and black and white, as simple and elegant as ink wash paintings. The colors of Hunan Embroidery daily necessities are bright and vivid, and the patterns and decorations have strong decorative properties.

 

Embroidery Stitches

Categories: Straight Stitch, Coiling Stitch, Interlocking Stitch, Long and Short Stitch, Long and Short Stitch (Qiangzhen), Flat Stitch, Scattered and Interlaced Stitch, Braiding Stitch, Applying Stitch, Auxiliary Stitch, Variant Stitch

 

Straight Stitch

It uses completely vertical lines to embroider the shape. Both the starting and ending stitches of the line are at the edge, all in parallel arrangement, and the edge is neat. The color matching is one color thread for one unit, without color mixing. Where the stitches are too long, additional threads are used to fasten them. Later, it evolved into the stitch method of laying stitches and carving.

 

Coiling Stitch

It is a stitch method used to represent curved shapes. It includes four types: cutting stitch, joining stitch, rolling stitch, and swirling stitch. Among them, the cutting stitch is the earliest, and later it developed into the swirling stitch.

 

Interlocking Stitch

It originated in the Tang Dynasty, became popular in the Song Dynasty, and was further developed during the Gu Embroidery of Luxiangyuan in the Ming Dynasty and the time of Shen Shou in the Qing Dynasty.

• Single Interlocking Stitch: Also known as flat interlocking stitch. Its embroidery method is as follows: The first batch of stitches starts from the edge, and the edge is neat; the second batch of stitches falls within the first batch, and the first batch needs to leave a small gap to accommodate the needles of the second batch; the third batch needs to turn to about one centimeter from the end of the first batch, and then leave a gap for the fourth batch of stitches; the fourth batch is connected to about one centimeter from the end of the second batch… and so on.

Long and Short Stitch

Also known as long and short stitch. This stitch method uses long and short stitches alternately. The later needle emerges from the middle of the previous needle, and the edge is not neat. It has the advantage of smooth color adjustment and can be used to embroider realistic images.

 

Long and Short Stitch (Qiangzhen)

Also called qiangzhen stitch, it is a stitch method in which short and straight needles follow the posture of the shape, and the later needles follow the previous needles batch by batch. It can be said that this stitch method is the development of the straight stitch.

 

Flat Stitch

It is an embroidery method that uses gold and silver threads instead of silk threads. The method is as follows: First, lay the gold or silver thread flat on the embroidery ground, and then fasten it with short silk threads. The distance between each needle is one to one and a half fen. Fill it in a swirling manner according to the embroidered pattern. There can be two or three rows, or multiple rows. The fastening threads should form a cross pattern like the pattern on the sole of a shoe.

 

Scattered and Interlaced Stitch

It uses various changes of stitch methods to achieve an appropriate balance of yin and yang and shades, and strives to make the embroidered shape lifelike.
Scattered and Neat Stitch: It is a mixed stitch method that combines interlocking stitch, applying stitch, joining stitch, and long and short stitch.

 

Braiding Stitch

It is an embroidery method similar to braiding. It includes cross stitch on gauze, dotting stitch, laying velvet stitch, net embroidery stitch, sandwich brocade stitch, cross-stitch, wool embroidery stitch, etc. These stitch methods are all suitable for embroidering patterns, so they can also be called “pattern embroidery”.

 

Wrapping Stitch

It is a stitch method in which the needle and thread are wound around each other and fastened to form embroidery. French knot stitch, chain stitch, buttonhole stitch, chain stitch, and feather stitch all belong to this category. French knot stitch: It is one of the traditional stitch methods of Suzhou embroidery. It can be used to embroider flower stamens or can be used to independently embroider pattern paintings.

 

Applying Stitch

It is a stitch method added to other stitches. This stitch method requires being sparse rather than dense, divergent rather than parallel, flexible rather than stagnant, and uneven.

 

Auxiliary Stitch

This type of stitch is not a stitch for independently embroidering the shape, but an auxiliary stitch method adopted to enhance the similarity and vividness of the embroidered scenery. The stitches included in this category are: auxiliary stitch, tying stitch, scale carving stitch, etc.

 

Variant Stitch

In embroidery, there are some special embroidery methods that use other tools, materials, and craftsmanship to change conventional embroidery, which are variant stitches. They include dyed embroidery, painting-added embroidery, color-borrowing embroidery, high embroidery, silk cutting, and velvet cutting, etc. Dyed embroidery: In the embroidery works of the Yuan Dynasty, the features of figures, flowers, and birds were mostly outlined with ink, using painting instead of embroidery. The method of dyed embroidery originated from this and is still in use today.