People used fabric and needle to decorate the clothing and the interior of the place of leaving since ancient times. Following the experience of the ancestors, the human being tries to improve it by adding the modern accent to the well-known idea. Embroidery is considered to be the type of stuff decoration using yarn, needle, or other materials by stitches; and is commonly hand-made. The way the fabric is decorated has now improved by adding different types of charms and feathers. To accomplish the best results in embroidery one should have a lot of patience and practise as the work involves not only talent but also the understanding of the technique and history of this art proving that every direction of craft requires not only knowledge but, also, creativity.
The History of the Embroidery
The origin of the embroidery was discovered in ancient Egypt, Russia, and India (Inama, 2009, p. 85). It should be stressed that every country had different features and techniques. Ancient people decorated the fabric by hand and used stitches not only for the interior design but, also, for the decoration of clothing and shoes. The evidence found in Russia supports the argument that embroidery dates back almost to the 3000 B. C. People in China invented the embroidery with precious stones and the silk thread (Inama, 2009, p. 85). It should be highlighted that the clothing decorated with precious stones used to symbolize the wealth of the owner.
Necessary Equipment
The thread is very important for the embroiderer as the talented hands can turn the fabric into a masterpiece. The type of the thread varies from the needs of the embroiderer. There can be differences in colour and textile; however the most popular among them are considered to be the following: embroidery floss, pearl cotton, wool, silk, and bamboo yarn (Fall, 2014, p. 3). One of the benefits of such art is that the one can use almost every fabric to create a piece of art. However, it should be stressed that there are certain types of fabric that are considered to be the most widespread between the workers, namely cotton, linen, and bamboo (Fall, 2014, p. 3). The needle choice requires the understanding concerning the type of the material and the thread.
Techniques
There are a lot of various types of stitches that every beginner should learn to succeed in the working process. The information concerning the types of stitches is rather helpful as it is impossible to perform the picture without understanding the basics techniques. Among all the types of stitches the following ones are considered to be the most popular, namely back, blanket, Bosnian, buttonhole, crossed, cable, and a variation of the chain stitches.
While creating a picture using stitches one should remember that there are certain techniques that are essential for the positive outcome. The basic information includes the knowledge concerning the knots. There are two types of knots, namely away and waste one. Moreover, it is significantly important how to finish the thread correctly. The understanding of the basic techniques is enough to start the working process. The major problem that people face is the way the pattern is read or transferred to the fabric. It is important to make an accent that there are several methods how the pattern can be transferred. The easiest way is to trace the picture on the material with the pen or pencil. However, one of the most widespread methods is thread tracing.
Modern Type of Embroidery
Being a popular hobby for the hand-makers, the embroidery has already moved to a new level of development with the innovation of the embroidery machines. The equipment used nowadays allows modernization of the embroidery process by offering a great variety of design choices (Shinn, 2013, p. 13). It should be stated that there every picture or photo can be turned into the embroidery scheme simply by downloading it to the computer program.
The embroidery is commonly viewed as the folk tradition or the way to create a picture that can be used in the interior design. However, it should be pointed out that modern fashion designers find inspiration in the embroidery motifs and try to combine the folk tradition with the contemporary fashion viewpoints (Black, 2014, p. 386). The leading fashion houses across the globe are attracted by the unique and fascinating beauty of the embroidery patterns. Designers commonly use the ornaments from the Ukrainian embroidery, which is considered to be popular nowadays.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be pointed out that embroidery requires certain skills and talent. The deep understanding of technology, history, tradition, and yarn difference can help the embroiderer to achieve the best result by creating the work of art using only the needle, fabric, and thread. The technical progress allows people to buy embroidery machines and achieve results faster. The outcome seems to be perfect; however by using such machines people forget the main purpose of the embroidery; by working on a pattern hand-makers usually express their feeling and thoughts into their work, which seems to be more significant than the machinery work.
References
Black, S. (2014). The handbook of fashion studies. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
Fall, C. (2014). Embroidery Basics: A needle knowledge book. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books.
Inama, S. (2009). Rules of origin in international trade. Cambridge, U. K.: Cambridge University Press.
Shinn, C. (2013). Freestyle machine embroidery: Techniques and inspiration for fiber art. Loveland, CO: Betterway Books.