ArtPage on Embroider and Embroidery

embroider, embroidery - To embroider is to ornament with needlework — making and arranging stitches of variously colored threads — or to make by means of needlework. Embroidery is the act or art of embroidering. Or, it is ornamention of fabric with needlework, a piece of embroidered fabric, or embellishment with fanciful details. Fabric to be embroidered can be more easily worked if it is stretched within an embroidery hoop. Most embroidery needles are curved.

Examples of embroidery:

Peru, Paracas, Burial Mantle, 300 BCE - 300 CE, camelid fiber; plain weave with stemstitch and loop stitch embroidery, 98 1/4 x 57 1/4 inches (249.56 x 145.42 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art. See costume, Mesoamerican art and Pre-Columbian.

Mongolia, burial mound at Noin-ula, Embroidery with a Benedictory Motif, 1st century BCE, silk, 39.5 x 35.7 cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

South America, Central Andes, Central Coast, Chancay, Openwork Headcloth, Late Intermediate Period, 1000-1470 CE, cotton, embroidered square mesh openwork, 32 x 32 inches (81 x 81 cm), Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emery U, Atlanta, GA. See Pre-Columbian art.

China, Yuan dynasty, Bodhisattva of Wisdom (Manjusri), 13th-14th century, silk embroidered with silk and gold-wrapped threads, 17 3/8 x 7 5/8 inches, Indianapolis Museum of art, IN. See Bodhisattva.

A detail of this wall hanging.

Netherlands, 1570, Dalmatic, polychrome wool and silk, interlocking tapestry weave, with embroidery accentuating details of the design, 43 1/4 x 45 1/2 inches (109.8 x 115.6 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art. See Dutch art and tapestry.

Italy or Spain, Altar Frontal, c. 1600, embroidered in silk and metallic gold threads on a red silk velvet ground, with semiprecious stones, 45 x 110 inches (114.3 x 279.4 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This was made to decorate the front of the altar in the church of Valletta, dedicated to John the Baptist on the Island of Malta. It is dominated by three large medallions with scenes from the saint's life. See gem.

England, Man's Gauntlets, 1610-20, leather with gold and silk thread embroidery, and gift lace on silk satin, 1. 14 inches (35.6 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

English, Beaded Picture, 1650-70, linen, glass beads, 10 3/4 x 13 1/2 inches (27.3 x 34.3 cm), Cincinnati Art Museum, OH. See folk art.

Japan, Noh robe (Nuihaku), Edo period (1615-1868), second half of the 18th century, silk embroidery and gold leaf on satin, height 61 1/4 inches (155.6 cm), width at sleeves 21 1/8 inches (53.7 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See Japanese art.

Patty Coggeshall (American, 1780-1797, Bristol, RI), Embroidered Sampler, c. 1792, linen embroidered with silk thread, 19 1/2 x 16 5/8 inches (49.5 x 42.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See sampler.

Rebekah S. Munro (American, 1780-1803, Providence, RI), Embroidered Sampler, c. 1791, linen embroidered with silk thread, 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches (40.01 x 29.85 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See sampler.

Mary Jones (Pennsylvania), Dresden-Work Sampler, 1795, silk and cotton embroidery on linen, 15 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches (38.7 x 33.7 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See sampler.

Korea, Rank Badge (Hyungbae) of Civil Official with Two Cranes, end of the Choson period, about 1800-1910, silk embroidery and couched metallic foil-wrapped thread on silk damask, 9 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches (24.13 x 21.59 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) (Russian, 1892-1990)
Costume Kimono for Ganna Walska as Cio-Cio-San in 'Madama Butterfly', Act I, 1923, a) obi: silk, metallic thread embroidery; b) kimono: painted silk; c) inner kimono: silk, a) obi: length 39 inches (99.06 cm); b) kimono: center back length 72 inches (182.88 cm); c) inner kimono: center back length 51 1/2 inches (130.81 cm), Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

American, Artisan Embroidery Company, San Carlos, CA, GSJ, 1994, monogram of initial letters and leaves embroidered on a pink cotton towel. This work earned its maker a first place award in Stitches Magazine's annual Stitch-Off Competition of 1994.

The Textile Museum.
Textile Dictionary. All terms are divided into four categories: cotton; silk and silk imitation; worsted, wool and hair; other cellulose fabrics. Each term description includes the fibre of the textile, the weave, its characteristics and uses.
Needlework: Wonderful Stitches.
Marla Mallett Textiles displays more than 1400 photos of tapestries and other textiles from around the world. Marla also offers great information on the structures and techniques used by textile artisans, and articles on folk art tapestries and mounting and hanging textile art. Contact Marla Mallett, 1690 Johnson Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30306.

Also see craft, openwork, and textile.