Embroidery

Embroidery is a classic art form, which involves decorating fabrics and other materials with yarn, thread or needle. This handicraft or art form may use materials such as beads, pearls, sequins, quills and even strips of metal.

Unique Features of Embroidery
Among the most unique features or traits of embroidery is that the basic techniques, which include the blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, chain stitch and cross stitch stitch, truly remain as standard techniques in the art of doing embroidery by hand.

The Advent of Machine Embroidery
The rise of the Industrial Revolution paved the way for the mechanization of many forms of sewing, as well as gave the art of embroidery a healthy dose of innovation. The first embroidery machines were great at mimicking hand embroidery, particularly the chain stitches. Hemming and satin stitches though relied on the use of multiple threads, which resemble hand embroidery in appearance.
Today's line of modern embroidery machines use computerized or digitized patterns, as well as employ the use of embroidery software. Machine embroidery utilizes different "fills" to add innovative designs and textures to completed works, embroidery machines are commonly used to add monograms or logos to gifts, jackets, sports apparel and even business shirts. They are used to enhance decorative fabrics, draperies and household linen.
Different Embroidery Classifications
According to embroidery experts, embroidery can be classified depending on whether the design is stitched on the top of the fabric, or through it. Classification will depend on the association of the fabric to the stitch placement. Free embroidery refers to designs that are applied without putting any regard to the weaving of the fabric underneath. Examples of free embroidery styles are time-honored works made by the Japanese and Chinese. Counter-thread embroidery is done when the patterns are made putting stitches over a pre-arranged set of threads in the underlying fabric. Examples of this include needlepoint and some types of black work embroidery. Drawn thread work and cutwork embroidery is best known for the cutting away or deformation of the foundation fabric, as holes are created and decorated into the embroidery. Canvass work threads are generally stitched through a fabric mesh, creating a complex pattern that totally covers the foundation fabric.

Fabrics and Yarns Used In Embroidery
As traditional embroidery patterns vary with each country or region, the fabrics and yarns used may also vary. For centuries, linen, wool and silk have been used as both yarn and fabric. In modern times, rayon, cotton and other synthetic and novelty yarns are utilized as embroidery thread, along with silk, linen and wool.

The Choice of Needles Used Is Vital
In creating wonderful embroidery pieces, the choice of needles to use will depend on two vital factors. These include the size of your thread in the needle, and the count of your ground fabric. Your thread should be able to fit within the needle's eye, and won't fall off the thread when it's dangling. The correct sized needle must pass through the holes of the fabric, without altering or distorting the fabric. Embroidery experts stress that the needle is inserted to open a hole on the canvass, which should be open enough to allow the thread to be drawn through with relatively minimal amount. However, if the ground fabric is quite coarse or rough, then it would be better if you use a much larger needle to bore a hole on the ground fabric, allowing the thread used to retain its sheen.

History of Embroidery
The exact origin of embroidery still cannot be fully determined however, archeological finds and preserved items have been found from the Iron Age, as well as from ancient Egypt, the Zhou Dynasty in China, and from areas in Northern Europe. Classic pieces of embroidered clothing, household items and even religious items were prized items and were considered status symbols in Medieval Europe, as well as ancient China, Japan, Persia, Turkey, as well as in Mexico, Vietnam and Eastern Europe. The development of machine-made embroideries in the eastern Switzerland region in the latter half of the 19th Century allowed the speeding-up of the production process, enabling the production of embroidered items on a large-scale level.