Needlework is a fascinating representation of creativity, that has been around as long as man has been able to create materials
Needlework is a fascinating representation of creativity, that has been around as long as man has been able to create materials. It was a common practice to decorate fabrics with exquisite details and top-notch designs. Embroidery with needlework is a charming art form, practiced and polished over decades. It has roots in China and the Near East, but is now practiced worldwide. Archaeologists have discovered fossilized fragments of hats, boots, and even hand-stitched and ornamented clothing from 30,000 BC.
The Roots
It’s said that the Middle East and Orient are where embroidery and most other fiber and needlework techniques started. Primitive humans’ practice of stitching to heal and survive germed the idea of using it to add color and designs. The thought just grew from there. Today, we see people flaunting thread-embroidered garments, sculptures, paintings and vases throughout written history. This can be seen consistently across chronicles representing different cultures.
With the advent of time, the art of embroidery has greatly evolved; shifting from manual to automated embroidery. It all began with the initial machine, used only in households back then and needed two individuals to operate it. Later in 1855, the chain stitching device was invented. This signaled the beginning of embroidered materials mass manufacture. It was soon granted a patent in the US. And by 1858, it was getting harder to tell the difference between hand-stitched and machine embroidery.
The Advancements Over The Years
In the twenty-first century, almost all the needlework was automatic. Due to technological advances, embroidery became digitalized, allowing simplified and faster production. Although embroidery techniques were getting evolved, the fabrics’ quality was not.
In today’s day and age, embroidery and the artforms have taken different forms and shapes because of the diverse population and cultural practices. These include embellishing cotton, silk, wool, and velvet with different stitches and traditional colors to make clothing more attractive and alluring.
Indians are renowned for their exquisite craftsmanship and created the most exquisite hand-spun and hand-woven textiles, displayed worldwide. Embroidery is a learned and skilled artform, which gives a piece of cloth depth and meaning, producing a timeless design.