Embroidery is the skill of fabric decoration or other materials with a filament/yarn using a needle. Pearls metal strips, beads, sequins and quills are also used as materials for doing the decoration of garments. The art of fabric decoration is highly used in making caps, golf shirts, coats, blankets, dress skirts and many more. Yarn or threads have been used widely in the art of embroidery. The embroidery aspect has vital techniques or stitches of making holes in the button areas, or a running stitch, stitch used in making blankets, cross stitch and a stitch called satin and the elemental techniques of hand embroidery at present.
Embroidery of the machine began being used in the era of industrial revolution and it imitates the embroidery done by hand mostly in cases of a string of stitches and hemming of stitches by a machine and this occupation relies on the use of numerous outfits and be like worked by hand to their appearance, not their design.
Decorating clothes by using embroidery began back to when man started to wear clothes. The decorating method and to embellish clothes, designs from the embroidery was a result of hard work and care.
This idea of embroidery began when the ancient man realized he can join things and different sorts of fur to make some clothes by use of a thread. With time that ancient man realized the thread could make various decorative designs on the clothes. The decorations were done by the use of bones, stones and colorful beads.
Even up to date some of the few excellent examples of beautiful embroidery work are still there. In the ancient Egypt, Persia, England, China and India you can find these few excellent works of embroidery and each country has its own distinctive approach of embroidery, which integrates the traditions and descriptions from their custom and history. These outfits are done thoroughly as embroidery outfits and they were thought to be a wealth’s symbol. A lot of scenes from the past are usually brought are embroidered onto the cloth – For example (The Bayeux Tapestry. This is 231 feet long and shows the Battle of Hastings in 1066.)
Advantages of embroidery designs
The plan of embroidery has the illustrations of the art, styles and skill which are offered to different products. The embroidery designs improve most fabrics and garment fabric products and make them appealing. We have freeware for designing thus it makes it very easy to design several patterns at no cost hence this reduces the cost of production of these products. Embroidery improves the look of different garments where it is used in products such as caps, gloves and also in products of the house hold like bed sheets, carpets and blankets. There are software’s that create different patterns of embroidery designs and the designed can be transferred from online sources and stitched to desired material.
Disadvantages of embroidery designs
Methodology
Questionnaire was the method that was used to carry out the research which is a set of written questions and has to be completed so as to get the desired information in two basic ways. In the first case the person are asked to fill the questionnaire with the investigator not being present and is referred as a postal questionnaire and submits it. In the second case the researcher asks the respondents questions verbally and this helps the researcher to fill the questionnaire and is referred as a structured interview. The two cases may sometimes they may have same questions even if they are similar but the variance between is the most important. i.e. The case of postal questionnaire and that of structured interview. Postal questionnaire is used in cases where the respondent’s secrecy is being protected.
Findings from the respondents
After carrying out the research it was found that various kinds of embroidery still are being used even today. For example there is the bead embroidery. This type of embroidery seems to be complicated but it is one of the most satisfying and expressive type of beadwork and was done on dresses and baskets and even to furnishings of the house. The first identified pieces of the beaded embroidery were done in the 12th century on the church vestments of the Germans and also ecclesiastical garments had gemstones. (Segrest 54-56)
This embroidery of beads involves not only a thread but you lay the beads on a line and you sew the beads onto the cloth. The embroidering of beads can be done alone or either you combine them with a thread on cloth or any fabric or on leather. (Thompson 1987)The string could be full of any number of beads, from 2 to 200. In this early period, most of the beadwork seems to be partial to priestly purposes, probably because it was basically too expensive. Ecclesiastical beadwork was generally done in gemstones. Reds were done in coral, Blues in lapis and Whites in pearls.
References
Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion: ‘The cut and construction of clothes for men and women’ c1560-1620. New York: Drama Book Publishers, 1985.
Goessel, Ann. Ann’s Creations: ‘Designs & instructions for making your own’
Athabasca beadwork. Self-published, 1990.
Poli, Doretta Davanzo.’ Arts & Crafts in Venice’. Cologne: Könemann
Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 1999.
Segrest, Jen Funk. "Sacred Embellishment: A look at Medieval German bead art."
Beadwork Aug. /Sept. 2004: 54-56.
The Medieval Beadwork Page. Segrest, Jen Funk. 2005. 10 June 2005
Thompson Angela B. ‘Embroidery with Beads’ London: Batsford ltd,1987
