The 4 famous Chinese embroidery styles are the Su embroidery of Jiangsu Province, the Xiang embroidery of Hunan Province, the Yue embroidery of Guangdong Province and the Shu embroidery of Sichuan Province.    I have covered Hunan silk embroidery in my earlier posts…  Today we will discuss the rich Shu (or Chuan) embroidery of Sichuan.   Sichuan is located in west China, is known as the “Land of Abundance”, not only rich in rice and also famous for its sericiculture.    Shu Embroidery made an early entry into the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list

It has enjoyed high reputation as “a treasure of Sichuan” ever since the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD).  The craft of Shu embroidery reached its peak during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and this resulted in flourishing of embroidery workshops in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

What is the speciality of Shu embroidery?  These patterns are renowned for its superb workmanship, smooth and bright in quality. It has strong expression and artistic effect. The features of it are said as “fine and smooth needlework, simple and elegant colors, graceful and easy lines and the traditional Chinese paintings’ style “. Its needling characteristics lie in “the even stitches, bright threads, closeness and softness in texture, and both centrifugal and centripetal needling”. The embroidery takes locally-produced colorful satin and threads as its materials.   Just take a look at one of the typical patterns along with post and you would see the above characteristics fall in place..

The unique designs on Shu embroidery include flowers, birds, landscapes, fish, worms and human figures. Its products include pillowcases, embroidered slippers, mirror curtain, lace, wedding dress, scroll, hats and shoes, skirts, quilt facing, etc.

What does Shu denote?   There is an underlying theme that runs in this style - auspicious happiness - and you would notice that this would be seen in all of its embroideries!

How does one practise Shu? - Shu embroidery is done on the soft satin fabric from Sichuan province. It engages brightly colored threads, evenly stitched to produce a delicate picture or pattern.  Shu embroidery is particularly characterized by the closeness of its stitching, which allows Shu embroiderers to highlight miniscule details in the subjects they produce.  A Shu embroidered piece may include hundreds of thousands of stitches in a single figure or animal, and may take many days or even weeks to complete.  One of the most popular subjects for Shu embroiderers is the panda bear, but scenes of nature of any kind are common.

Recently an intangible cultural heritage expo has opened in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan province. Exhibits from around the country are being shown at the expo, which has grown considerably in scale and offers more interactive activities and on-the-spot demonstrations.   The displays prompt many to capture the scene with their cameras. The distinctly regional features being displayed set each of provincial booths apart. On the spot demonstrations are available, such as engraving a pair of scissors, to show the complicated craftsmanship involved.

Chen Xiaoya, artist, said, “The Shu Embroidery employs over a hundred ways of stitching, thirty of which are in regular use. Young people, who are often restless, are reluctant to take on the craft.”

So all my Chinese and Eastern lovers - all the best while you practise this ancient art of embroidery!

Dear All,

You are welcome to visit the Embroidery Forum.   This has recently been launched…  Feel free to post in your articles in relevant categories and use it as your area to unwind.

There are various broad areas of interest like embroidery digitizing, business, technical  which are further subdivided into more specific topics.

Join the embroidery community and stay linked in.

Warm Regards

Check out some unique free downloads for Chinese Cross Stitch patterns at Chinese Learner!

Rabbit and mouse are two of the zodiac signs of the Chinese calender.

 Chinese words are also symbols of various aspects of life - for example we have the below symbol which signifies blessness.  It is often used as decoration for important holiday such as Spring Festival.   People hope it will bring a lot of blessness to their homes.

If you needed to attend a school or college of embroidery where would you go?  Apart from the internet, are there schools which could teach you in the classroom fashion - the beautiful world of embroidery.   In this article, we explore some of the possibilities of getting certifications in embroidery, needlework and apparel designing.

One of them is the Netaji Subhash Open University at Woodburn, Kolkata (established in 1997) where you could get enrolled for Certificate in Embroidery and Needlework followed by an Advanced certificate in fashion, embroidery and textile designing.

Far down in New Zealand, the Wanaka school (established in 1984) by Gay Eaton of Dunedin is a long serving member and a recipient of a New Zealand Order of Merit for her contribution to embroidery.   Every year, about 370 women travel from around New Zealand to attend the school and learn different aspects of needlework and embroidery skills.

Mridula’s school of embroidery based at Chennai covers both Eastern and Western aspects of embroidery.   Mridula Nagarajan - Founder of the School brings more than forty years of rich experience teaching and researching across the gamut of the Indian and International embroidery.  The school   Indian embroidery courses include Kantha from Bengal, Kasuthi from Karnataka, Kutch from Gujarat, Mirrorwork (Gujarat and Rajasthan), Phulkari from Punjab, Chikankari from Uttar Pradesh, Toda from Tamil Nadu, Kashmiri from Kashmir.(taught through regular school and correspondence courses).   European embroidery courses include Spanish Blackwork, Cross stitch & Assisi, Lagartera, Bargello, Norweave and Kelim. (taught as regular courses).   The school also has a comprehensive course on Aari & Zadosi (Tambour) Embroidery with a variety of applications taught.   Dress making courses through which students can master pattern making and tailoring of dresses is also part of the regular curriculum.

The regular diploma certificate courses consists  of the following groups.

Group I : Freestyle embroidery and Indian embroidery.

Group II : Counted Thread embroidery and European embroidery.

Group III : Aari and Zardosi

Group IV :  Fashion Dress design and Tailoring.

Select correspondence courses are also available.

I have come across many resources on animal embroidery designs focusing on cats, bulls, dogs, reindeer to name a few.   Today I stumbled upon Blue Ribbon Printwear - A comprehensive dog embroidering website indeed.. The owners of the website - Linda and Helmut Fleisch are true dog lovers and have owned about a dozen dogs in the last 10 years.    The set contains about 100 different dog breeds embroidery patterns - the maximum I have seen in any resource till date.  All designs come as appliques/patches with a maximum size of 9 inches by 5 inches.  These stock designs can be collaged into a T-shirt or apparel for a custom purchase.  Colors can be changed depending on ones taste other than what one sees on the website, but always keeping in mind the actual colors of the breed.  For example, the springer spaniel could be liver or black OR the siberian silver or reddish.

All embroidery designs are also available as iron-on’s (information on iron-on appliques would be helpful here).

Custom embroidery here also includes embroidered caps, patches, Tee shirts, sweat shirts, denim shirts to name a few.

Some of the motifs are unique like the Tibetan Spaniel and the Scottish deer hound you see below the post.

Gone are the beautiful fun filled days of our childhood where we used to sit together and sing our favourite nursery rhymes.. But here is a resource that will bring us all back to our kiddy days!   Nursery Rhymes Embroidery Designs is a set of embroidery patterns which focuses on a particular rhyme and the pattern is symbolic of that design.   Some of the designs are quite well done and signify the entire rhyme like Hey Diddle Diddle (was one of my favourites - it still is).   All the designs are available as a custom embroidery which can be embroidered on any apparel that is being sold by the store.  In case you want it stand alone, the picture would give an idea of how to do it - through digitizing it yourself/ through hand embroidery.

“Dongor” means hill “Kondh”,  means “inhabitant”.   One who inhabits the hills in Rayagada district of Orissa are the Dongoria Kondhs.  This tribe has a rich culture of art, dance and music over the last few centuries.  The most eye-catching of the handicrafts are the colorful unique embroidery shawls.  These are also known as “Kapada Gonda” (main cloth) and signify an important signature in their personality and dress.

These natural colored shawls are generally woven by young girls for themselves, their brothers or lovers.  The colors of the embroidery threads are vibrant vegetable colors like red, green or yellow.  These dyes are extracted from juices of leaves, roots and turmeric.  Green symbolises prosperity and fertility and stands for the earth goddess.   Yellow symbolises happiness, peace and health.  Red or maroon signifies blood or animal sacrifice and stands for vigour, strength and revenge.  Depending on the mood, the occasion and the wearer for whom it is meant, one of these 3 colours would stand out in the embroidery designed shawl.   It generally takes 3 to 4 months to complete one shawl.  The girls do the weaving and embroidery while they tend the crops or look after the cattle.   While older men sport simple motifs on their shawls, the brother wears an artistic piece.   During ceremonial dances or in a bustling marketplace, if a boy flings his shawl at a girl, it signifies that he wants to marry her.  The girl has a choice of accepting the shawl or throwing it back.  If she accepts, the couple meets and marries with the consent of their families.   The boy can also make the marriage proposal by snatching away the shawl from the girl.

The Dongoria Kondh embroidered shawl is a symbol of pride of the wearer.   A beautifully embroidered shawl is the cynosure of all eyes in a marketplace.  These shawls sell in the marketplace at prices ranging between Rs. 500 and Rs. 700.

Hi!  I just came across this resource at “Embroidery Just For You“ which gives you some swell animal embroidery designs and all for FREE on purchase of a minimum of 25 dollars worth goods!    Most of the free machine embroidery goodies are sized lower than 3 inches width by 3 inches height.  You could use these as small appliques which could be put on your favourite shirt as a logo.   The variety is amazing and I found a few unique pieces in the bargain.   The panda, camel, bobcat and the polar bear are a few of them.  

The expressions on some of the animals like the lion cub and tiger are cute.  The white rhino and the skunk needs more detailing which could not be done primarily due to the size of the free embroidery design.

Gujarat is one of the 24 states in India. Kutch and Saurashtraare regions in the state of Gujarat which are famous for its folk embroidery traditions. Apart from the usual gifts of jewellery and household utensils, the bride brings to her husband’s home a wealth of richly embroidered textiles carefully worked by herself and the women of her family. Such a dowry consists of costumes for the bride and the groom, embroidery hangings for their new home and trappings for their domestic animals.

Each village in Kutch have a distict style of embroidery and design. Mostly embroidery is highlighted by the sparkle of shishas (small mirrors).

Check out this Fashion Jacket - Embroidered Jackets From Gujarat, Unique Valentine Romantic Gifts For Him. Isnt it a beauty? Check out the well spaced mirrors which accentuate the Gujarati Indian embroidery tradition…

Myanmar (erstwhile Burma) has an ancient history of handicrafts and their people are skilled in ivory carving, silver work, lacquareware, marble work and embroidery (also known as Shwegyido).

Embroidery is an old industry believed to have started during the reign of Alaungpaya, founder of the Konebaung dynasty. Shwe-ge-doe embroidery is elaborately designed and creatively embellished with ornaments for grandeur. The technique of Shwe-go-doe is as follows : Tapestry is made by using the base cloth, usually black and adorning it with metallic sequins, coloured glass beads, and figures that are stuffed to give a distinctive three-dimensional effect.  Each tapestry depicts a character or a narrative from Jatakas or the Ramayana epic. These appliqué tapestries can be sized from 25cm by 25cm to 6m by 1.5m.  Jackets, pasoes, longyis are also beautifully embroidered for special functions.  Mandalay is the center of this industry.

About Myanmar : Despite modern changes and globalized cultural blending, Myanmar people have been able to preserve their own lifestyles and activities that have existed since time immemorial. The people of Myanmar communicate in their own language, wear their own style of clothing including the longyi, relish their own style of food, pray in their own way, play their own games, celebrate their own festivals, receive treatment with their own traditional medicines, and perform their own rituals remaining as Myanmar as possible in every aspect. Many of the life styles and activities are unique to Myanmar people. For example, the Shin Pyu or novitiation ceremony, which allows a young boy to experience temporary monastic life, is a religious practice virtually nonexistent in other parts of the world. Although some of Myanmar’s beliefs, superstitions, customs and lifestyles have gradually disappeared, many still remain and are cherished and highly valued by the majority of the people.

Museum of Korean Buddhist Art is a Buddhism museum established in July 1993 in Wonseo-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea.   This museum is holding a special exhibition of Myanmarese embroidery.  It is the second Southeast Asian Buddhist art exhibition since the museum hosted the Laotian Buddhist Sculpture Exhibit last year.

The exhibition presents 30 pieces of Myanmar embroidery, which are exotic and flamboyant, a rarity in Buddhist art, which mostly include paintings and sculptures.  Myanmar is called the nation of Buddha pagodas and Buddhist monks, which demonstrates how the religion dominates the country.  As Buddhism is deeply rooted in the lives of the Myanmar people, most of the embroidered works involve Buddhist symbolism.

The traditional embroidery of Myanmar uses elaborate materials such as gold and silver thread, marbles, gem stones,  pearls  and metals.

The exhibition is designed to introduce the uniqueness of Buddhist culture in South East Asian countries though showing off a variety of historic relics.

On the first and the second floors, a variety of embroidered fabrics depicting the life and good deeds of Sakyamuni are on display.  Beside the embroidered fabrics, 6 other Buddhist artworks including sculptures and paintings from Myanmar are presented to provide a window into their lives, culture and beliefs.

South East Asian countries are known for textile artworks from the ancient times, which shows the ancestors’ beliefs, religion, customs and culture.

Also, the fabric artworks were often regarded as incarnated ancestors with spirits in South East Asian countries. So the textiles were hung on the wall when people held a festival or a ritual thanksgiving ceremony to their ancestors.

The museum explains why some artworks feature Buddha as a king, servant, or peasant; or as an animal such as an elephant, lion, deer, rabbit,  monkey, peacock or fish.

Among others, the embroidered paintings depict the previous lives of Buddha that are divided into 547 stories, expressing Buddha as various entities such as man, elephant, deer and lion.

The museum was established in July 1993 as a private museum located near Changdeok Palace in central Seoul.  Traditional Korean Buddhist works, which display the joys and sorrows of life and express a longing for the wishes of all living beings, have historically been regarded as not only the spiritual foundation, but the precious cultural heritage of the Korean people.

The museum has collected over 6,000 Korean Buddhist works including paintings, sculptures, crafts, ritual items, folk items and ceramics.

The exhibition will continue till Sept 28 2008.   Admission is 3,000 won (Currency of Korea - 1100 won equals one dollar) for students and 5,000 won for adults.