Embroidery Designs Guide

So lets begin with : What is a motif?  A motif is basically a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration.   It could also mean a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music.   An embroidery motif is a pattern in cloth which consists of decorative shapes in various splashes of colors which give it a vibrant look.

The history of motifs traces way back to the ninth century when such a colorful fashion was in vogue in various parts of Europe.  This evinced interest and the art spread across in various forms across the world.   Since this is an embroidery art, the essence of each region was visible in the patterns and one could distinguish the culture or the state only by seeing the embroidery motif.

I came across an interesting book – Palestinian Embroidery Motifs: A Treasury of Stitches 1850 – 1950.   This is a vast embroidery treasure trove and recommended reading for every hand embroidery enthusiast!   Margarita Skinner focuses on the motifs used in embroidery which include the Tall Palm motif (also known as Ears of Wheat) of the Ramallah area, Scissors and Roses from Gaza, the Key of the Heart from Bethlehem and the Cypress Tree motifs found all over Palestine.   She says : “The embroidered dresses of the Palestinian women are very much like Persian carpets. They are not only unusually beautiful. They also tell stories.” In the Negev, unmarried Bedouin girls and widows wear dresses with blue embroidery. Once a widow remarries, red or pink embroidery is added.  The book documents more than 250 motifs, giving their names in English and Arabic and identifying the areas of Palestine from which they come.   Falak Shawwa‘s stunning photographs capture the artistry and vibrant colours of the motifs, and the splendour of festive dresses.   Each area of Palestine had characteristic embroidery.  Ramallah, together with Bethlehem and Beit Dajan, was well known for its lavish embroidery.  The embroidery on a festive dress could have 200,000 cross-stitches.  Bethlehem‘s skill in the art of couching made it the “Paris of Palestinian village fashion”.

If you try to trace back to the Palestinian history, it may not be exactly known when women in Palestine started to put thousands of stitches on dresses, coats, jackets, veils and cushions. Research on Palestine embroidery has found no examples earlier than the 19th century.   In Palestinian villages, the tending of chickens and selling of eggs was the domain of women, who used this source of income to buy thread and fabric. Girls in Palestine grew up watching their mothers embroidering, and learnt the skill from the age of about ten.  The primary stitches used in Palestinian embroidery are cross-stitch and couching. In couching a thick thread is positioned on top of the fabric, and a thinner thread is stitched over it to keep it in place. This gives a curving design, of which there are many examples in Palestinian Embroidery Motifs.

Wish you an enriched learning on our ancient arts!

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An embroidered pattern done on paper is known as paper embroidery.   Simple, isn’t it?  It can get a bit complicated though!

So, when did paper embroidery begin in the world?  Let us trace the evolution and history of this unique and amazing art.

Pin Pricking
The history of embroidery on paper can be traced back to the late 1700’s when pin pricking was used to adorn paper cards and enhance painted pictures. The pricking was done from either side which gave a different texture. Different size needles and tools were used to create various size holes. It is recorded that in the early 1800’s, Marie Antoinette used pin pricking on stationery she sent while imprisoned. Pin pricking surely had some influence on the Victorian fancy-work designs that used a pre-punched paper. This can certainly be considered embroidery on paper because the ladies stitched the pre-printed designs using the holes in the paper. Many of these designs were used as Christmas ornaments or wall hangings. The larger designs were of the mottos of the day, often spiritual in nature. As with many needlework techniques, this one began to die out in the early 1900’s.

String Art
String art was invented by Pierre Bezier in the late 1700’s. This refers to an arrangement of string that forms abstract geometric patterns or patterns that resemble an object.

Spirograph
Another contributing factor was the invention of the Spirograph by British engineer Denys Fisher. This new toy debuted at the 1965 International Toy Fair.  The Spirograph produces mathematical curves using disks made of plastic with holes strategically placed in the plastic circle.

And finally…Paper Embroidery

With an evolution of art springing from the above forms, in the 1980’s people started creating scrapbook pages and handmade cards. Creativity flourished and soon embroidery on paper began appearing. Dutch designer Erica Fortgens began writing books with patterns and instructions and officially the terminology – paper embroidery came into being.

Check out the sample of paper embroidery alongside this post.  As you can notice, the holes are prepunched by the embroiderer and the needle then passes through the holes along with the thread. This process is critical else the paper would get damaged.  A paper embroiderer needs to master this art of prepunching first before moving to the next step.

Wish you all the luck in all your projects!

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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

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United Arab Emiratie Zareena showcased the true Arab, Pashno cultural embroidery patterns in the recent Dubai fest. The hallmark of her collection are the lush embroideries on single one-piece gowns. Blending old, vintage Afghani references, Zareena uses the thread zari and the gotha (the metallic fabric used richly in Indian wear) as well as luxurious crepes and chiffons to accentuate the sparkle in her embroidery. Every piece is distinct and different from the previous piece and in this lies her excellence. The bejewelled embroideries are made to perfection and have fans raving for more of her collection. Her firm belief is that simplicity is the essence of beauty and all her collections derive their elegance from their clean cuts coupled with a rich look.

‘I await inspiration. I do not plan it,’ she explains. ‘It could be a simple piece of jewellery that might take my fancy and become an inspiration for an entire collection.’

Married with two daughters, Zareena has successfully launched and maintained three businesses with the support of her husband, Colonel Mohammed Murad. She looks towards India for inspiration due to its age old tradition and culture. She has started an enterprise in Delhi with a team of designers and embroidery craftsmen. Her endeavors include a well-known beauty salon and a wedding events management company. She juggles between family life and her career and maintains a healthy balance between the two. ‘Without harmony at home, a woman cannot achieve heights. My family is my strength,’ she points out.

EDG wishes her all the best in her bejewelled embroidered life!

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What exactly is bead embroidery? This is an ancient hand embroidery technique which originated in Germany in the 12th century. The pattern was first drawn onto the parchment and then attached to the fabric. The beads were strung onto one single thread, laid on the design in the desired manner and then couched into place with a thread and second needle. So there was a juxtaposition between the beads and the embroidery and this unique technque came to be known as bead embroidery.

In today’s scenario, one generally takes 5 – 6 beeds on the needle at a time. The needle goes into the fabric and these beads are then couched with a second needle and thread into place. The backstitch technique is used in order to run through several of the couched beads. A final thread is run through to ensure stability of the embroidery design.

Check out the dragonfly which caught my eye in one of the beaded embroidery resources – Giuliana’s Beaded Embroidery – This embroidery is done with linen lined with muslin. The dragonfly body is done in clear silver-lined bugle beads, and the wings are solid silver metal Delica beads. The opaque purple beads are size 11/0 Japanese glass beads. Aren’t they a beauty!

There is an informative book on beaded embroidery by Sherry Serafini and you could read it -  The Art of Bead Embroidery: Techniques, Designs & Inspirations

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Check out this amazing heavenly collection of fantasy fairies and creatures. One might get to see some embroidered fairies or goddesses but getting all of them at one place is a rare thing. We have them all here at Magical Machine Embroidery and they are a treat. All of them are done using machine embroidery designs. It is necessary that these be embroidered using metallic thread since the necessary shine should come through.

All designs are perfect for the 4×4 hoops. These designs are created using Janome colors although the threads are not Janome. The Pegasus and the Frog Prince are complicated but beautifully done. One could one’s own imagination for creating their own fairies. The available designs can be considered as a benchmark alone.

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Most embroidery enthusiasts at some point of time in their path do come across this field of embroidery called blackwork. They pause a little to practise this form and either get completely hooked on to it or move on to something else…

So what exactly is blackwork? Blackwork Embroidery is an ancient and simple form of embroidery, stitched in black thread on white or off-white fabric. It is often called simply “blackwork”. The basic stitch is called Holbein or the double running stitch. This stitch is reversible and looks the same on the back and the front.

A counted-thread form of embroidery that is stitched on even-weave fabric is the easier way to denote a blackwork. Any black thread can be used, but firmly twisted threads give a better look than embroidery floss. Traditionally blackwork is stitched in silk thread on white or off-white linen or cotton fabric. Sometimes metallic threads or coloured threads are used for accents. Here comes the difference between blackwork and scarletwork. Blackwork is compulsory used with black thread, while scarletwork embroidery is sewn with red thread.

Historically, there are three common styles of blackwork:
a) In the earliest blackwork, counted stitches are worked to make a geometric or small floral pattern. Most modern blackwork is in this style, especially the commercially-produced patterns that are marketed for hobby stitchers.

b) Later blackwork features large designs of flowers, fruit, and other patterns connected by curvilinear stems. These are outlined with stem stitch, and the outlined patterns are filled with geometric counted designs.

c) In the third style of blackwork, the outlined patterns are “shaded” with random stitches called seed stitches. This style of blackwork imitates etchings or woodcuts.

Blackwork has been historically been used as designs on shirts, chemises or smocks during the time of Henry VII. Blackwork in silk on linen was the most common domestic embroidery technique for clothing (shirts, smocks, sleeves, ruffs, and caps) and for household items such as cushion covers throughout the reign of Elizabeth I, but it lost its popularity by the 17th century.

If you want to know exactly how to do a blackwork, you could take these tutorials at Blackwork Archives.

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Cross stitch is an innovative form of embroidery which is basically a double stitch forming a X in sewing and embroidery. It could also be needlework made of X stitches.

One of the stunning cross stitch projects I came across was : Capture The Mystery Of Egypt project – Ancient Egyptian Cross Stitch. This features 25 glittering and historically accurate projects from the pyramids, the Great Sphinx to the hieroglyphics. It covers the scarabs to the river Nile. Few of the larger projects include King Tutankhamen, Sphinx and a goddess. It also has quite a large amount of smaller motifs ideal for bookmarks including Osiris, the eye of Horus, Isis, Anubis. At the end of the book you can find a few border designs. This book uses quite a lot of color mostly green, red, yellow, and blue. It provides colored charts containing symbols for easy identification. A definite must have for any cross stitcher!

The inner powers really reveal themselves in this creative guide. You could use these as attractive wall hangings or bag adornments.

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Millions of Indians all over the world rejoiced last week when it was announced that Taj Mahal was reinstated as one of the seven wonders of the world.
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned it as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction began in 1632 and was completed in 1648. This was designed by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri along with skilled worksmen and craftsmen. The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal Indian architecture, a style that combines Persian, Indian, Islamic and Turkish styles. The white domed marble mausoleum is most popular and many a time denoted as a national symbol (India). In 1983, this monument became a UNESCO World Heritage site and was cited as the “Jewel of Muslim Art in India”.

What does this edifice have anything to do with embroidery. Have you ever seen an embroidered Taj Mahal…! Check this out at Patterns Boutique. Isn’t it a beauty. This has been done through cross stitch embroidery. Since it is a pattern, it is important that the embroiderer uses the recommended fabric – Aida 18 and the recommended color – white to ensure the beautiful marvel of Taj Mahal comes out best on your embroidery. In the case of the pattern next to the post, the fabric size is 40*32 cm and there are a total of 30 color stitches.

Portraits like the Taj Mahal are great as wall hangings and door adornments.

I will try to follow this up sometime later with some of the portraits of the other wonders of the world.

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This time we are here with something quite different.. It’s time for a mystic approach to embroidery…A rather esoteric way of the unknown powers and spirits that rule our world! Many believe that each of us here on earth have certain symbols or signs which when associated with us individually or as groups – represent powerful attributes and could play an important role in moulding our lives. As for me, I do not really believe in these forces, but one never knows the truth unless one experiences it!

Anyway, to continue – let us first understand the difference between signs and symbols. A sign is a material object which points clearly to something – like a road sign or the weather. A symbol is a deeper connotation or reflection of something profound. For example, the moon symbolizes calmness, desires while a sun symbolizes victory, warmth.

The next important question for a person on this path is to determine one’s sign or symbol. The simpler ones are birthday symbols (determined by your birth date and time – You could also have precious stones related to your birthday). The tougher ones are symbols that are revealed to people through dreams, meditation or trance states.

Signs and symbols embroidery is nothing but embroidering these signs and symbols. What is special is that you would find all of them as a category or group in one place.

Some of the examples would be the embroidered alchemy group. There are 7 elements in alchemy. One of them is copper. Check out the alchemy copper embroidered image above. This is available for sale at “What’s your sign” in the form of embroidery patches, appliqued T-shirts, sweatshirts, wall hangings or just as an embroidered item. Finished alchemy sign embroidery designs (on shirts) are approximately 3.5″ x 3.5″. Finished Wallhangings are about 8″x8″. Patches/Badges are about 4″ x 4″. All shirts are high quality Jerzees, Hanes or Fruit of the Loom, 100% cotton.

You also have animal totems or animal symbols in the same resource website – an example is the alchemy phoenix which you see besides this post. The dimensions and product details of animal symbols embroidery are identical to alchemy embroidery. These are quite colorful and even feature peacocks, lions and other wild animals.

So, what’s your sign?

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