We often hear that "random needle embroidery" used to be a unique skill, but later it became an open secret. What about "needle embroidery"? What embroidery is it? Do you still have it?
Let's look at the history of Chinese embroidery first.
Embroidery, also known as silk embroidery, is one of the outstanding national traditional crafts in China. It is a process of forming various beautiful images, patterns or characters on silk, satin, fabrics and modern chemical fiber fabrics with threads of various colors, such as silk, velvet and cotton, and with the up-and-down puncture movement of small steel needles. It occupies an important position in the history of arts and crafts in China.
According to the chapter and clothing system recorded in Shangshu four thousand years ago, it is stipulated that "clothes are embroidered with paintings"; There are also descriptions of plainclothes Zhu embroidery in The Book of Songs. In the Song Dynasty, the fashion of advocating embroidery clothing gradually became popular among the people, which also promoted the development of silk embroidery technology in China.
1958, dragon and phoenix embroidery was unearthed from Chu tomb in Changsha, China. It is the ancient embroidery in China during the Warring States Period more than 2,000 years ago, and it is one of the earliest embroidery objects in China. In the Han Dynasty, embroidery was more widely used and more artifacts were unearthed.
In the Ming Dynasty, embroidery has become a very expressive work of art, resulting in Suzhou embroidery, Guangdong embroidery, Xiang embroidery and Shu embroidery, which are also called "four famous embroideries". Gu embroidery in Shanghai Luxiang Garden was the most famous embroidery at that time. Gu family has been passed down from generation to generation, and his reputation for being good at embroidery is well-known in the north and south of the country and appreciated by the court. In the Qing Dynasty, Gu embroidery not only shocked the world, but also became famous overseas, attracting many foreign businessmen to Shanghai and ordering a large number of embroidery products from Gu Pai. For a time, Gu embroidery became the general name of embroidery.
China's ancient embroidery has not been sold for a long time in the international art market, and the price is flat. It was not until 1993 in Hong Kong, Singapore and other places that someone began to collect it specially. According to market analysts, it will take collectors 10 years to make embroidery a new favorite in the international market. In recent two years, at some domestic art auctions, the price competition of embroidery lots is now very high, which is very attractive to buyers.
Embroidery also enjoys a high reputation abroad. In the eyes of foreigners, embroidery is one of the representatives of China culture and art.
What exactly is embroidery?
Commonly known as "embroidery", it is a skill to thread embroidery thread on the processed fabric according to the design requirements and organize it into various patterns and colors.
The embroidery methods recorded in the data are as follows:
1, color embroidery
Generally refers to the embroidery process of controlling patterns with various colored embroidery threads, which has the characteristics of smooth embroidery surface, rich stitches, fine stitches and bright colors, and is widely used in clothing accessories. The color changes of color embroidery are also very rich.
It uses thread instead of pen, and produces gaudy color effects through the overlapping, juxtaposition and interlacing of various colored embroidery threads. In particular, it is the most distinctive way to express the subtle changes of pattern color by setting needles, which has the effect of rendering Chinese painting.
2. Embroidery wrapped around stems
The main feature is that the pattern is raised with thick thread or cotton as the bottom, and then embroidered with embroidery thread, generally using Ping Xiu stitch. Embroidery with peduncle is beautiful and generous, rich in three-dimensional sense and strong in decoration. It is also called high embroidery, and it is called convex embroidery in Suzhou embroidery. Pediceled embroidery is suitable for embroidered flowers with small patterns and narrow petals, such as chrysanthemums and plum blossoms, which are generally embroidered with monochromatic threads.
3. Sculpture and embroidery
Also known as floor embroidery, it is a kind of embroidery with certain difficulty and unique effect. Its biggest feature is that in the process of embroidery, holes are trimmed according to the needs of patterns, and various patterns are embroidered in different ways in the cut holes, so that there are both free and easy real flowers and beautiful empty flowers on the embroidery surface, which is in contrast with reality and full of interest. Embroidery is elegant and exquisite.
4, tapestry embroidery
Also known as patchwork embroidery, it is a form of embroidery in which other fabrics are cut and embroidered on clothes. China Suzhou embroidery also belongs to this category. The method of embroidery is to cut tapestry cloth according to the requirements of the pattern and stick it on the embroidery surface, or put cotton and other things between the tapestry cloth and the embroidery surface to make the pattern convex and stereoscopic. After pasting, use various stitches to lock the edges. Embroidery with tapestry is simple, the pattern is mainly blocky, and the style is chic and generous.
5. Nail thread embroidery
Also known as stem embroidery or thread-sticking embroidery, it is an embroidery method that embroiders various ribbons and threads on clothes or textiles according to a certain pattern. There are two commonly used nail piercing methods: open nail and hidden nail. The former needle is exposed on the threaded rod, and the latter needle is hidden in the threaded rod. Nail thread embroidery is simple, has a long history, and its decorative style is elegant and generous, which has been widely used in kimono in recent years. Pearl embroidery, also known as pearl embroidery, is made of hollow beads, pearl tubes, artificial gem, flash beads, etc. It is embroidered on clothes, producing a jewel-like dazzling effect. Generally, it is used for stage performance clothing to increase the aesthetic feeling and attraction of clothing, and also widely used in vamps, handbags, jewelry boxes and so on.