Laura Welley, age 14, of Concord, N.H., for her question:
WHEN WAS EMBROIDERY FIRST USED?
Embroidery is the art of stitching a pattern or design on cloth with needle and thread. The word "embroidery" is a middle English word derived from the Old French "embroder," both meaning "edge" or "border." The art of embroidery has an ancient history.
We don't know when embroidery was first used, but we do know that prehistoric peoples often created patterns when they stitched skins together for their clothing. Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Syrians, Greeks and Italians produced embroidery using linen, slik or metallic threads. These people decorated handwoven cotton, linen and silk fabrics for their wearing apparel or their home furnishing.
Another type of embroidery came from the American Indians. Craftsmen sewed feathers, quills and beads in elaborate patterns on their clothing. During the Middle Ages, embrodiery reached its highest development. Nuns in convents and ladies at home embroidered rich designs on linen for wall hangings, church altars and priests' robes.
During the 1300s, embroidery first included pearls worked into designs. Experts also combined embroidery with lace for some of the finer fabrics. In the 1600s and 1700s, girls between the ages of 8 and 12 made samplers to show their skills in various embroidery stitches. A girl also often embroidered her name and the date at the bottom of her sampler.
Many countries have developed their own distinctive embroidery. The Chinese use silk and gold thread on silk damask to embroider flowers, dragons, birds and delicate scenes. In India, craftsmen fasten beads, bangles and even tiny mirrors on silk cloth with brilliant silk threads, while in the Balkan countries bold and simple folk designs are created to enrich necklines or to form wide bands at the bottoms of skirts.
The French and Swiss embroider delicate flower sprays and scallops on their fine linens and the Italians often use canvas stitches on white linen to embroider flowers, birds, animals or fountains. The people of the island of Madeira are well known for the perfection of their festoons, or scalloped edges.
Many different stitches are used in embroidery. A basic one is the cross stitch, which consists of two slanted stitches that form an "x." Some stitches cover an entire area. They include the canvas stitches, which are variations of the cross stitch, and different kinds of needle point. The couching stitch fastens a thick thread to a fabric with small stitches placed at equal distances. The cording stitch is similar to the couching stitch, but the oversewing stitches are vertical and close together.
Decorative stitches include the chain stitch, which consists of a series of loops, and the French knot, which is made by twisting the thread around the needle and inserting the needle where it originally came out.