gauze ritual garment. Rows of even, round
chain stitch used for outline and color. 4th century BC,
Zhou tomb at Mashan,
Hubei, China.
Origins The process used to tailor, patch, mend and reinforce cloth fostered the development of
sewing techniques, and the decorative possibilities of sewing led to the art of embroidery. Indeed, the remarkable stability of basic embroidery stitches has been noted: The art of embroidery has been found worldwide and several early examples have been found. The earliest surviving embroidered cloth comes from Egypt. The Egyptians were skilled at embroidery, using
appliqué decorations with leather and beads. Works in China have been dated to the
Warring States period (5th–3rd century BC). In a garment from
Migration period Sweden, roughly 300–700 AD, the edges of bands of trimming are reinforced with
running stitch, back stitch, stem stitch, tailor's buttonhole stitch, and Whip stitch, but it is uncertain whether this work simply reinforced the seams or should be interpreted as decorative embroidery.
Historical applications and techniques at the age of 11, presented to
Katherine Parr from
Palestine Depending on time, location and materials available, embroidery could be the domain of a few experts or a widespread, popular technique. This flexibility led to a variety of works, from the royal to the mundane. Examples of high status items include elaborately embroidered clothing, religious objects, and household items often were seen as a mark of wealth and status. In medieval England,
Opus Anglicanum, a technique used by professional workshops and guilds in medieval
England, was used to embellish textiles used in church rituals. In 16th century England, some books, usually bibles or other religious texts, had embroidered bindings. The
Bodleian Library in
Oxford contains one presented to
Queen Elizabeth I in 1583. It also owns a copy of The Epistles of Saint Paul, whose cover was reputedly embroidered by the Queen. One of the oldest complete embroidered works still in existence is the
Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidered cloth nearly long and tall that depicts the events leading up to the
Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by
William, Duke of Normandy, challenging
Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the
Battle of Hastings. It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years of the battle. In 18th-century
England and its colonies, with the rise of the merchant class and the wider availability of luxury materials, rich embroideries began to appear in a
secular context. These embroideries took the form of items displayed in private homes of well-to-do citizens, as opposed to a church or royal setting. Even so, the embroideries themselves may still have had religious themes. Samplers employing fine silks were produced by the daughters of wealthy families. Embroidery was a skill marking a girl's path into womanhood as well as conveying rank and social standing. Embroidery was an important art and signified social status in the Medieval Islamic world as well. The 17th-century
Turkish traveler
Evliya Çelebi called it the "craft of the two hands". In cities such as
Damascus,
Cairo and
Istanbul, embroidery was visible on
handkerchiefs, uniforms, flags,
calligraphy, shoes,
robes, tunics, horse trappings, slippers, sheaths, pouches, covers, and even on
leather belts. Craftsmen embroidered items with
gold and
silver thread. Embroidery cottage industries, some employing over 800 people, grew to supply these items. In the 16th century, in the reign of the
Mughal Emperor Akbar, his chronicler
Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak wrote in the famous
Ain-i-Akbari: Embroidery was often perceived primarily as a domestic task performed by women, frequently viewed as a leisurely activity rather than recognized as a skilled craft. Women who lacked access to formal education or writing implements often used embroidery to document their lives through stitched narratives, effectively creating personal diaries through textile art, especially when literacy was limited. Embroidery is also a
folk art, using materials that were accessible to nonprofessionals. Examples include
Hardanger embroidery from Norway;
Merezhka from
Ukraine;
Mountmellick embroidery from Ireland;
Nakshi kantha from
Bangladesh and
West Bengal;
Achachi from
Peru; and
Brazilian embroidery. Many techniques had a practical use such as
Sashiko from
Japan, which was used as a way to reinforce clothing. In marginalized communities, embroidery has also served as a tool of empowerment and expression. For example, in
Inner Mongolia, embroidery initiatives arose in response to economic pressures intensified by climate change, including desertification, allowing women to express themselves and preserve cultural identities through traditional embroidery skills. Embroidery has also preserved the stories of marginalized groups, particularly women of color, whose experiences were historically underrepresented in written records. In South African communities, embroidered "story cloths" have captured and preserved critical perspectives and events otherwise missing from historical narratives.
21st century Since the late 2010s, there has been a growth in the popularity of embroidering by hand. As a result of visual social media such as
Pinterest and
Instagram, artists can share their work more extensively, which has inspired younger generations to pick up
needlework. Contemporary embroidery artists believe hand embroidery has grown in popularity as a result of an increasing need for relaxation and digitally disconnecting practices. Many people are also using embroidery to creatively upcycle and repair clothing, to help counteract over-consumption and fashion industry waste. Modern canvas work tends to follow symmetrical counted stitching patterns with designs emerging from the repetition of one or just a few similar stitches in a variety of hues. In contrast, many forms of surface embroidery make use of a wide range of stitching patterns in a single piece of work. == In literature ==