Surface embroidery
Encyclopedia
Surface embroidery is any form of embroidery
in which the pattern is worked using decorative stitches and laid threads on top of the foundation fabric
or canvas
rather than through the fabric; it is contrasted with canvas work
.
Much free embroidery is also surface embroidery, as are a few forms of counted-thread embroidery
such as cross stitch.
Forms of surface embroidery include:
Examples of surface embroideries include:
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
in which the pattern is worked using decorative stitches and laid threads on top of the foundation fabric
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
or canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
rather than through the fabric; it is contrasted with canvas work
Canvas work
Canvas work is a type of embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a canvas or other foundation fabric. Canvas work is a form of counted-thread embroidery...
.
Much free embroidery is also surface embroidery, as are a few forms of counted-thread embroidery
Counted-thread embroidery
Counted-thread embroidery is any embroidery in which the fabric threads are counted by the embroiderer before inserting the needle into the fabric...
such as cross stitch.
Forms of surface embroidery include:
- AppliqueAppliqueIn its broadest sense, an appliqué is a smaller ornament or device applied to another surface. In the context of ceramics, for example, an appliqué is a separate piece of clay added to the primary work, generally for the purpose of decoration...
- Art needleworkArt needleworkArt needlework was a type of surface embroidery popular in the later nineteenth century under the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts Movement....
- Crewel embroideryCrewel embroideryCrewel Embroidery, or Crewelwork, is a decorative form of surface embroidery using wool and a variety of different embroidery stitches to follow a design outline applied to the fabric. The technique is at least a thousand years old...
- Cross stitch
- GoldworkGoldwork (embroidery)Goldwork is the art of embroidery using metal threads. It is particularly prized for the way light plays on it. The term "goldwork" is used even when the threads are imitation gold, silver, or copper...
- Jacobean embroideryJacobean embroideryJacobean embroidery refers to embroidery styles that flourished in the reign of King James I of England in first quarter of the 17th century....
- StumpworkStumpworkStumpwork is a style of embroidery where the stitched figures are raised from the surface of the work to form a 3-dimensional effect.Stitches can be worked around pieces of wire to create individual forms such as leaves, insect wings or flower petals. This form is then applied to the main body of...
Examples of surface embroideries include:
- Bayeux TapestryBayeux TapestryThe Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth—not an actual tapestry—nearly long, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings...
- Quaker tapestryQuaker TapestryThe Quaker Tapestry consists of 77 panels illustrating the history of Quakerism from the 17th century up to the present day. The idea of Quaker Anne Wynn-Wilson, the tapestry has a permanent home at the Friends Meeting House at Kendal, Cumbria, England....