Embroidery is such an important part of our lives that we may not even notice it. However, when a shirt or skirt has fancy seams, a baseball cap has a sewn logo, or when a shirt is monogrammed, embroidery is the cause. It is true that this kind of embroidery is done by machine, but beautiful stitching is also possible thanks to the centuries-old art of hand embroidery.

Hand embroidery of some kind is thousands of years old. It was used in ancient Egypt to decorate the hemlines of royal robes, in tapestries in the Middle Ages, and in ladies’ samplers during colonial and Victorian periods. It goes on like an art form nowadays. Many people are familiar with the counted cross stitch – a cousin with hand embroidery – and it seems that the counted cross stitch has almost overshadowed. However, there are many people who still like to work with hand embroidery, and it decorates wall hangings, pillowcases, duvets, and table runners.

Hand embroidery differs from cross stitch counted in that it uses many different kinds of stitches to reach texture and interest. while the cross stitch counted uses only one stitch and rests on color and shading for texture. The cross stitch counted is worked from a graphic, in which the printed drawing is rendered as a series of XS and the artist embroiders the drawing accordingly. Embroidery patterns can be stamped or drawn on the material, or they can be handcrafted. Embroidery uses embroidery silk and an embroidery needle, which has a slightly larger eye but is yet pointed.

Embroidery has modest roots, which is excellent news for beginners; it is an easily accessible trade to start with. Supplies are cheap and technologies vary from basic to advanced. You might even know some of the embroidery stitches—many of us learn to sew from a parent or grandparent, as the skills of embroidery are traditionally passed on from generation to generation.

The embroidery is presented with a great variety of yarn or yarn colors which also includes other interesting colors like gold, silver, and bronze.

A typical feature of embroidery is that the essential techniques or stitches of the initial work are warp stitch, buttonhole or cover stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, and cross stitch. But today, these are only basic techniques of hand embroidery.

In the more primitive phase, Machine broderie arose during the Industrial Revolution to imitate the techniques of hand embroidery. Handwork was elegant and elegant, especially when using chain stitches, but machine work, especially using multiple threads to make satin stitches and hemming stitches, was not.