Embroidered Clothes

Embroidered clothes are a personal statement. The concept of embroidered clothes has been around since man learnt to make needles about 17000 years ago in Europe and Central Asia. Some historians claim it to be older that a million years old when the first wheel was discovered. It was initially made of bone. They started as a tool to stitch the leather with sinew into wearable clothes and moccasins for the Nomadic tribes from the animal skins. These were people who recycled everything and wasted nothing as it was so difficult to come by. The women would stitch the  coats, shirts, jackets, pants, hats and caps for their family members. However, when they noticed that nature beautified itself with flowers and new foliage ever spring. So did the animals of the wild – they searched for a way to celebrate nature and the milestones of their lives in some manner.

The concept for embroidered clothes was inspired from nature’s flowers, fruits and other bounty that the ancient artists wanted to capture in their clothes to affirm the bounty to be repeated every year forever. They would even embroider their sacred totems and symbols into their clothing. These totems and sacred symbols would protect them from the evil spirits and the wrath of the gods. The process of embroidery would be the part of the penance while making that symbol on the base – like a cloth or leather. After completion, it would be offered to the gods and then used – this would ensure the favor of the gods. The concept of embroidery developed from the need to keep the totem, symbols or the artwork from being wiped off when washed.

Where did they get the colored threads and sinew to make the embroidered clothes? All came from nature – the plants and animals around them. The animals hunted for food would give the sinew, cotton thread, jute, hemp, even grass would be used to embroider. It is said that the concept of embroidery is nothing but a finer concept of weaving. It must have been one of those smart, independent women who may have just experimented with the weave to begin the concept of embroidery and embroidered clothes. As though exploring their souls and psyches, they explored the various stitches and their uses to stitch the clothes and add an artistic impression to them – like the herring bone to stitch the neckline in a decorative manner, the french knot to imitate the rose, the detached chain stitch to give the impression of a daisy flower. The long and short stitches would help fill the outline like a painter fills in the painting.

The concept of embroidered clothes started when man began to embellish his clothes to show status – maybe as the leader of the tribe – into the royal vest or head dress. They began to stitch in shells, bones, colored stones, pieces of feldspar, and the Masai and a few other Africa tribes are also known to weave in rough diamonds on to their headdresses. The basis of this invention was to make a statement, and it continues to be the same today.