Understanding Texture and Detail in Embroidery

 

Ribbon Embroidered Tapestry

Imagine a piece of beautifully embroidered wall art. Maybe it is a mountain scene embroidered in cross stitches or a vase of colorful flowers embroidered with a mix of ribbons, beads, and thread. Or maybe it’s a piece of colorful abstract art that’s more your style.

Why did it catch your eye when you first saw it? Why do you like it even now? if you say "it's the way it all comes together", you are right. what you described is a little thing called texture.

What is Texture?

The texture of a surface is how something feels, visually, and the actual feel of it. To artists, creating texture in their work shows their personal skill, and technique and expresses the emotion of their pieces. it’s a way for them to express who they are in their work.

There are two types of texture... Actual and visual.

Actual Texture is physical; the actual surface of a piece… is it rough or smooth; bumpy or flat? It is the result of the materials and techniques used.

In embroidery, this would include the material, and the techniques used to embroider that material.

Visual Texture is when an artist uses their skill to create the illusion of an object's texture… the shiny surface of the skin, the fluid folds of a table cloth, or the twinkle in an eye.

In the world of embroidery, we use visual texture to take our art closest to nature and we hook both color and technique into the texture to achieve the most natural appearance to the work.

Needle Painting

Creating Texture in a Pattern with Stitches

How do embroidery artists build texture, pattern, and line? Simply put, by a limited stitch pallet together with simple techniques. They use their imagination and design rather than a complicated process.

You can do this too. Consider limiting your stitch pallet and technique and use your imagination to create your masterpieces. A few simple stitches arranged a certain way in an effective color pallet is all it could take.

Stitches that Create Texture

When it comes to adding dimension to hand embroidery, the stitches themselves add lots of visual interest to a piece. Contrasts of knots with smooth line stitches or incorporate more intermediate woven and textural stitches that will pop off of the surface of your work.

The stitches that create flat lines are straight stitch, seed stitch, stab stitch, running stitch, and cross stitch. These will incorporate techniques like shadow work, void work, or needle painting.

For all forms of raised work, the stitches sit on the surface of the material to create a three-dimensional picture. These stitches would include French knots, bullion stitches, couching stitches, satin stitches, buttonhole stitches, and the stitches used in stump work, padded work, and bead embroidery.

Embroidered Antique Lace

Creating Texture with Techniques

Hand embroidery technique is defined by the way the many embroidery stitches are worked. Often stitches like the running stitch have endless variations that can be used in a design and the stitches can be controlled by playing with the tension of the thread… a tighter thread creates smaller stitches that sit closer to the fabric and gives it a sketch-like quality.

So, choose a simple stitch and a simple color scheme, and begin your work.

Different work techniques created by stitches

There is... Open work like cutwork embroidery and drawn thread embroidery.

Counted thread work, like cross stitch and black work.

Void work where the embroidery fills the background of the design.

Stumpwork Is padded embroidery with a 3D look. This work combines silk work, goldwork, counted work, flat & raised stitching, beadwork, padding, and needle lace to create the effect of projection and texture.

Raised work or padded embroidery worked to form a three-dimensional effect. Zardosi work, and Laid work.

White work, white embroidery is done on white fabric like shadow work, and Broderie Anglaise (eyelet embroidery).

Applique fabric cut out in designs and embroidered on a base fabric.

Crazy Patchwork, is the assembling of small pieces of material on a base material and then working with hand stitches.

Outline work worked in back stitch, chain stitch, and stem stitch.

Needle painting is a design filled with straight stitches in a shading way with different shades of the same color.

Bead Embroidery beads are stitched to the surface of the fabric to create your picture.

Hardanger works a counted embroidery technique that involves making small cutwork squares in between blocks made with a satin stitch.

Candlewick embroidery French knots fill the full design.

Regional-specific embroidery work, originated in different countries of the world, thousands of years ago...Japanese embroidery, Brazilian embroidery, and so on.

These are just a few. My point is; you can do beautiful, artistic pieces with nothing more than your imagination, a simple stitch, and a set of colors that please the eye.

Simple Ways to Create Texture for Beginners

Use textured fabric. Cotton is a good textured fabric though it won't afford all the texture you need it will be a good backdrop for other details, creating the ultimate textured piece.

Use 3D objects. Like buttons, charms, twigs, seashells, mirrors, etc.

Use a variety of threads and fibers. The most common thread to use is pearl cotton and embroidery thread and materials. However, jute rope, ribbons, rick-rack, and other braids, even lace have unique dimensional effects; it all revolves around how you use it in your design.

Use dimensional stitching.

Look at your favorite wall art again. Now, what do you see? Do you see the imagination and embroidery story that went into creating that piece? I do! 

So, let's choose a pattern, a color scheme, and a technique and get started. What texture effect would you like to create? The choice is yours.