...or whole cloth embroidery, or covered cloth embroidery, what's the proper name for this stuff? Fabric that has been embroidered so heavily that the ground is barely visible.
I think all textile people are tactile, and embroidery like this just calls to my fingers "Pet me!".
detail of a girl's cap, couching above, cross stitch below
detail of felt floor-cover, embroidery is Bhukara couching. The contrast in textures is so pretty.
shield-shaped panel, double chain stitch on velvet, more contrasting textures
I saved the best for last. Detail of a woman's dress.
The yellow crosses are needlewoven! Aaagh. Awesome. Gorgeous. Something about the sort-of-doublecloth, making a new fabric on top of an old one with tiny embroidery threads, complex work in miniature is just so beautiful to me. All of this work lends such a sense of preciousness (value), and makes a beautiful end product.
I'm thinking of some show quilts that I've seen that are all about technique and obsessive piecing and surfaces that look dead or lifeless to me when I view them as a whole. I'd consider this dress obsessively embroidered, but it still has so much life and joy.
Detail a little to the right of the above. More needleweaving and other fancy stitches. This dress could also be a stitch dictionary.
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