Stitches in Gujarati Embroidery

Contents:  Foreword. Introduction.  Working the stitches. 1. Running stitch. 2. Back stitch and spaced back stitch. 3. Stem stitch. 4. Fly stitch. 5. Single detached chain stitch. 6. Chain stitch and open chain stitch. 7. Single feather stitch. 8. Buttonhole stitch and blanket stitch. 9. Cretan stitch. 10. Herringbone stitch and close Herringbone(blocks). 11. Cross stitch. 12. Satin stitch and false satin stitch. 13. Couching. 14. Romanian and Roman stitch: Roman chain stitch. 15. Cross-form stitch. 16. Interlaced cross stitch and maltese cross stitch. 17. Mirror work. Appendix.

From the introduction: Embroidery has been used, and still is, by different cultures around the world to decorate a range of textiles used in daily life and in ceremonies, as an expression of identity.

The Gujarat is no exception and is, in my opinion, the most wonderfully rich and exceptional place for embroidery.

Some patterns, for example the interlocking circles that have been used for hundreds, even thousands of years, can still be found today in printed textiles and embroidery. The same pattern is on a ceramic fragment found in the Harappa Civilization (3000-1500 B.C.) around the River Indus in today’s Pakistan.