Needle Embroidery

Embroidery Making

NEEDLE EMBROIDERY

Turkish needle embroidery is known as “Turkish lace” and does, indeed, resemble lacework at first sight. The two are actually different, however. Lacework is made by sewing onto an object, and is two-dimensional. Turkish embroidery is three-dimensional and may be used as separate, distinct ornament. Silk is the material most generally used for needle embroidery. The invention and development of needle embroidery is largely the result of Anatolia’s being on the Silk Road and having its own silk production. Embroidery is done by knotting with small needles. As the knots become denser, the plaits become smaller. Needle embroidery is done by making loops with threads and by pulling the needle and thread through the loop. There are two types of needle embroidery: square and triangular. Needle embroiders can be either single or double-embossed. In single-embossed embroidery, the needle is first stuck into the fabric and the thread turned from right to left in order to form a circle. The loops are repeated with particular spaces between them, and the first line, called the giraffe, is thus constituted. On the return, the loop is made by passing it through the circle from left to right. The second line is made by repeating the same process by sticking the needle into the connecting point in the first line or into the middle of the loop by forming designs such as root, rock and main embroidery that will create the main contour. Knitting designs are called single, rice, Mecnun home, Trabzon/trabzan. A flower or a leaf are accepted as examples of needle embroidery on their own. Compositions are formed by arranging the components in various forms. These compositions are as follows:

  1. Chains
  2. Yemeni (a head scarf made of woven cotton material) embroidery
  3. Aigrette embroidery
  4.  Crown embroidery
  5.  Branch embroidery
  6. Flowerpot embroidery
  7. Cotton bag embroidery

Horse hair, antenna wire and nowadays even fishing line are used to make the designs stay up once they have been starched with egg white, sugar or gelatin. Natural silk thread and cotton thread are used in needle embroidery. Some types including decorative objects such as spangles, beads etc. may also be seen.

1st Picture: Butterfly, Ankara/Nallıhan
2nd Picture: Grapevine Rose, Elazığ