Sichuan embroidery is a traditional handicraft art. The embroidery products are made with soft satins and colored threads. All of them are stitched by hand, and the varied stitching methods create unique local styles.
? Sichuan embroidery is one of the top four famous embroideries in China. The other three embroideries include Suzhou embroidery from Suzhou area, Xiang embroidery from Hnan Province and Yue embroidery from Guangdong Province. Suzhou embroidery is famous for its extremely delicate stitches. Xiang embroidery for its rich colors. Yue embroidery, by contrast, tends to have rather complicated patterns.
? Sichuan embroidery has its patterns chosen mainly from local folk art. The traditional Chinese landscape painting also provides favorite subjects for Sichuan embroidery patterns. Generally, designs on Sichuan embroidery include flowers, birds, landscapes, fish, worms and human figures. The products themselves include quilt covers, pillow covers, cushions, tablecloths, scarves and handkerchiefs.
History of Sichuan Embroidery
Embroidery is one of the ancient handicrafts in China. People started using embroidery in China in early ancient times. Sichuan embroidery came into use on the basis of the skills of the ancient cross-stitch work. Many excellent weaving skills and patterns were first established by the common people and passed to all walks of life. 2,000 years ago, Sichuan embroidery was well known among the ancient states.
In the Han Dynasty, embroidery techniques made tremendous advances. Products were elegantly designed and intricate. Yang Xiong in the Han Dynasty once composed a eulogy on Sichuan embroidery. Towards the end of the third century, Changqu, a historian of the Jin Dynasty wrote a book by the name of Huayang guozhi, the History of Huayang State. In his book, Chang spoke highly of Sichuan embroidery and brocade. He considered them valuable treasures in the local areas.
Before the arrival of the modern printing and dyeing process, local people in Sichuan used their own method to dye cotton, silk and linen cloth. However, it wasn’t possible to dye more than one color on the same cloth. Therefore, people stitched colorful patterns on the one-colored cloth to make the cloth pleasing to the eye.
Before the Tang Dynasty, the chain stitch was the only method used in embroidery. In the Tang Dynasty, the satin stitch was invented and quickly replaced the chain stitch. The newly invented method enabled stitching workers to use different stitching styles to create artful patterns.
In the old society, women in Sichuan started to learn how to stitch flowers when they were young. Girls made embroidered incense bags for their lovers as tokens of their love. They often embroidered a pair of mandarin ducks, which are symbols of loving couples. In addition to ducks, other birds, flowers, fish, and animals were the most common subjects for embroidery. The purpose of their ornamental needlework was either for their own use, or to be sold at market. In the past hundred years many women in the countryside near Chengdu were engaged in needlework as a means of maintaining their daily life.
During the Daoguan Period of the Qing Dynasty, the Sichuan embroidery business advanced in big strides. Over 80 well-known handcraft workshops were set up in Chengdu’s Goutou and Kejia streets to produce embroidery products. Its needlework displayed even stitches, bright threads, closeness and softness in texture. Each local county-level government set up an embroidery business. Their main products were official clothes, gift, dowries, as well as daily colorful clothes and necessities.
In the old days the embroidery business appeared to be a traditional occupation of Chinese women. But embroidery was never solely a female activity, and some men also did it. How did the local men obtain such a skill?
A hundred years ago, an official was transferred to work in Chengdu from Jiangsu Province. A theatrical troupe accompanied him to Chengdu at the same time. There were three ecperienced male masters, working with the troupe. Their job was to stitch stage clothes for actors and actresses. As they were in Chengdu, they began to recruit their apprentices for the purpose of developing government –sponsored embroidery. However, young women were not allowed to work as embroidery apprentices in public workshops because of a feudal ethical code. Therefore, the three masters had to use local young men instead. Gradually more and more male workers worked in embroidery workshops.
In 1949, mew China was founded. Local workshops began to employ young women. In present workshops or factories, there are more female stitching workers and fewer males.
The Embroidery Technology and Its Varieties
Sichuan embroidery has a strong expression and artistic effect. It focuses on the needlework method relating to minute details and perfect stitched patterns. Stitch lines appear smooth, and embroidery patterns look elegant and delicate. Its materials are colorful satin and silk threads, all produced in the local areas.
Following are some unique stitching skills in Sichuan embroidery. They are often used to achieve sound results.
Xiegunzhen (the slant-ward rolling stitch method)
It is a basic stitch method. Two lines are stitched close to each other so as to form a relatively long and narrow stripe. The stripe is mainly used to resemble flower vines, small flowers’ stems, ripples and pine needles.
Qiezhen(the tangent stitch method)
? It is an immediate stitch line. It touches a curve or a surface at a point The line is closer than other lines going through the point. The tangent stitch method is mainly used to resemble transparent fine gauze, mist and bubbles.
??Canzhen( the irregular stitch method)
? The method has a strong sense of decoration.

? The current embroidery carries forward the good traditions, and furthermore, it also brings forth some innovation relating to stitch methods and modeling arts. The traditional embroidery needlework only displays patterns on one side. At present, workers are able to stitch different patterns on both sides of the same satin cloth. On one side maybe a cat, and the other side a fish. Moreover, three-dimensional stitch embroidery have come into use.