Embroidery

Embroidery is a needlework technique for decorating fabric by stitching thread, and sometimes other materials such as beads, sequins or metal wire, onto a woven or other fabric ground to build up a design. Unlike weaving or knitting, which construct the fabric itself, embroidery is applied to a finished cloth after it is made, using stitches such as the chain stitch, satin stitch, cross-stitch and running stitch, worked either by hand or, since the nineteenth century, by machine. Practiced across nearly every textile-producing culture, embroidery ranges from plain functional reinforcement of a seam to elaborate figurative and heraldic imagery on ecclesiastical vestments, court dress and folk costume.