In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the delicate art of hand embroidery was a popular activity for women, who were taught basic sewing techniques for the mending and creation of clothing. Only the more affluent women had time to learn the finer creative points of hand embroidery. Seen as a sign of gentility, no proper gentlewoman’s education was complete without knowing how to create beautiful, delicate designs with hand embroidery. Today, aHey-Embroidery is delighted that times have changed to allow women, men and children of all ages to learn and enjoy this fascinating hobby!
Embroidery designs in early America were characterized by highly complicated and stylized repeating patterns, floral designs, leaves, and birds. These patterns were called motifs and echoed common items in nature, religion and the lives of the women. The most important thing about a motif was not the way in which the embroiderer created the picture, but in whether the motif could stand alone as a work of art. Floral motifs were very popular and it is speculated that some basic botany was taught in addition to the embroidery as a way to educate the women. In fact, flower motifs are still popular among embroiderers worldwide today. Take a moment to browse the pages of www.ahey-embroidery.com and you’re sure to see many different, original motifs that appeal to you and would make lovely accents around your home or to give as gifts.
Many of the early American embroidery design motifs were based on the Bible. These sometimes included short Bible verses or Christian symbolism. Since the first book ever printed in the Americas was a hymnal, this is not surprising.
Mourning motifs were popular around the year 1800, losing popularity by the 1830’s. These often included images of churches, women in mourning, epitaphs with the name and dates of deceased persons, tombstones, and so forth. Mourning samplers also involved some advanced stitching techniques and were usually made of a variety of dark or dull colors.
As embroidery gained popularity, designs flourished from around the world, coming from the Portuguese, English, and the Dutch. Chinese designs soon followed and India’s colorful designs were close behind.
Although most American embroidery designs came from English or European creativity, the American versions were often simpler. Samplers gained popularity in the mid-nineteenth century and were used not only to highlight a specific motif, but also to teach young girls their alphabet and numbers along with their stitches. While our educational system has certainly advanced to the point where children no longer need to complete samplers to learn how to read, write and understand basic math, the hobby of cross stitching and embroidery continues to delight children the world over, teaching them fine motor skills and other important hand-eye coordination that will serve them well as they mature. Here at www.ahey-embroidery.com, we’re proud to bring you machine embroidery designs that are perfect for beginners who are just learning this wonderful skill.
As you browse our site, you’ll see a wide variety of original machine embroidery designs created to suit many tastes. You’re sure to find embroidery designs you can fall in love with! But if you’d like us to create a custom machine embroidery design just for you, or have any other questions, don’t hesitate to contact us via email us . We look forward to hearing from you!
