How old is machine embroidery

When using my embroidery machine, I usually use white or black bobbin thread. If the tension is correct, the bobbin thread should not show on the top. Although I like my embroidery machine, I also prefer hand embroidery. Thank you for the lesson. Does anyone know if machine work like this was done in a factory situation or was a cottage style industry?

It actually could have been either. From early on, embroidery machines could be established in homes in a dedicated room and the whole family participated in the work. Hi Mary, Just wanted to comment Machine enbroidery versus hand embroidery. Afew months ago I had the option of getting a new sewing machine that had an embroidery module I declined as I am a hand embroiderer and I hope you will agree with me that by hand is the stitchers own work with the little mistakes that can occur and it makes it their own.

Whereas by machine it is just too perfect. I am a perfectionist and will unpick if its not right. I had a compliment on a thread painted flower piece that she thought I had done it by Machine. Raewyn B. When someone asks me if an item is hand stitched or not, the first thing I do is look at the back.

Actually, if the underside is covered with stitching like the topside, then is is most likely not. I have actually been asked this three times that I can remember.

Interesting article as always. I regularly mix hand and machine embroidery in a piece, exploiting their different textures. No digitisation, or treadle. So, yes, it is an art form in itself. Anyway, this background is to confirm that I have held at least one form of machine embroidery while making the other.

So, your observations are spot on! Including the thread choice, as mentioned in the comments. There is one other possible telltale. Reason could be a combination of thread, stitch, amount of thread per area not just above but also on the wrong side.

My 2-bits. I have several embroidery machines, but also do a lot by hand, MY hand! I can always tell the difference, but it amazes me just how many people can not. While people with at least a basic knowledge, or observant eyesight, can spot the differences. Heirloom gifts, clothing of higher value, holiday linens, etc.

Hi and thank you so much for this great piece of information I will sure be using it in the future, I just started to embroider and was wondering if embroidery was the same as crewel embroidery or crewel embroidery was like a step higher? Either way I still want to learn it. But when I do a piece I will not do anything else until I complete that piece.

I love your blog, Will sure be coming back. Thank you. Mary Corbet writer and founder. Daily Email Newsletter. Connect with Mary. Types of Hand Embroidery. In additional to seeing how many stitches the machine has made, you will also likely be able to see how many stitches have been put on the machine since the last time it was serviced. So what is a reasonable number of stitches for a used embroidery machine? Well — considering that most embroidery designs are between 1, and 10, stitches — a machine can hit a million stitches pretty quickly.

If a machine is used heavily, you should expect to see million stitches on a machine every year. Compared to other industries, the technology associated with embroidery machines has not changed that fast. So, a year-old machine can still be perfectly good. However, old machines might have obsolete cables and memory cards that you may not be able to use. For example, I read a description of a used embroidery machine online that had a floppy drive for transferring designs onto the embroidery machine.

But, only the most diligent and organized embroidery machine owners will keep a record of every service. Fortunately, you can get a sense for the last time the machine was serviced through the machine interface.

I try to get my single needle machine serviced about every year, and practice good embroidery machine maintenance , but multi needles are work horses. So, you can go a couple years without getting one serviced.

The risks of buying a used embroidery machine are fairly obvious. You could pay too much. You could also buy a machine that is a total lemon. Or, you could buy the machine and never figure out how to use it. However, you can avoid some of these risks by taking the following precautions. The are some unexpected benefits of buying a used embroidery machine.

First of all, since the machine has been around awhile, you can know if you are getting a good deal or not. You can ask members of embroidery Facebook groups what they paid for the machine and then use that information to assess the asking prices.

Another plus is that since the model has been in existence for a few or more years, there are plenty of people around who have used it. From other users, you can lean tips and tricks. If the model has been around a while, then plenty of people have owned it and written about it.

Ample reviews exist online. Another expected benefit in buying a used machine is that the previous owner may offer to teach you how to use it. Sound crazy? One of my embroidery buddies bought an embroidery machine from a woman who included a lesson with the sale. She also provided her contact information and was willing to answer questions in the future.

Archeological finds from this time period reveals fossilized remains of heavily hand-stitched and decorated clothing. Other early examples of embroidery are found in China dating to the Warring States period between 5th and 3rd century B. In Sweden, the earliest finds of embroidery are from a period known as the Viking Age, around the 9th and 10th centuries.

Around the year , the practice of embroidery began to rise in Europe with the growth of the Christian church and royalty gaining power.

Richly decorated garments and ornaments in the form of wall hangings and tablecloths were commissioned to display power and wealth. Moreover, embroidery was important and in the Medieval Islamic world because it was a sign of high social status in Muslim societies. The beginnings of shuttle embroidery dates back to the 's when Isaak Groebli, from St. Gallen, Switzerland, was inspired by the work produced on the sewing machine. Around the 's there were fourteen companies manufacturing embroidery machines in Switzerland manufacturing hand loom embroidery machines.

Today there are four companies manufacturing schiffli embroidery machines. In , Alphonse Kursheedt imported twelve of the then new embroidery hand looms from St. Gallen, making him the first American to use a mechanized embroidery process. The looms used multiple needles and were an unbelievable improvement over the age-old process of stitching by hand. They were, however, powered manually.

Immediately afterwards, Isaak Groebli of Switzerland invented the first practical Schiffli Embroidery machine. This machine was based on the principals introduced by the newly invented sewing machine.