Embroideries refer to embroidery decorations that can be taken personally, such as pouch, fan cover, perfume (spice) bag, handkerchief bag, purse, etc. Cross-stitch has a unique status in the development history of Chinese embroidery, with a long time of existence, a wide scope of popularization, fancy styles, wide applications, exquisite workmanship and rich and varied stitches.
I. Social Status of Cross-stitch
Cross-stitch is notonlya fashionable way of having fun in the ancient Chinese palaces, but a symbol of the royal status of Europe. In the development course of civilization, there was decorating embroidery of satin used to connect joints on the ancient Hellenic cloth of the 4th century B.C., which was called “Red Embroidery” in China but called by Roman as “Painting with Embroidery Needle”. Over the past hundreds of years, what cross-stitch brought to people was pleasure. So it had always been a symbol of status for the upper circles.
II. Uses of Cross-stitch
Generally, cross-stitch can be used for: 1) clothing and personal adornment; 2) baldric and ornament; 3) articles of everyday use and home decorations; and 4) recreation at leisure and making friends.
1) Clothing and personal adornment. Cross-stitch was the rage in 1970s and 1980s in Europe. As early as in the Tang Dynasty of China, there was “Yunjian” in frescos of the Dunhuang, which could only be used by nobles in imperial palaces in periods of the Sui, Tang and Yuan Dynasties; images of “Yunjian” include “sihe ruyi” and “fu qing ruyi”, etc. Products include “Yunjian” embroidered bags and bibs used for children.
2) Baldric and ornament. In ancient times, the baldric and ornament products included pouch, tobacco pouch, perfume (spice) bag, waist pouch, fan cover, fan bag, handkerchief bag, glasses box and jewelry box, which were used by high officials and scholars.
Most of baldric and ornament products have such implied meanings as love, having many sons and much happiness, safety and luck, for example, Laijian, Kaohong, Jiaqi and Dielianhua in the Romance of West Chamber.
3) Articles of everyday use. For example, the door curtain, “suspending bed-curtain” and “pillow”, etc. Famous embroideries include “Pillowcase of the Surge of Good Luck”, “Immortal Kettle Gathering Blessings”, and “Happiness before Eyes, etc.
III. Development and Prospect of Cross-stitch
With improvement in the living standard of the common people, they long for cultural, fashionable and individualized consumption. Because of wide range of application of embroideries and cross-stitch, Aimai Qite has continuously conducted research on workmanship and application of cross-stitch through exploring traditional Chinese cultures and taking into account the ideas and lifestyles of the present society, and has developed cheap products suitable for lives of the common people, such as tens of varieties of cross-stitch slippers, cushion, perfume bag, handset chain, tablecloth, handset case, auto seating, etc.; introduced new ideas in terms of designs, such as Christmas series, constellation series, twelve animals series, cartoon series, animal series, scenery series, home decoration series, Chinese folk custom series, etc. It has achieved combination of the traditional workmanship with modern idea, as well as of fashion with practicality. The Chinese folk custom series has had certain competitiveness in the world, and other fashion series are preponderant in the domestic market.
Taking into consideration needs of allies, Anmai Qite has achieved industrialization of cross-stitch in 2002 and built plate-making design studio, weaving workshop, blanching and dying workshop, threat producing workshop and embroidery workshop. Beijing has nearly 30 distributors and 5 direct-selling shops in Beijing, as well as nearly one hundred allies in provinces and cities across the country.
Cross-stitch is a sunrise industry, which adopts traditional workmanships but uses high technologies. With support from the allies across the country, this sunrise industry will become a competitive industry with long-term prospect.
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