In feudal times, embroidery was one of the jobs for the king and courtiers. At this time, embroidery is known for its costumes with sophisticated embroidery lines and sharp patterns. From high tide costumes to the regular costumes of kings, ministers, models of queen and royal costume to the noble ladies, all are embroidered very eye-catching and luxurious depending on the status of each person.
To be able to create patterns on the fabric at that time, requires workers to have their creativity and acumen. How to be able to embroider sharp lines, vividly the first thing is embroidery only. The embroidery thread at that time was completely dyed with natural materials such as indigo, brown tuber, bang bark, sharpening stone, flower, etc. Thanks to the natural colors, it was created full of colors that were impossible to create. out, making the motifs on embroidery at that time very beautiful, the images are shown in detail, look like the real thing.
A complete embroidery work, artisans have to carry out a lot of stages such as drawing patterns, stretching the background, changing patterns, choosing colors and then proceeding to embroidery. The process of drawing embroidery patterns on the fabric is very difficult, so the artisans almost have to be artists at the same time. Concerning traditional hand embroidery technique, there are 9 basic techniques: hooking, screwing, tapping, bundling, embroidery, tarpaulin, single-sa sa double-grain, single-flanged, double-flanged and intercept. The most elaborate is the embroidery of gliding lines, borders, shapes, embossed veins of leaves, sepals, phoenix eyes …. so that the threads are smoothly interlocked, the foot of each leaf, sepals always regular. The more smooth the thread is, the more the legs will be, the more aesthetic value the product will be. To do this, from a young age, a worker must learn how to hold a needle and thread it properly; poke the needle so that the legs are small; pull the thread to the tension; the foot must be level and smooth; the color when coordinated must be really harmonious.
Although embroidery at that time was very developed in Quat Dong, but to be able to talk about professionalism, reaching a level of sophistication, it is necessary to mention Hue – this is considered a place that marks a new development step of embroidery. When the Nguyen Dynasty built the royal palace here, Mrs. Hoang Thi Cuc – Bao Dai’s mother and the southern Phuong Queen combined the quintessence of Vietnamese hand embroidery with European embroidery techniques to enhance the embroidery art of the royal family reached a higher peak, associated with the delicate, delicate and meticulous features of the Hue girl. Thereby the costumes are now more complete, the majestic, mighty of the dragon, the charm, the fears of the flowers are shown sharp on the costume. A French scholar wrote: “An Nam embroider was more skillful than Chinese embroiderer on needle thread and color mixing …”
Over many centuries, ups and downs of history, traditional embroidery, seemingly fade away, but embroidery still exists and is preserved. Nowadays, as society develops, the art of embroidery is improved, the colors of embroidery thread instead of being dyed with natural colors are now dyed with industrial colors, creating a variety of colors and styles. endowed. However, hand embroidery still retains the long-standing cultural identity of the nation, and the paintings are always vividly displayed, attracting and stirring those who love this art of embroidery. Thanks to that, hand embroidery is not only growing, meeting the needs of domestic and international customers, but also contributing to honoring the traditional beauty of the country and people of Vietnam.
