Impressions - Embroidery 2023 - 9

The Rising Renaissance
By the year 1000, Christianity had taken
hold throughout most of Medieval Europe.
Embroidery's popularity was also on the rise
during this time being used to highlight the
wearer's status and prominence among the nobility
and their religious beliefs. Garments were adorned
with heavily embroidered intricacies as well as
were large, embroidered tapestries to display
various levels of wealth throughout the hierarchy.
The 200-year span between 1100-1350
is notably referred as the " greatest period of
English embroidery, " also known as the Opus
Anglicanum, a Latin phrase meaning " English
work. " And much work was created using golden
threads, divine silks and expensive textiles forming
historical artifacts and grandeur that can still be
seen throughout all of Europe. Th is trend was
echoed around the globe from exotic places to
religious states, such as Cairo, Damascus and
Istanbul, where embroidery was used to adorn
items of all types, similar to what we see in
today's current marketplace.
From Queen Elizabeth I's reign and beyond,
embroidery began to trickle down to commoners
as an amateur craft no longer reserved for the
elite, an advancement made just in time for the
upcoming revolution.
The Revolutionary
Industry Turn
As the Industrial Revolution was remaking
the rest of the world, it also brought along the
invention of fi rst mechanical embroidery machine.
Dating back to the mid- to late 18th century,
the design for the fi rst embroidery machine
resulted in a system that ran on half-automation
while simultaneously using hand embroidery to
complete the process-not quite the machines
everyone can purchase today, but an innovative
start on a journey to mass production nonetheless.
Over a period of decades, the design of
the embroidery machine evolved through
the work of inventors such as Th omas Saint,
Josef Madersperger, Barthélemy Th imonnier,
Walter Hunt and Elias Howe. Th is passing of
the metaphorical baton eventually led to the
machinist Isaac Singer, the man mostly commonly
associated with the sewing machine and the
eventual founder of what became one of the
fi rst American multi-national businesses, the
Singer Corporation (originally, fi rst established
as I. M. Singer & Co.). Singer revolutionized
mass production for embroiders, even marketing
machines for home use. Th e company expanded
globally, and along with rising competitors, it sped
us into the embroidery industry we recognize
today.
" Embroiderers are always suspended in time,
using equipment whose base concepts stem
from the 1800s, a timeless understanding of
materials, designs that hearken back to every
era of decoration and digital control that only
came into its own through the fl ourishing of
modern computing, " says Erich Campbell,
program manager with embroidery specialist
Briton Leap/Embrilliance.
The Limitless Times
Today's artform has shifted from the days of old,
morphing into a contemporary practice courtesy
of technological advancements. Although the
basic concept of putting thread to needle has
remained the same, embroidery has come a
long way with the introduction of the computer
completely changing the game for this everlasting
industry. Th e original prototype from the 1800s
has now morphed into high-tech, often massive
machines consisting of multi-needle, multi-head
setups that are a beast for mass production.
" When I fi rst started at the age of 17, I was
a 'puncher' now known as a digitizer, " says
John Deer, owner and CEO of John Deer's
Embroidery Legacy. " With the introduction
of computerized systems some 40 years ago,
instead of digitizing or 'punching' one stitch
at a time, we were able to create what are now
primitive objects and fi ll them in with stitches.
It was absolutely revolutionary at that time. "
Digitizing with computer software ushered in
an all-new era for embroiderers to surpass what
was once thought impossible, opening the door
wide for a juggernaut trend that is continuing
to take the world by storm.
" My digitizing course I created is based on
12 hours of theory that I learned when I was
17, and to this day it has practical implication
for the newest software that's in the industry, "
Deer says. " Th ere's two parts of the puzzle when
it comes to mastering digitizing and software.
Th ere's the program itself, which is important,
and then there's the theory: the rules of all stitch
types, how to correctly map your designs by
sequencing all the objects you create. Th at puzzle
is exactly what embroiderers were already doing
150-plus years ago. I never would have dreamed
that embroidery would become as advanced as
it has. If I look back to the old days where I had
my fi rst Ultramatic, it's fascinating to see how
far we've come. "
How far we have come, indeed. In 2022 alone,
the global embroidery market hit an all-time
high at $2.7 billion and is expected to surpass
$5 billion over the next fi ve years. A feat that
is quite mind-blowing considering this ancient
decorating technique was once only used to fi x
tears in clothing and is now a multi-faceted
industry that more than plays its part in keeping
the global economy turning.
" Digitizers went from punchers that plotted
every stitch from a 6:1 scale drawing to a kind
of specialized digital artist that blends the
understanding of thread, materials and machines
with design chops and the ability to steer and
explore the functions of modern software as it
calculates the stitches we specify as we draw each
area of the designs, " says Campbell. " Embroidery
really is a timeless art that is bound together
with and buoyed by the forward march of
technology. " 
Impressions - Embroidery 2023

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