Roman Embroidery

Roman embroidery- an ever living art

Embroidery is done on fabric as an embellishment. It greatly helps in improving the aesthetic appearance of the fabric. There are several types of embroidery done on fabrics. Generally the designs used in embroidery vary from one region to the other or one country to the other. One such embroidery that can be used to produce wonderful designs is the Roman embroidery.

Roman embroidery was introduced long back and therefore it is also sometimes referred to as ancient Roman embroidery. In ancient times the Romans used to decorate the edges of their fabric with designs produced by embroidery. The patterns initially used related to natural patterns like flowers, leaves, fruits, etc. Later on people started thinking differently and started producing creative designs using the Roman embroidery technique.

The main things required to do roman embroidery are fabric, frame, medium or coarse count thread and needle. The frame is used to place the fabric in tension. Keeping the fabric under tension will help in putting the stitches easily and the design can also be done in an appropriate manner. Depending on the type of design, the color of the thread is to be selected. The thread used can be cotton or silk. Silk threads will enhance the beauty of the design. Generally silk threads are used for roman embroidery but for beginners cotton thread can be used to practice initially.

The outline of the design should be drawn on the fabric with the help of a pencil. This enables us to put the embroidery accurately. The design can be either left directional or right directional. If the design is moving fro right to left, the needle is brought to the top at the starting point of the design. The needle is passed down and brought to the top at the point where the design outline ends straight to the starting point (vertically straight). When the needle is brought to the top, the thread should be to the left under the needle. After the needle is brought to the top, the thread is pulled to required tension. Over tension will spoil the beauty of the design while less tension will cause the thread to come out easily. Once the needle is brought up, one part of the roman embroidery stitch is done.

The second part is done by bringing the needle to the bottom at right angle over the first part of the stitch. The needle is then again brought to the top to form the long stitch. The long stitch is followed by the small right angled stitch. Care should be taken tat the needle is brought up at the outline of the design to form the long stitch.

Roman embroidery is generally used in designs that require long floats. Most commonly satin stitches are used for long floats but if the float is very long the satin stitch can easily come out. In these cases where satin stitch is not possible, roman embroidery is used. Though the roman embroidery was found centuries ago, it still remains as one of the best and widely preferred embroidery pattern.

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Roman embroidery, Romanian couching, soof embroidery, star stitch, tips