Shadow Work

Woman's top with shadow embroidery (chikan work), India. Woman's top with shadow embroidery (chikan work), India.

Shadow work is a form of embroidery worked on the back of sheer or semi-sheer cloth. The thread, or rather its shadow, shows through to the front of the cloth. The main stitch used for shadow work is closed herringbone stitch, which forms a layer of criss-crossing threads. On the front of the cloth the embroidery has the appearance of back stitches.

Shadow work has long been popular in India, where it is one of the techniques associated with chikan.

See also the TRC Needles entry on point croisé stitch.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 8th July 2016).

GVE

Last modified on Tuesday, 16 May 2017 19:29