Brazilian embroidery is a type of surface embroidery that uses rayon thread instead of cotton or wool. It is called "Brazilian" embroidery because the use of high-sheen rayon thread in embroidery was first popularized in Brazil, where rayon was widely manufactured. Brazilian embroidery patterns usually include flowers formed using both knotted and cast on stitches. Although many of these stitches are used in other forms of embroidery, the technique used to create them is slightly different.
The difference is caused by the method used to manufacture the rayon thread. For example, cotton thread uses an S twist when the fiber plies are combined into a strand. Rayon thread uses a Z twist. One type of twist turns the fiber plies clockwise; the other turns them counterclockwise. When forming the knots of Brazilian embroidery, the embroiderer must wrap the thread onto the needle in the opposite direction from that used in other types of embroidery. Otherwise the fibers of the thread will unravel and make the resulting stitches and knots unattractive.
Famous quotes containing the words brazilian and/or embroidery:
“If I were a Brazilian without land or money or the means to feed my children, I would be burning the rain forest too.”
—Sting [Gordon Matthew Sumner] (b. 1951)
“It is, indeed, at home that every man must be known by those who would make a just estimate either of his virtue or felicity; for smiles and embroidery are alike occasional, and the mind is often dressed for show in painted honour, and fictitious benevolence.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)