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I've learned Japanese embroidery for 5 years. I'm able to do embroidery on kimono or obi which is like a belt for kimono. But interestingly, there are two things I've learned, except for skill to do embroidery, how to see other arts and how to get older as a woman.

First, it is not easy to complete every work. I need enough time to plan, prepare, do, finish carefully. Thus, I know the effort of artist much better than before when I see any work. Once I did embroidery, I always try to understand other artists' goals better than before. Moreover, colors for emboridery's threads are limited, I have to mix some different color's threads to make a particular color which I want. I improved my sensitivity to colors. Therefore, Making embroidery has cultivated my sensitivity to other types of art.

Secondly, since enbroidery is popular with old women, I've made a lot of older female friends in embroidery's class. They showed me how women should grow older gracefully. For example, although every woman loses physical beauty, ex-beautiful women tend to envy young women while ex-ugly women don't care losing beauty and try to make a lot of friends regardless of ages. Moreover older women have weak eyesight. But if good older students keeps being curious about not only embroidery but everything, they can make great works with even weak eyes.

To summarize, I've learned two thins which are more important than doing embroidery. Japanese embroidery expand my horizon. I would keep two important things in my mind.

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Um...The line was supposed to be more straight. But if I resew again, the fabric may be damaged a little. So I'll give up resewing this part and then move on to the next part.

I'd like you to feel the woven blinds from this embroidery.

First of all, I made a foundation layer with a "nari-nui" stiching like a "hitta-nui" does.

"Nari-jibiki" used in "hitta-nui" were put stiches along the weft. But now I've put stiches perpendicular to weft.

It means "Happy new year" in Japanese.

I hope you will continue to come to this site.

The flowers are as follows.
The knots is made in place and then they are covered by one stitch.

The caulis is embroidered by couching stitches.

But this stitches seemed to weaken flower's impression and I changed it as follows.

The new stitches is kept along the weft of the fabric.

To begin with, I make a foundation layer. The fundation layer has to be parallel with the weft threads. This stitch to be parralel with the weft is called "NUKIJIBIKI".

Then I made stitches to be lattice, at that time I use scales in order to keep it's angle accurate.

After this lattice is finished, a few stitchs is put at each intersection to fix lattice thread on foundation layer.

Furthermore I put  a few tiny stitches at the center of each square.

Lastly, I add couching. Do you know "couching" ? This "couching" is techniques in which thick twisted thread or metal thread is laid on the surface of the fabric and fastened in place with small stitches.

In case of Japanese embroidery, Thick twist thread or metal thread (non-stitchable thread) are spooled "koma". The "koma" is below.

Hitta-nui needs a few processes. I love this technique, because I feel good achievement whenever it's completed. The progress is as follows.

In this time, I use a twisted thread. Usually, silk threads are reeled as the following picture.

This is called "floss" or "silk floss". In Japanese "KAMA-ITO".

This is twisted thread. I'll talk later how to twist them.

Then, I embroideried outside along the outline.

To copy the original design into the fabric, I used tailer's chalk-paper in this time. This tailor's chalk-paper is same as a carbon paper. The chalk-paper is placed between the original design and the fabric and then I trace the design with pen ( stencil pen etc.).

I set the fabric into the frame carefully so that the weft(woof) of fabric is vertical to a longer bar.

The designs picked up were combined and then I drew the design with the pencil as follows. Although I tried to draw design by computer before, I couldn't be content. Pencil is better for me than computer.