糸の歴史 |暮らしを支え、装いを彩り、刺繍表現を広げてきた小さな要素 - COSMO コスモ

History of Embroidery Thread

The “thread” we use without much thought is both a tool for joining cloth and a material that has given form to people’s lives, prayers, and aesthetic sense.

Making clothing. Mending torn cloth. Drawing patterns. Moving one’s hands for someone dear.
Thread has been a practical item, yet over a long history it has also been used for decoration and expression.

Thread used for embroidery is the same.
At first it was for reinforcing cloth or adding motifs, but eventually, through differences in color, luster, thickness, twist, and material, richer expression was born.


Thread: From a Tool of Daily Life to a Material for Expression

The history of thread is deeply bound to the history of cloth.

Plant fibers, animal hair, silk, cotton, and more are drawn fine and twisted to make thread. Weave thread and you get cloth; sew with thread and you get clothing; stitch patterns with thread and you get embroidery.

In other words, thread is not merely a material.
It was a fundamental material for making what people wear, supporting daily life, and further adding beauty.

In the world of embroidery, thread is both “line” and “color.”
Just as painting is drawn with paint, embroidery is drawn with thread. Differences in a single thread’s color, luster, and thickness have expressed even the softness of petals, the fineness of leaf veins, the sparkle of water, and the gleam of metal.


The Development of Japanese Embroidery and Thread

In Japan, too, embroidery has been practiced since ancient times.

Cultural Heritage Online explains that in Japan, embroidered fabric fragments have been excavated from fifth- and sixth-century burial mounds, and that seventh-century artifacts show the existence of advanced embroidery technique. Embroidery was used for embroidered Buddhist images and for decorating clothing, and diverse techniques expressing point, line, plane, and dimension developed.

In Japanese embroidery, the threads used are also extremely varied.
Flat thread, twisted thread, gold thread, silver thread, lacquered thread, and more—dozens of kinds depending on thickness and twist.

This shows that embroidery was never merely “a technique for putting color on cloth.”
Making delicate lines with fine thread. Making strong lines with twisted thread. Adding light with gold and silver thread. The kinds of thread themselves have broadened the range of expression.


Gold and Silver Thread Are Thread for Stitching “Light”

Especially symbolic in the history of embroidery are gold and silver threads.

Gold and silver thread are not only for filling areas the way ordinary colored thread is.
They have been used where you want to gather the gaze—outlines of motifs, lines of clouds and waves, flower centers, decorative borders, and more.



Image source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “A Woman Weaving, Seated at a Hand Loom,” Kitagawa Utamaro, ca. 1796, Public Domain.


In explanations of Tokyo’s traditional craft “Edo embroidery” as well, silk thread, genuine gold thread, genuine silver thread, flat gold, flat silver, powdered gold, powdered silver, lacquered thread, and more are listed as embroidery threads.

Gold and silver thread are thread that adds “light” more than color.
By placing radiance on cloth, works gain dignity, splendor, and a sense of dimension.

This idea also connects to today’s metallic and metallic-effect threads.
Metallic thread is not only for making an entire work shine; by using a small amount where you want a sense of light—flower centers, leaf veins, water surfaces, snow, stars, outlines—you can give embroidery depth.


Changing Thread Thickness Also Changes Expression

Among representative threads often used in modern embroidery is No. 25 embroidery floss.

No. 25 thread generally consists of a bundle of six fine strands, separated into 1-strand, 2-strand, 3-strand use, and so on to suit the work. Six-strand embroidery floss is commonly introduced as cotton embroidery thread that can be divided into six, and the number of strands used adjusts stitch thickness.

This mechanism of “changing the number of strands” is very important for embroidery expression.

Stitching with a fine single strand yields delicate, elegant lines.
With two or three strands, a moderate presence appears.
With many strands, plump thickness and strength appear.

In other words, even the same color of thread changes impression depending on how many strands you use.
Thread is a material that changes expression not only through color but also through thickness and texture.

In Embroidery Around the World, Shining Thread Also Played an Important Role

Embroidery using shining thread is not unique to Japan.

In Europe there is an embroidery technique using metal thread called goldwork embroidery. The Royal School of Needlework introduces goldwork as an ancient technique and as embroidery that makes use of the brilliance of metal thread.


Image source: Cleveland Museum of Art, “Lord Chancellor's Burse (Purse) with Royal Cypher and Coat of Arms of George III,” 1700s, Public Domain.

Also, couching—a technique of laying metal thread on the fabric surface and securing it with another thread—is widely used in metal-thread embroidery and is described as a technique for expressing lines and areas.

This is very similar to how gold thread is used in Japanese embroidery.
Rather than repeatedly passing friction-vulnerable shining thread through the cloth, you lay it on the surface and secure it with fine thread. That way you can create beautiful lines and decoration while preserving the thread’s brilliance.

Looking at the history of thread, it is clear that shining thread has long been used not as mere ornament but as “a material that highlights special parts.”


Modern Embroidery Thread Connects Tradition and Ease of Use

Modern embroidery thread is easier to handle than older thread and richer in color range.

No. 25 embroidery floss is a basic thread easy for beginners through advanced stitchers.
Gold and metallic threads are decorative threads that add luster and splendor to a work.
Space-dyed and specialty threads let you enjoy color change and texture within a single thread.

In older embroidery, artisans chose among kinds of thread and ways of twisting.
Today, those choices are organized as products so more people can enjoy them clearly.

Thread is still evolving.
While inheriting traditional techniques, it is spreading to suit modern ways of enjoying—everyday accessories, jewelry, remaking clothing, handmade projects with children, sharing work on social media, and more.


Supporting Modern Embroidery: COSMO® No. 25 Embroidery Floss and nishikiito

Knowing the history of thread shows that modern embroidery thread also inherits a long culture of handwork.

 

Go to the COSMO® No. 25 thread page

For example, LECIEN’s COSMO ® No. 25 embroidery floss is a basic embroidery thread easy to use for a wide range of work—French embroidery, cross-stitch, one-point embroidery, and more. No. 25 thread, a bundle of six fine strands, lets you enjoy everything from delicate lines to plump expression by adjusting the strand count to 1, 2, or 3 strands.

COSMO® embroidery thread uses premium extra-long staple cotton to express strength and beauty, and values a silk-like elegant luster and beautiful color development. With a rich color range to choose from for your work, it is an approachable thread for everyday embroidery—flowers and plants, animals, letters, seasonal motifs, and more.

Meanwhile, when you want to add sparkle and splendor to a work, LECIEN’s nishikiito is also recommended.


Go to the nishikiito® page

nishikiito is a Japan-made metallic thread for hand embroidery made using gold-thread techniques once used in Kyoto kimono. There are five types with different luster, and using them as accents in embroidery can add light and depth to a work.

Just as gold and silver thread have long been used for outlines, flower centers, clouds, waves, and decorative parts, nishikiito too is not only for making an entire work shine. By using a small amount where you want a sense of light—flower centers, leaf veins, water surfaces, snow, stars, highlights in animals’ eyes, edges of Japanese patterns—elegant radiance is born in embroidery.

COSMO® No. 25 embroidery floss that draws with color.
nishikiito that adds light.

Both are materials for enjoying, in modern hand embroidery, the expression of “color,” “texture,” and “light” that the history of thread has cultivated. Choosing a single thread is not merely choosing a color. It is also choosing what kind of line you want to draw, where you want to place light, and what feelings you want to leave in the work.

From small embroidery in daily life to splendid works for special days.
COSMO® No. 25 embroidery floss and nishikiito will continue to support expression stitch by stitch and broaden the joy of handwork.

References

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