embroidery

The term for a group of decorative, usually ornamental and nonfunctional needlework done with thread or yarn on fabric. Most machine embroidery is done by the Schiffli ma chine which can imitate many different hand embroidery stitches. Although embroidery is usually thaught of as being done in several colors, white work (white embroidery on white fabric) and black work (black embroidery on white fabric) are fairly common. Embroidery terms are tremendously variable, with different words being given to the same stitches in different countries, and even different sections of the same countries. Some of the most common embroidery stitches are beading, buttonhole stitch, chain stitch, chevron stitch, satin stitch, stem stitch, back stitch, and straight stitch.