Modern Embroidery Introduced In N.Z.

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29775, 19 March 1962, Page 2

Modern Embroidery Introduced In N.Z.

There has been a tremendous embroidery revival, almost of “craze” proportions, among overseas women, according to Mr C. H. Mylius, managing director of a well-known firm of Australian manufacturers. The outcome has been the evolution of “modern embroidery,” replacing the intricate, time-consuming forms of previous years, and allowing the neeedlework enthusiast to use her imagination to the full.

After an overseas visit last year to Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, Britain, Canada and the United States, Mr Mylius is in New Zealand to introduce the new form, called “motif embroidery.” This simplified form of needlework embodies the use of cross darning, and double darning holbein stitches on gaily-coloured furnishing cloths, which may be used as furnishings or napery. The cloth is not traced with the embroidery design —a brochure is attached to each article and contains suggested motif designs and suggestions for placing them. The articles are finished with fringing, and some are available, cut to three different lengths, in attractive packages. The idea for this product came from Germany, Mr Mylius said in Christchurch last evening. “In any German home you will see embroidered tablecloths, cushions, wall-hangings, and curtains,” he said. There were 81 needlework manufacturers in that country. “In a country which is known to have one of the most hardworking populations in the world, it is amazing that so many women have gone back to embroidery as a form of relaxation,” Mr Mylius said.

He considered the main reasons for the revival were the break-aiway from tradition into products with more end use and appeal as decorative furnishings; the relaxation and self-pride which embroidery afforded women; and the personal, feminine touch brought to the home by embroidered articles. In accordance with revolutions in other fields of art — such as painting and music, modern embroidery gave free rein to a woman’s imagination, Mr Mylius said. She could choose her own colours and stitches, and use as many or as few motifs on an article as she wished.

Other embroidery trends he had noticed throughout the world were the trend for bolder, simplified designs (for quick results), and the increasing use in some Continental countries of embroidered articles for interior decoration. In Italy, many of the designs were printed in colour on the cloth.