Early History | Pre-contact Embroidery | Post-contact
Pre-contact SewingEvidence of pre-contact sewing exists, though
it is rare.
Pre-contact Sewing
Brocade or Embroidery
Other Pre-contact Evidence
-Wall Paintings
-Designs
-Dyes
-Weaving Techniques
A needle made of the tip of a yucca leaf, with cotton thread twisted and caught by the fibers of the yucca, was found at Inscription House, north of the Hopi mesas.
Also, some ancient textiles show signs of darning and patching.
Some items, such as the quiver mentioned in Aesthetics & Early Weaving Techniques, required the maker to sew together seams and different pieces of cloth before they could function as they were intended. Several ancestral Puebloan sites, all dating to 1100 A.D. to 1300 A.D., have yielded small pieces of simple embroidery stitches, including the running stitch, twined running stitch, and slanted running stitch. The last named serves as an overcast stitch when worked at the edge of a fabric.
Running Stitch &
Twined Stitch
Twined Stitch
Detail of the twined stitch (left)
See more examples of embroidery stitches.
Early History | Pre-contact Embroidery | Post-contact School for Advanced Research