Look what I got for Christmas! My parents bought this in Singapore in the mid-eighties. It’s definitely from the Chinese tradition, and probably created in Singapore itself. Sorry about the flash reflection in the glass.

This is partially painted and partially embroidered with silk. I like the idea of painting the background – embroidering everything can sometimes take a long time. It allows for very detailed faces too. Perhaps I should look into how to incorporate fabric painting or background prints into my work.

Below are closeups of the two women who are the focus of the design. The woman on the left has wonderful hair ornaments made of jade beads. It’s a great way to subtly accent the piece. I also love the tiny golden fans decorating her robe.

If you look closely, you see that the hair of the woman on the right is actually free strands, not stitching. I plan to try this on my Balinese dancer.

The stitches for this embroidery are incredibly tiny. Everything is worked in a single strand. Look at the feather stitches at the bottom of her dress! The flooring grounding the pillar in the background is such a neat use of herringbone stitch.