How
to differentiate Chinese silk embroidery from machine-made
embroidery
Su
Embroidery Studio never produces or sells machine
embroideries. Please see our Hand
Embroidery Guarantee Statement.
With the
advancement of computer technology, machine embroidery is
improving very fast in its look and quality. There are
many machine made embroideries in market which the sellers
claim that they are hand embroidered. It is very
complicated, almost impossible, to explain what's the
difference between hand embroidery and machine embroidery
by looking at their pictures. The best way is to check its
photo with high resolution. By checking the large photos
of the embroideries, you can see the stitches of the
embroidery clearly. Below are some tips that will help you
to tell Chinese silk hand embroidery from machine
embroidery.

1. Material.
Chinese silk embroidery is made with silk threads on silk
satin. Silk threads are very delicate. It is very
difficult for a machine to use silk threads to make
embroidery because silk threads can get broken very easily
during embroidering. Machine embroideries normally use
artificial fibers or artificial silk threads that are much
stronger than natural silk threads.
2. Size of
threads. Machine embroideries use full threads, but a fine
quality silk embroidery painting use split silk threads,
silk threads split from one full silk strand. To show the
embroidery effect well, embroidery artists often use
different sizes of silk threads when making one silk
embroidery work. For example, the face part of a portrait
embroidery is the most exquisite part that often use silk
threads much thinner than the ones in other parts.
Embroidery done with thinner silk threads is more smooth
and has more colors mixed so it will look more realistic.
But in a machine-made embroidery, all the threads are in
the same size, all threads not split.
3. Stitches.
If you compare two machine embroideries of the same
design, you will find their stitches are the same. But
handmade silk embroidery is different from each other even
if the design is the same. Due to their nature of being
handmade, there are not two handmade silk embroideries
that are 100% the same. Also in one machine made
embroidery alone, if you check it carefully, you will find
that its stitches have a regular pattern.
4. Colors.
The hand embroidery looks more brilliant while the machine
embroidery looks a bit dull. Also when you check the
enlarged photos, you will find hand embroidery looks
neater while the machine embroidery looks rough.
Below are
two photos taken from one part of the embroideries, one is
hand embroidered, the other machine made.
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