The Atlas of World Embroidery

A richly illustrated history of embroidery and needlework, showcasing the glorious range of styles, motifs, and materials used around the world.

Embroidery is one of the world’s most widely shared forms of creative expression – and one of its most varied and diverse. It can be found in every region, yet its visual languages, themes, and techniques vary greatly: some are marked by unique styles and others show influences from neighbouring cultures. The Atlas of World Embroidery examines many distinctive embroidery styles and traditions found across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia.

From the quillwork and birch boxes of Indigenous North America to the decorative matyo style of Hungary, the zardozi embroiderers of India, and the satin stitches of Han Dynasty China, Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood provides a comprehensive history of embroidery, describing its materials and tools, its designs and symbols, and its uses and makers. Emphasising the visual aspects of embroidery across cultures, the atlas features an unprecedented array of colour images celebrating the art form.

Organised geographically by region and country, and focusing on hand needlework with relevant examples of machine forms, The Atlas of World Embroidery is a beautiful and authoritative exploration of this ancient craft.

About the Author

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood is a design historian and textile archaeologist. She is director of the Textile Research Centre in Leiden, the Netherlands, and chief editor of the multivolume Bloomsbury World Encyclopedia of Embroidery. She is the coauthor of Dressed with Distinction: Garments from Ottoman Syria and Covering the Moon: An Introduction to Middle Eastern Face Veils.