Antique Textiles and Unique Embellished Clothing

I have traveled to China numerous times to search for vendors of garments embellished with old and new embroideries. On my last trip (fall of 2005) I noticed that prices of all embroideries were noticably higher. Old ones are becoming more difficult to find. New ones are more due to higher cost of labor and materials. I believe in a few years time all the old embroideries will be gone because of their value to collectors.

The images below are just a sample of the selection for sale. The embroideries are made by the women of the Miao and Dong minority groups from Guizhou province in China. These women are known for their unique designs and extraordinary talent in the art of embroidery. New garments of silk or linen are embellished with vintage, antique, or new embroideries which have been collected in Guizhou province.

Many of the embroideries are removed from old coats that were worn to numerous festivals. Some of the embroideries used for the garments were originally part of embroidered baby carriers. These baby carriers are made by young ethnic minority women. They carry babies on their backs. A beautiful and intricately stitched baby carrier proves great love of the mother for her child. Embroidery is part of a young woman's dowry, she must prove to her prospective husband and in-laws that she is capable of producing the finest embroidery which will adorn their festival clothing and baby carriers.

Several jackets are embellished with batik. The batik is made by hand, each one is different. Most are in shades of blue but many have other colors which are more intricate and time consuming to produce.

Some of the embroideries such as Mandarin Squares are new. The antique ones have been collected long ago. Vendors sometimes use smoke to make new embroideries look old, smoke is a sure sign they are new. New Mandarin Squares are embroidered in several locations in China.

I organize tours that include embroidery classes in Guizhou. Village women visit our class room and give demonstrations. I now realize how difficult it is to master these techniques and the extraordinary amount of time involved to produce each piece.

Below are various jackets and vests, followed by a sample of the bags available for sale. The inventory of jackets and vests is constantly changing. I have numerous garments in stock not included in web site photos. Some garments with new embroideries can be special ordered, but those with antique embroideries are more difficult to order. Please phone or email for availability and pricing.

I also have a huge collections of embroideries available for sale. If you are visiting the Denver area, I would be happy to meet you.

email daltonpat@aol.com
phone: 303-790-0121

Please be patient as the pictures load. I have included front and back images as well as close-ups of the embroidery where appropriate to give an idea of the detail of the various pieces.

Black, 100% linen jacket with hand made colored batik from Guizhou Province. Soft pink and mauve silk trim. Small strip of batik on back of jacket.

Close-up of colored batik.

Red, 100% linen jacket with black silk trim. Two small colorful embroideries on front, “Chinese knot” buttons.

Close-up of embroidery.

Brown silk jacket with blue silk trim. Note blue silk inset on sleeves. Rare, tiny cross stitch embroidery on front.

Close-up of embroidery.

Soft pink linen reversible jacket with two small embroideries on front. Reverses to muted stripes of linen. Also available in soft green with stripe linen on reverse.

Close-up of embroidery.

New, Yi jacket from Guizhou, China, indigo dyed cotton. This is hand embroidery, not machine. The “ribbon” detail is hand woven.		Back view of jacket.
	Close-up of embroidery detail on front with silver buttons.

Black, 100% silk jacket with Little Flower Miao embroidery and batik. The embroideries and batik are old and rare, they are removed from old, cotton jackets and attached to new silk jackets .		Back view of jacket.
	Close-up of embroidery and batik.

Black, 100% silk jacket with Little Flower Miao embroidery. Old embroidery removed from cotton jacket.		Back view of jacket.
	Close-up view of embroidery, note the very tiny cross stitches.

Red, 100% linen jacket with blue batik. Batik is done by hand and predominately blue, but sometimes they use additional muted colors, a more intricate process. Medium brown silk trim on jacket.

Close-up of batik and black onyx buttons.

Same jacket as above, black 100% silk. Medium brown silk trim.

Close-up of colored batik on sleeve.

Scenes from embroidered scroll. The scroll is 16 feet of embroidery, additional embroidery on either end in Chinese calligraphy. This is copy of famous scroll from Kaifeng, ancient capital of China. The embroidery on these scrolls is extremely fine silk with much attention to detail. Comes with special wooden box for storage. Inquire for availability.

500 skeins of filament silk with a very slight twist. This is the same silk used at Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute in China. There are 100 color families, and each family has 5 skeins of light to dark silk. These skeins are very generous, larger than other filament silk sold in USA.

Close-up of silver tin weaving /embroidery on jacket. These are very rare, from Jianhe in Guizhou Province. The technique is very time consuming and hard to master. This village will soon disappear as the Chinese government is building a small dam on the site of their village. They have not been given an alternate place to live. I fear the art of tin weaving/embroidery will disappear.

Beige vest of 53% cotton and 47% polyester. Hand embroidery detail on either side of lower vest. Also comes in “milk chocolate” brown color.

Close up photos of embroidery detail.

Brown, 100% silk vest with couched gold Mandarin Square embroidery on front. The brown mud silk is buried underground in Guangdong Province for 10 days during hot weather. The iron in the mud gives the silk a mottle appearance.

Close-up photo of couched gold embroidery

100% silk vest in black with blue silk trim. Mandarin Square embroidery on front. Also available in soft green silk trim.

Close-up of embroidery detail.

Muted red silk vest with Mandarin Square embroidery on front. This vest also available in black/gray and blue.

Close-up of embroidery detail.

Muted brown silk vest with Mandarin Square embroidery on front.

Close-up of embroidery detail.

Patchwork vest, various needlework techniques.   These strips of embroidery were originally on a long vest.  They are very old and in poor condition. Older vests are dismantled and the embroideries in best condition are appliqued onto a new vest.  Various embroidered and counted thread techniques.  Note the small embroidery detail on back of jacket.

BAGS

Many of the embroideries used in these bags were originally used as embroidered baby carriers. These baby carriers are made by all young women. They carry their babies on their backs. A beautiful and intricately stitched baby carrier proves the great love of the mother for her child.

Embroidery is part of a young woman's dowry, she must prove to her prospective husband and in-laws that she is capable of producing the finest embroidery which will adorn their festival clothing and the baby carriers

Beautifully embroidered bags come in a variety of sizes and are adorned with many different embroidery techniques.  Of course they are recommended to carry needlework projects! (or anything else...)