Posted by Rachel Westall on 20 September 2021
Many older styles of embroidery are also having a revival with a modern twist, like punch needle and chicken scratch embroidery. Punch needle is a form of embroidery related to rug making. It's popular because of its quick results. It uses thick floss or yarn, on an open weave fabric like Monk's cloth and gives a highly textured finish. Chicken scratch is a variation of cross stitch that's traditionally stitched on gingham fabric using cotton or stranded embroidery thread. The gingham squares act as stitching guides and help to form a lacy pattern.
Of course, embroidery has been around for thousands of years and hoops were a progression from tambour frames and were originally made from wood, bone or ivory, but the modern adjustable embroidery hoop was invented (and patented) by Helen Harmes in 1903. Since then, they have been modified and are now available in wood, plastic, and metal in square, oval and other shapes.
There are a wide variety of companies offering embroidery hoops, one of which is Nurge (a Turkish based company offering a range of embroidery products), the popular ones being their quality sustainable European beech wood hoops, square plastic hoops and the metal spring hoops, which are also used for machine embroidery. They're available in the UK at www.nurge.net also there's Whitecroft Essentials who supply bulk quantities of wooden hoops to wholesalers and kit manufacturers www.whitecroft.co.uk
It's great to see the revival of any craft and modern ideas bring fresh life into something that has passed the test of time. A lovely way to spend time away from the TV or computer, unless of course, you're using it to create your next design!
For further information email richard.wood@whitecroft.co.uk or visit the websites www.nurge.net and www.whitecroft.co.uk