Page 34 - Chiense TExtiles, MET MUSEUM Pub 1934

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
tion to the loop stitch the knot, couched twist, applique,
satin, stem, buttonhole, and quilting stitches. The loop
stitch when done with very fine thread is frequently
mistaken for the knot, or Peking, stitch. It has also
been published by at least one writer as the true Pe-
king stitch but we believe with no real authority for the
statement. The knot, or Peking, stitch is also called the
seed stitch and in China is frequently referred to as the
"forbidden" stitch, which it literally is, since the gov-
ernment, alarmed at the number of women going blind
from doing it, some years ago passed a law forbidding
any further needlework of this type. The couched-twist
stitch found on the Han textiles seems to indicate that
simple couching was well known at die time, although
there are no examples of it in this group. The prelimi-
nary step in couched-twist embroidery is to twist two
silk threads tightly together so that the effect is that
of a very fine knobby braid. These threads are then
couched down, sometimes in solid designs and some-
times as outlining for designs embroidered in other
stitches. Couched-twist embroidery, like loop-stitch, re-
sembles in its granular texture a very fine knot stitch,
but the best examples of couched twist are infinitely
more love! y than either of the others.
Applique embroidery is very common in Chinese
needlework and ranges from rather ordinary examples
to the most exquisite work. There are a number of vari-
ations of Chinese applique embroidery, one of the most
usual being the embroidering of separate motives, floral

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