If you’ve ever looked at a shirt with lots of fine embroidery (I haven’t, it’s not my thing), you might wonder how it is made. You might assume it was made, almost magically, in some factory somewhere, or a sweat-shop in Asia. While this may be true in some cases, much embroidery is done in unassuming little stick huts in tiny villages like Ek Balam.

Look at the machine, it is an ancient treadle-operated Singer, with the foot (which clamps and moves the cloth) removed. The machine is old, but the wooden frame in which it is set looks new – I wonder how many wooden frames one of these antiques goes through in its exceptionally long working life?

You might thing it is easier to embroider by machine then by hand. From what I see here, I tend to disagree – it looks like it is much faster but also requires much more skill.

She moves the cloth around in all directions, very quickly and accurately. She follows a basic outline, penciled onto the cloth, and a much more intricate pattern in her head. The needle shoots up and down at a furious rate.

In some places, she moves the cloth round and round the needle. The tread builds up on top of itself, providing a bas-relief effect, and leaving a big hole at the center.

Closer inspection confirms my theory – she´s previously made small holes in the cloth, mere nicks, which allow the cloth to pull away from the center of the embroidered pattern around it.

So much activity going on under her control, yet her face is serene.

Last Modified : December 27th, 2006
Filed under : Mexico 2006
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