Recently I saw a post on social media questioning whether embroidery was outdated.

The resounding answer is, of course, no – but why?

The wiser question would be, why is embroidery enjoying a renaissance?  Hasn’t it been around for eons?

From what I can see, this is fascinating because traditional, contemporary, and innovative embroidery is flourishing across social media.

Again, why?  What’s the value of embroidery in the 21st century?

Just who is picking up a needle and thread now?

The art of embroidery is an ancient craft.  It’s been at the forefront of survival, trade, culture, tradition, history, fashion, theatre and even the Industrial Revolution, but now technology is taking up its banner and showcasing embroidery’s light to a diverse audience.

This rich, multifaceted art form has been used to adorn Kings, Queens and Popes in robes of power and authority, was used to empower women’s suffrage, and yet offers income-producing employment to a huge percentage of the world’s population. Still, this ancient art form is showing its true value and worth in our modern fast-paced world for several different reasons.

Stitch Safari listeners, let’s see if I can answer these questions to learn the value and potential embroidery has in attracting a new audience in the 21st century.  How does it encourage so many to gather the materials to explore its creativity and diversity?  Because that’s exactly what’s happening now.  It’s time to put our big boots on and explore this fascinating question.

Come on, let’s find out together.

Embroidery trends have experienced peaks and troughs throughout history.

In this Stitch Safari episode, I’d like to address the questions I put out earlier.

Why is embroidery enjoying a renaissance?  What’s the value of embroidery in the 21st century?  Who’s picking up a needle and thread and why?

Let’s start with why embroidery has become popular.  What is it that’s attracting so many to want to stitch and create?

We know that embroidery offers endless self-expression in a world where the generic and mass-produced is omnipresent.  It’s the perfect, peaceful conduit for making a statement, exploring concepts or themes, capturing and recording memories, expressing individual creativity, learning, therapy or simply relaxing after a stressful day.

It also symbolises and records culture – that way of life and traditions celebrated by groups of people to include their beliefs, values, customs, art, language and behaviours.

Embroidery helps consolidate connection through a shared sense of meaning.

There’s a community, a fraternity of like-minded people who want to learn, share, teach, research and raise awareness of what a needle and thread is capable of – past and present.  Guilds and groups abound around the world showing the worth of that connectivity.

But that’s always been the case I hear you say and so it has.  The difference now is that it’s to a new audience – a much more technically gifted and savvy group of people than ever before – and those groups engender power.

In my opinion, Social media has played a huge role in promoting embroidery in the last two decades by offering a platform for sharing and learning.  Instagram with its hashtags to gain new followers and promote influencers, Etsy with its sales platform, Pinterest allows users to share, discover and organize visual content and YouTube videos that can be shared across the world in a matter of moments.

Social media helps showcase embroidery and engage with followers to build relationships and it’s all about those relationships and communities.  Whether with individuals or collaborations with other artists or businesses, social media offers the ability to create a brand, and that has power and traction with many people.

The proof of this is COVID-19 – we all had to change and learn to do things differently to maintain those connections – and most of us did.

As to who is picking up a needle and thread, I believe Social media opened the world of embroidery across the generations, enabling Gen X, Y and Z to promote their work and express their visual stories in a way that’s fascinating because they produce the content, they edit the content and they promote the content with a goal in mind.  It may be about sales, reputation, strengthening their brand or simply to share with friends.

Now, that’s a first in history.

But that’s not all.

There’s been a growth-like industry in embroidery-led Movements and communities, and they all know how to use social media to promote their aims.

There’s now a World Embroidery Day celebrated each year on July 30, simply to promote embroidery, and you’ll see savvy content makers working towards annual videos, reels and posts showcasing embroidery to celebrate this occasion.

But let’s begin with the Slow Stitching Movement which seems to have gained traction for no other reason than a new name for embroidery that appeals to those who don’t want to be associated with something seen as old-fashioned and fusty.  And really, who cares?  As Shakespeare said, what’s in a name?

Formed in 2014, The Slow Stitch Movement’s manifesto, guided by Mark Lipinski prioritises the meditative practice of embroidery, of taking the time to repair, embellish and re-use fabric.

Many Slow Stitching followers dabble in the old-world charm of embroidery working mostly with muted or subtle colourways, vintage lace and embellishments to create pretty and interesting outcomes.  They replicate the charm of a bygone era influenced by today.  If you read Lipinski’s manifesto, however, the Movement is much more and relates to all forms of embroidery, both hand and machine.

Then we move on to the Manbroiderers and Third Wave Feminism.

Embroidery is now seen as gender-neutral, and you just have to read Rosika Parker’s book The Subversive Stitch to gain insights into how embroidery was used mainly in the West, to manipulate and control women and men, each cemented within their designated role. But we all know many men stitched privately and many women loathed embroidery.  At least now, hopefully, that pressure is off.

We’re in the midst of the third wave of feminism – and embroidery gained traction as a means of self-expression with both the first and second waves, so it makes sense that many now latch onto embroidery for the same reasons, calling it passive resistance or activism.  And more power to them.

Manbroiderers, men who stitch, offer advice and support to men who wish to embroider, providing a platform of support and sharing and it’s about time. I follow a number of them on my social media.

For many, it’s all about community – and social media is a community.  Listen to my previous Stitch Safari episode on Embroidery Journalling, engaging people to simply pick up a needle and thread to record their daily life – one day at a time for a year.  New communities are being formed on Facebook for this style of embroidery alone.  No experience is needed – you teach yourself as you go.  The connection is at the tip of your fingers.

Here’s another community – Flosstubers.  Have you ever heard the term FlossTubers before?  I was watching a video on GayPride 2025 when the presenter used the term.  Floss refers to embroidery and tubers refers to YouTube videos so FlossTube is a community of creators who post YouTube videos of their embroidery.  Well, now we all know.

Then there’s Craftivism, a term coined by Betsy Greer in 2003.  Craftivism separates the spheres of craft and activism aligning anti-capitalism, feminism and environmentalism utilising a platform of collective empowerment.

Passive yet powerful, Craftivism has empowered change from some heavy-lifting corporate entities.

The Modern Quilt Movement and Education.  We all know that quilts have been around for centuries and are known for using and re-using fabrics.  The Modern Quilt Movement has an emphasis on originality and design over replication and perfection of technique, but it’s about innovation too, expanding the knowledge and practice of the craft of quilting.  Bold colours, high contrasts, improv piecing, the use of both maximalism and minimalism, the use of expansive negative space, alternate grid work and modern traditionalism.  This is a thriving and growing community and I love it.

The Slow Fashion movement empowers and educates fashion followers to make environmentally and socially conscious choices.  Key philosophies include quality over quantity, low waste, respect for the environment, providing a living wage and healthy working conditions for employees along with using natural fibres, deadstock and old textiles for upcycling.

Care for the environment is also a factor in the resurgence of embroidery’s popularity creating another sense of community, of being a part of something greater than one.  Having a platform for change, empowerment and voice is of huge importance to people and a needle and thread are fairly inexpensive tools.

That sense of power and achievement in these movements and groups cannot be underestimated.

The people who stitch now include Gen X, Y and Z, followers of the Slow Stitch Movement, The Modern Quilt Movement, The Slow Fashion Movement, Feminists, Manbroiderers and FlossTubers.  The next obvious question is why?

As I’ve mentioned the rationale for stitching is many and varied.  Care for the environment, simple love and passion for an updated form of bygone-era embroidery, activism, education and research, feminism, masculism, therapy, mindfulness, community and to record culture and tradition.

But Embroidery is also now being embraced as a worthy art form in the fine art arena, with more and more galleries featuring hand or machine-stitched needle art, as they should.

But the one reason that towers above all others is stress relief, that sense of calmness achieved through embroidery’s repetitive movements.  There’s that magical sound of the needle ‘popping’ through the fabric, of the thread being gently drawn through the cloth to create something that wasn’t there before.  Yours, worked by hand or in some cases, by machine or even both.

There’s also the tactile nature of holding and feeling fabric that grounds and calms offering a sense of tranquillity saturating the energy of the embroiderer.

Embroidery is a means of disconnection from the digital life surrounding our everyday living.

It’s a form of self-care and personal development where skills like patience, learning, improving motor skills, and confidence-building happen.  It’s a community of care and more importantly, self-care.

Is there also a feeling of connection to our ancient forebears who first created a needle and thread and took the very first stitch?  Possibly.

Certainly, there’s an innate wish to create pleasing effects using colour and texture, but this goes deep into the individual psyche, giving voice to unique interpretations of self-expression and creativity.

This can be seen throughout history and cultures, but today, we focus on terms such as mindfulness – the practice of being aware of your body, mind and feelings.  We’re in the present moment to create a feeling of calm, but that tribal and instinctive connection is still there.

Embroidery is a means of releasing anxiety and letting go, offering something creative and fulfilling to show our time has been well spent.

It can be used as a form of rehabilitation, just research the aftermath of World Wars I and II where Doctors prescribed embroidery for soldiers to help strengthen and regain fine motor skills and to help soothe the aftershocks and fallout of bloody battles.

So the value of embroidery in the 21st century is manifold, encompassing the environment, mindfulness, community, education, therapy and passive activism.

But is any of this truly new?

The word Renaissance refers to a revival of or renewed interest in something, and with the rise in new movements to satisfy the needs of different interests and passions within society, it’s the influence and ability of technology to promote, extend, invite and grow a community of people that I believe has helped create a renewed interest in embroidery.

It’s given a voice and power to many seeking connection.

We all need to feel we belong and share beliefs, whether it’s with a few people or a global entity, it doesn’t matter.  Embroidery is the winner at the end of the day so I’m not complaining.

Promotion is the new buzz word and social media is the tool for embroiderers worldwide.

In some ways it’s marketing on a grand scale, in others, it’s just one embroiderer doing what they do and sharing it with the world and therein lies the power of the internet.

We love that connectivity, yet at times, we want to get away from that constant, relentless pressure that comes with it.

So I will now pick up my ancient tool, the needle, fill it with some beautiful coloured thread and sit down to enjoy some absolute serenity and disconnect.

I hope you can do the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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