Felt embroidery

Felt embroidery

　　On the magnificent and prosperous loess plateau of Yulin, one often sees herders with heads wrapped in sheepskin headscarves, wielding sheep whips, and humming folk tunes like Xintianyou. Most of them wear exquisitely crafted wool felt vests adorned with beautifully embroidered patterns in the center — this is the richly rural Yulin felt embroidery.

Yulin felt embroidery, also known as yarn felt embroidery. It is an ancient craft of yarn felt embroidery. As early as the Ming Dynasty, it was already very popular in Yulin. The “Chuang” character pattern in the center of the wool felt vests worn by the soldiers of Li Zicheng’s rebel army is an example of this traditional folk felt embroidery technique.

Yulin has a well-developed animal husbandry industry and produces abundant wool. The felt is sturdy in texture and pleasant to the touch, making garments durable and comfortable. Yulin girls around the age of 12 begin learning felt embroidery from adults, mastering the craft, which becomes a specialty of Yulin women. Generally using homemade wool felt as the base material, various colored yarns are embroidered into diverse patterns using techniques such as weaving, threading, appliqué, and wrapping. The resulting products are often used for vests, table runners, chair backs, cushions, kang mats, wall hangings, curtain panels, and more. They achieve an artistic effect that is rustic, elegant, soft, and understated. Especially when embroidering landscapes, flowers, and plants, they capture the fluidity of ink, the vitality of the scene, and an uncanny lifelike quality. Moreover, the designs are neat and firm, with versatile stitching, soft pile, vibrant colors, lifelike shapes, clear layering, strong three-dimensionality, authentic texture, durability, resistance to compression.