Development of Kazakh Embroidery: Exploring Its History

Embroidery in Kazakhstan

  Embroidery is not as widespread in Kazakhstan as it is in other Asian nations or Slavic countries. The art was formed as part of the nomadic lifestyle of the Kazakh herders. Embroidery was practiced by women only: the elders taught their daughters the art, and the skills of needlework were among the mandatory virtues that brides needed to have. In ancient times, the Kazakhs had one relevant tradition. When a groom requested permission to marry a chosen girl, he used to give her a needle. The wife-to-be had to show how skillful she was with the tool. An embroidered silk scarf presented by a girl to her sweetheart demonstrated her loving feelings.

The most common technique was the "chain stitch"

  Kazakh craftswomen decorated felt, raw leather, and wool fabric. The most common technique was the "chain stitch". Its main features include strict symmetry and the predominance of floral patterns over animalistic or geometric ones. Boots, velvet robes, bags, and wall carpets were decorated with embroidery. As of the twentieth century, flannel, chintz, and cloth were used for decoration. Silver, gold, cotton, wool, and silk threads, as well as mother-of-pearl and coral pendants and beads, were used as decorative elements. Embroidered items were also decorated with sable fur.

  The chain stitch remains the most popular Kazakh embroidery method. It is performed with a hook or needle combined with a simple satin stitch and a looped zigzag stitch. Cross-stitch is used to embellish decorative products and women's headdresses. Kazakh craftswomen are skilled in gold embroidery. They use threads made of this precious metal to create the central pattern of the product and draw attention to it.