Flower Sewing

History is reflected on handcrafted Chinese Miao garments

Who are the Miao?

More than 100 various Miao minority groups live in the mountainous areas of southern and southwestern China. Every group has its own different clothes, and the elaborately designed women’s garments are peculiarly enchanting. Embroidery, batik, and beautiful silver jewelry are all indispensable additions to Miao style.

Clothes for the holidays

During holidays, weddings, and other large ceremonies, Miao women usually wear a short jacket with beautiful, embroidered patterns on the narrow sleeves, shoulders, and collar. In some areas, they have glistening pieces of silver and silver bells sewn onto the front, back, cuffs, and lap of the jacket. So it’s named a silver jacket.

Some Miao women also wear pleated skirts that can have 40 layers with more than 500 pleats. Some Miao women wear long skirt which reaches all the way down to their feet.Their short skirt reaches to the knees.

Hanging in front of the skirt is an embroidered apron that can also reach down to the knees or feet. Flying behind the apron, the long and beautiful waistbands seem like a pheasant’s colorful tail feathers. Some Miao women also have embroidered shoes and leggings on.

With extraordinary silver ornaments, like big silver headdress, neckbands, earrings, and silver bracelets to go with these clothes, many Miao women can proudly claim they are the most beautiful women in the world.

Miao clothes usually have five colors: yellow, blue, red, white, and black. From weaving, dying, sewing, to embroidering, Miao women make their clothes by themselves.

Casual suits

Miao casual suits look simple and light, but they are still very beautiful. Jackets, shirts, aprons, and pants all have beautiful embroidered patterns on them.

Other than wearing a heavy silver headdress, Miao women usually have an embroidered handkerchief on their head on informal occasions.

Embroidery

Girls start to learn how to embroider from their mother when they are only seven or eight years old. They will become a proficient embroiderer when they are 14 or 15 years old. Then they will spend 3-5 years preparing themselves a suit of embroidered clothes as a dowry before they get married.

Their culture, religion, and history are reflected on the intricately designed embroidery work. The pattern of butterflies, dragons, flowers, animals, mountains are always sewed in their embroidered piece.

For many generations, the Miao didn’t have a written language, so their embroidered clothes are indeed a history book worn on the body.Many old stories are reflected on the patterns that have been bequeathed for generations. Actually almost each embroidered pattern has an interesting story.

Batik

Techniques for making batik, a durable cloth with remarkable colors and designs, have been around for more than 1,000 years.

First, an artist will make a design on a sheet of white cloth with a knife dipped in hot wax. Then five various colors are used to dye the cloth in a big vat. After dyed, the cloth needs to be rinsed and boiled.

The excellent Miao batik art is very interesting. C. Liu has been devoting herself in studying Miao culture, art, and history for many years. Go to her website to learn more about Miao batick and other fascinating arts like beautiful Miao silver ornaments.

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