The Embroideress

We often think of spinning and weaving skills when we think of Pueblo textile artists. There is however a distinct embroidery art form that has been practiced for many years amongst Pueblo cultures.

The School of American Research site offers an entire section on Pueblo embroidery - We Dance With Them.

You can meet contemporary needle artists, learn the history of Pueblo embroidery, download patterns for representative designs and learn some stitches unique to the textiles of the Pueblos.

Although I'm familiar with Colcha couching and several of the more mundane stitches used by these artists I had not seen or stitched Pueblo Stitch; a Pueblo variation of a Back Stitch; Acoma Countered Outline Stitch; Acoma Chain Stitch or Twined Stitch. The site gives diagrams for all of these stitches, so give them a try and add them to your stitch arsenal.

Several typical Pueblo pattern darning fillings are also charted.

This is one of those rich sites where one can lose onself for hours.