“Bordar es encontrar el balance entre lo que soy, lo que veo, y lo que quiero decir.” (Translation: Embroidery is finding the balance between what I am, what I see, and what I want to say.)
Romero, Gimena. Bordado Pictórico. Editorial GG, SL, 2022.
Many people feel that embroidery is only a woman’s art and mostly older women are envisioned as partaking in it. During the pandemic, many people picked up embroidery as a hobby. Everyone was looking for something to keep them busy. Today, women, and even men, embroider and age is not a factor. However, to me, embroidery is so much more than a new hobby or favorite pastime. It is a form of expression, a connection to the past, and it greatly improves my mental health.
Embroidery can be a way to express yourself. I’ve never thought of myself as a creative person. Growing up, I always wished I was able to draw or paint well. I’ve always been attracted to the arts, but I just never thought I had a place in that world. As time has gone by, I have slowly grown more confident in my abilities. I see embroidery as an art form and myself as an artist. The fabric is my canvas and the threads are my paint. The finished product is my voice and what I want to portray to the world.
Embroidery is my connection to the past. My grandmother taught my mother the basics of embroidery. When I was a child, my mom taught me how to embroider also. I used to embroider pillow cases. It wasn’t anything close to what I do today, just simple line work. My journey didn’t last long because the attention spans of children are usually very short. However, I’m grateful to my grandma for teaching my mom, and for my mom teaching me because it’s something that I love to do today! I taught my daughter some basic embroidery stitches when she was younger. It was fun working on samplers together, but as expected, she lost interest. I hope it’s something she will pick back up later on to continue the chain.
My mental health has also greatly improved since I started doing embroidery. I find the repetitive motion calming and I tend to get into a zone once I’ve started. It’s a great way to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way to be fully present and aware of your body and thoughts. I love doing it first thing in the morning because it sets the tone for the rest of the day. In 2020, University College London confirmed that artistic activities can lower cortisol, which is a stress hormone, and it decreases your risk of dementia. Any problems that I’ve experienced throughout the day suddenly don’t seem that important or I’m able to come up with solutions much easier because I have a calm mind. Here is a link to an article about ways embroidery can help mental health https://handembroidery.com/12-ways-embroidery-can-boost-mental-physical-wellbeing/. If you suffer from anxiety or are stressed out, I definitely recommend embroidery as an option to help.
I’m curious. Do you embroider? If so, what are some reasons that you do it? If you don’t, do you think it would be something you’re interested in learning?