Embroidery has been around forever, and has been a way that people have decorated their clothing, linens, and homes for centuries. However, for many people, this traditional craft is thought of as old-fashioned.
But many artists all over the world are reviving it, and bringing it into the modern era with some clever, inventive twists.
We've seen artists whose embroidered works explore the human subconscious, as well as embroideries that literally burst out of their hoops.
But today, we're looking at an artist who uses embroidery to capture some truly adorable creatures.
Artist Chloe Giordano studied illustration in college, and during her last year, she began experimenting with embroidery.
The passion stuck, and now, she creates tiny, meticulous, impossibly detailed images of sweet woodland creatures using nothing but a needle, a thread, and a lot of patience.
She even managed to use her embroidery as illustration, and has worked for several publishers, and her work is delightful in both the quiet simplicity of its subjects and its stunning, tiny detail.
Check out some of her work below, and let us know your favorite!
[H/T: My Modern Met]
Her embroideries are surprisingly detailed, and the thread gives the animals a perfectly furry texture, making them look all the more realistic.
And they're even more impressive when you consider their small size.
To create them, Chloe draws out her design onto her fabric and then fills in the design with tiny, careful stitches. The outline of the figure is basted in — kind of like sketching with thread!
And we do mean tiny. Here's a thimble for scale!
The embroideries don't take up a lot of room, even on their small hoops, but their small size makes them seem all the more precious. You can also see that she bastes a circle around her design to keep it confined to a certain area.
And while animals are her favorite subjects, she's also great with lettering.
She was even commissioned by Penguin to embroider a book cover for an autobiography of Charlotte Brontë — so yes, all of those tiny details have been stitched!
And like all artists, Chloe is constantly pushing herself to the next level. In her case, it's embroidering as tiny as possible!
And sometimes, a design doesn't have to be as complex as an animal to be just as stunning.
And all of her work proves that artwork doesn't have to be grand and sweeping to be delightful and effective. These tiny, tradition-rich creations are just gorgeous.
This tiny dormouse looks perfect in the round embroidery hoop, too, all curled up.
To create the multicolored images, she usually keeps about five or six threaded needles ready to go. That's a handy tip if you're interested in taking up this craft.
Right now, her embroidery only exists on hoops as samplers. While these would look darling on clothing, embroidery like this can't be washed without damaging the design.
But they're so cute, you'd kind of prefer to keep them safe on the wall for admiring!
