Otomi Embroidery
By Adeline Panamaroff
Adeline, a freelance writer/proofreader, located in Edmonton, Alberta can be contacted at www.adelinepanamaroff.com for writing and marketing requests.
Reprinted by permission from Otomimexico.com
History: Otomi embroidery, or tenangos embroidery, is one of the main textile arts of the Otomi peoples. Indigenous to the central Mexican plateau, the Otomi inhabit areas around Tenango de Doria, Hidalgo, EdoMex, Querétaro, Puebla, Veracruz, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Tlaxcala, and Michoacán. While the roots of this embroidery technique existed long before Spanish influences took root, how it looks today has much to do with embroidery trends from European colonial times.
Motifs of animals, plants and flowers, large, and in vibrant colours intertwine and dominate a white backing cloth. The shape of the flora and fauna were traditionally inspired from cave paintings in the area of the Mexican Altiplano. Influences in design were also derived from Aztec art.
Production of these pieces stayed very regional and were worked only by women and girls throughout the colonial and independent periods of Mexico, until the 1960s. That decade saw a devastating drought take hold of the Mexican Altiplano. In order to sustain themselves, the Otomi peoples, traditional farmers, turned to their cultural crafts in an effort to create sellable products to fabricate an alternate income for their families. This is when tenangos embroidery came to be known to the wider world. The commercial products were typically sewn on white backing fabric and designed to be used as flat pieces, for bedspreads, pillow cases, table runners, stool covers, among other items.
Technique: The design is either traced or drawn free hand with a pencil, on to white backing fabric. Large animals and flamboyant flowers and leaves are often interwoven into a complex design that stretches across the width of fabric being stitched.
The large interior spaces of animals are filled in with stripes of bright colored threads. One stitch is the main method of laying the stitches down. A modified herringbone stitch is used, where the individual stitches are very close together, often only millimetres apart, which creates overlapping threads that completely fill in spaces, while avoiding long unsecured stitches that might otherwise easily snag. For smaller areas, a simple satin stitch may be used to fill in spaces with colour.
Reprinted by permission from Otomimexico.com
Innovation: Today otomi embroidery can be seen as colourful accents in generally sterile white and chrome modern interior rooms, though more toned-down versions of the same motifs can be found as well.
While the majority of the work is still done by women, some men have recently started to take up this textile art. True otomi needle work can be identified by the price. An authentic piece, which can take up to a year to stitch, could cost up to $200, while knock offs would be much cheaper.
Kits, designs, and lessons can be found through the modern convenience of the internet.
References and Further Reading:
Wondrous Paths – History of a Trend: Otomi embroidery and patterns
House Beautiful – How Otomi Embroidery Became an interior Design Sensation
Pumora Embroidery #30:Otomi hand embroidery tutorial – You Tube video
Xipi Workshop DIY Otomi embroidery all stitches – You Tube video
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