Thread as a Painting Medium

Silk Shading, Painting with a Needle, Long-and-Short Stitch Embroidery, Thread Painting

This technique goes by many names, but the basis is one stitch, known as long-and-short stitch (Homfrey, p. 8) This stitch allows 'natural shading' which is used to portray the natural form. "Also known as directional long and short stitch, it relies on the direction of the stitch and the changes in angles in the rows to suggest texture and movement within the stitching, as well as using shading within the color ranges (Dier, p. 83)." 

Note: There are slight differences in interpretation and practice between embroidery artists. Different professionals may have slightly different instructions for the long and short stitch, especially if silk is used as the medium. Traditional Chinese embroidery terms this stitch as the long and short shaded satin stitch (Xiascheng, p __)

​This art form, where pictures are embroidered with the same approach as an artist when oil painting, requires the artisan to select color and stitching techniques to create a work of art with depth of color and dimensional perspective, including use of the concept of shadow and light. This technique has evolved to include both Eastern and Western designs and can use threads of cotton, polyester, silk and silk blends, or synthetic silk.     

Thread Painting Artists:

Trish Burr Embroidery, South Africa
Margaret Dier Embroidery 
Helen M. Stevens (Facebook)
​Margaret Lee, Chinese Silk Shading, Australia 
​Royal School of Needlework, England
Embroider's Guild of America, USA
​Thuong Embroidery, Vietnam (use of synthetic silk)​
and many contemporary artists.
 Published Resources used as reference for information on this website:

Burr, T. (2006) Long and Short Stitch Embroidery: A Collection of Flowers. Sally Milner Publishing Pty Ltd., Australia.

Burr, T. (2011) Needle Painting Embroidery: Fresh Ideas for Beginners. Sally Milner Publishing Pty Ltd., Australia.

Burr, T. (2011) Color Confidence in Embroidery, Sally Milner Publishing Pty Ltd, Australia

Burr, T. (2014) Miniature Needle Painting Embroidery: Vintage Portraits, Florals, and Birds. Sally Milner Pty Ltd, Australia.

Gardner, Sue (Ed.) (2005) A-Z of Thread Painting. Country Bumpkin Publications, Quilter's Resources, Inc, Chicago, Il. 

Homfrey, Sarah (2011, 2022) Silk Shading. Royal School of Needlework, Search Press Limited, Kent, England.

Kier, Margaret (2018) Thread Painting and Silk Shading Embroidery: techniques and Projects. The Crowood Press, Ltd. Wiltshire, England.

Royal School of Needlework (2025). Book of Embroidery: A Guide to Essential Stitches, Techniques and Projects, Search Press, Kent, England.


Published Resources: Chinese and Oriental Embroidery
Chung, Young Y. (1979) The Art of Oriental Embroidery: History, Aesthetics, and Techniques, Charles Scribner's Sons, USA.

Chung, Young Y. (    ) Painting with a Needle: Learn the Art of Silk Embroidery, Harry N. Abrams Publ., New York, NY, USA

Note: This resource introduces 15 essential Chinese embroidery stitches, provides pictures of traditional examples, and supplies embroiderers with sample projects to complete.

Dowdey, Patrick (Ed) (1999) Threads of Lights: Chinese Embroidery from Suzhou, Photography of Robert Glenn Ketchum, UCLA Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Note: This resource shows multiple types of stitches (over 40 stitches), including random stitch or random cross stitch (traditionally called chaotic stitch embroidery), that can be used to create a work of art. The reflectivity of silk from different angles, the virtuosity of stitching, and the choice of color variations are used to capture vitality of living beings (p. 101). The random cross embroidery uses purposefully sized cross stitches and discerns the selection of color and thread size when creating the image. 

Lee, Margaret (   ). The Art of Chinese Embroidery: Foundation Level, Country Bumpkin Publ, Inspirations, Australia.

Note: This resource introduces 25 stitching techniques using silk, based on Su Embroidery, which allows for a detailed, intricate, and highly realistic style. 

Silk consists of two clusters of silk filaments (8-count each). Clusters can be further divided into progressively smaller counts (see p. 25 for table showing thickness of each count). 

In contrast, DMC, Cosmo, or other embroidery floss is made with 6-strands, which can be divided. Most thread paintings use one strand, which corresponds to 6-count silk.

Lee, Margaret (   ) The Art of Chinese Embroidery-2: Intermediate Level, Country Bumpkin Publ. Inspirations, Australia.

Note: Following Book 1 (above), this resource introduced the random stitch embroidery along with underpinning artistic interpretations for design. "This technique uses strategically placed layers of purposefully sized cross stitches and discerning selection of colour and thread size to create a realistic effect with great depth of colour and dimensional perspective (p. 14)" The stitch allows for more 'freedom of creation.'

Xiascheng, Shao (2018). Chinese Embroidery: An Illustrated Stitch Guide. Shanghai Press and Publishing Development Co., Ltd, Better Link Press, New York, NY USA,


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