Difference between Hand Embroidery and Machine Embroidery

Difference between Hand Embroidery and Machine Embroidery

Vaishnavi Sudhir Naugan 
DKTE Textile and Engineering Institute Ichalkarnji
Email: nauganvaishnavi@gmail.com

 

What is Embroidery?
Embroidery is an art of eternity, which the man has practiced since ages. It is about decorating fabrics using threads in different designs and patterns. With the uplift in technology, traditional hand embroidery has been complemented and sometimes replaced by machine embroidery. Both methods offer unique advantages and characteristics, catering to different preferences and requirements.

What is Hand Embroidery?
Hand embroidery is an awfully laborious craft of working with a needle and thread, developing into a piece of fabric a beautiful or detailed design. It is a skill that goes from generation to generation, and artisans are able to craft each stitch down to the most finite detail to produce one-of-a-kind pieces with an artful, personal touch. What may be considered as one of the most valued and desired forms of art, hand embroidery is a very long, detailed process, requiring nothing but patience, accuracy, and, of course, understanding many techniques in stitching.

Hand Embroidery
Fig: Hand Embroidery

What is Machine Embroidery?
Conversely, machine embroidery connotes a modern and, for the most part, technology- enhanced manner of decorating fabric through the use of computers and automatons in the process of stitching. And, with the help of modern technology, such as an embroidery machine, a complicated design could be imitated and sewn with incredible uniformity and speed that the human hand cannot usually achieve. The process is very effective in commercial purposes and mass production companies that need a large number of the embroidered products. Going deeper into the comparison between hand and machine embroidery, one will realize that both have their strong points and peculiar characteristics of their own, which are fit for different artistic, utilitarian, and business requirements. To understand hand embroidery and machine embroidery in a better way, first we have to understand its differences.

Machine embroidery
Fig: Machine embroidery

Comparison between Hand Embroidery and Machine Embroidery:
Here is the difference between hand embroidery and machine embroidery.

Hand EmbroideryMachine Embroidery
Hand embroidery is done by Hand by using thread and needleMachine embroidery is done by machine using specialized software and embroidery machine
Per Unit Production of machine embroidery is Low.Per Unit production of machine embroidery is high.
Per Unit time required for hand embroidery is high, hence production is low.Per Unit time required for machine embroidery is low, hence production is high
Hand embroidery is more costly than machine embroidery because it requires time and skill.Machine embroidery is less costly than hand embroidery.
Quality depends on the expertise of the artisans/worker.Consistent quality is maintained throughout the production process.
More variety of the stitches can be used in the design.Limited variety of stitches can be used
More complex and intricate designs possiblePre programmed designs or limited designs
Hand embroidery requires High skill and patience.Machine embroidery requires knowledge and skills of computer operating

Conclusion:
Both hand embroidery and machine embroidery has its own value and its merits and demerits. Hand embroidery adds personal touch to design/fabric. While machine embroidery is used for large scale production because of its productivity and consistency in quality throughout the design/Production.

References:

  1. Apparel Manufacturing Technology by T. Karthik, P. Ganesan, and D. Gopalakrishnan
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embroidery
  3. https://textilelearner.net/different-types-of-embroidery-features-and-uses/

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