Pai Yao Women’s Handspun Black Embroidered Blouse Front

Pai Yao embroidery is a traditional craftsmanship of strong ethnic features which reveals the wisdom and ingenuity of the the Pai Yao ethnic minority women by making garments that combine embellishment and function. Given that positions such as the cuffs, collar, shoulder and lap on Pai Yao women’s garments are vulnerable to dirts and abrasion as the wearers have to do much physical work, the smart Yao garment-makers apply exquisite embroideries onto these positions to prevent them from unraveling. They usually make the collar separately from the main body of the garment seeing that the collar is always the most vulnerable. Geometric patterns such as lozenges and wheatears made of threads in white, brown, yellow, light green, etc., hemmed on the collar, stand out from the black foundation of the collar, adding much beauty to the position while making it abrasion-resistant.
Embroidered patterns created with yellow or brown threads also line horizontally or vertically on shoulder, sleeves and the lap, which are also positions more exposed to fraying, so densely-arranged that the color of the foundation fabric is almost covered. The application of embroidered motifs makes this single-colored garment much more visually-appealing.