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Despite the continuing rush toward modernization, many rural areas in China are still managing to maintain important local customs and perpetuate age-old crafts. The Chinese embroidered insole is one of them.
The tradition of embroidered insoles goes back at least 150 years. The embroidery patterns, which are numerous, are said to be directly derived from the handicraft of paper-cuts, another very old Shanxi folk-craft. By today, these paper-cut designs have found
their way into all forms of embroidery, for example, pillow cases, table and bed sheets and clothing.
In previous times, these patterns had to be hand-copied onto paper by the seamstress; today, the designs have been conveniently stored in computer databases to be printed out. Traditionally, embroidered insoles, along with other hand-sewn items, were given at weddings.
The basic tools required for the work are relatively simple: sturdy sewing needle, two forms of ring-thimble, and various colored
threads.
As for the insole itself, however, there is more to this than meets the eye. The very center of the sole is a stiff piece of cloth (or even cardboard), on top of which is starchglued a soft cloth padding. The sole now needs a covering, which is of two parts.
First, the side that faces the inner shoe is plain, though strong, cloth or paper. Next, the side that faces up, on which the pattern will be sewn, is cloth with tiny perforations (to facilitate the needlework).
As insoles, naturally, are subject to hard wear, the stitching is of a fine, dense quality: A single pair of insoles requires 30 to 35 hours of sewing!
As with a great many traditional handicrafts, although the tools are basic, the quality of the product is rather high. The key factor, of course, is the skill of the seamstress. Around 15 years of practice is necessary in order to become an expert in the
embroidering of insoles.
For contemporary people, utilitarian objects are strictly functional, bearing little, if any, personal character (e.g. the chair you sit upon is merely comfortable or not, and nothing more). In previous times, however, with all objects being handmade, the personal imprint and care of the craftsman, often in the form of an embellishment, was marked upon the object. Even more so when the receiver was a relative or friend. Thus, in the embroidered insoles, we encounter a living link between production and social relations, today, by and large, long lost.
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