In Europe, embroidered clothing was a sign of wealth and prosperity for centuries. Primarily considered to be a woman's craft, many noble and royal ladies spend otherwise empty hours embroidering coats, shirts, tapestries, and linens with their waiting women. Even the capable and brilliant future Queen Elizabeth I of England enjoyed the craft, presenting her half-brother King Edward VI with a shirt she had hand-embroidered to celebrate his coronation. Nearly two centuries later, Madam de Pompadour, the powerful mistress of King Louis XV of France, sat for a portrait posed with her embroidery frame. There are several different forms of embroidery, many with rich cultural histories dating back hundreds and even thousands of years. Most designs follow one of two basic concepts: either the design is stitched on top of the base material, or the thread is worked through the base material to form a flat pattern in the original fabric. A third popular design, called drawn thread or cutwork, is often used in lacemaking. In this form, part of the base material is cut out and the resulting hole stitched over with lace or embroidered with thread or yarn.

Top-stitching forms are generally the easiest type for beginners to grasp. Using thread or yarn, any type of design or pattern can be stitched into a bottom fabric. For anyone with experience in basic hand sewing, embroidering alphabet letters, flowers, or basic shapes should be quite simple. Although there are more complex stitching techniques, basic whipstiches or running stitches work well for most basic designs. Monogramming a towel or embroidering flowers on a handkerchief can be a matter of hours even for a beginner. Embroidered items make great gifts. Not only do they have that handmade feel to them, but you can personalize almost anything with some simple embroidery and make it special. Here are a few ideas for gifts you can make if you love to embroider.

Embroidered baby blankets make a wonderful, personalized gift that will be treasured for years to come. You can either go with a general embroidered motive like a duck, alphabet blocks or a rattle, personalize it for a boy or girl, or even embroider the baby's initials in the blanket. Embroidered napkins make a wonderful gift for both a wedding and a housewarming. You can give them by themselves or with a coordinating tablecloth. Embroidery designs can range from flowers to symbols and of course initials. You can buy pre-made napkins and just add the embroidery, or you can sew your own out of cotton, linen or even silk.

In order to purchase the most high quality and elegant Embroidered Gifts you must search in the right places, and by far the best place to search is the internet. In fact one online store that sells amazing personalized embroidery gifts is Thread Art, which can be found at http://www.threadart.com. They are professional Embroidery Thread Suppliers and they also sell tons of cool embroidery gifts. You will be able to touch friends and family members on a personal level by giving them a personalized embroidery gift from Thread Art.