Giving cotton a new frame of reference

It saves the trouble of cutting out the flower shape on paper first, as a traditional technique requires, and then sticking the cotton onto the paper before assembling the petals.

"The flower would appear heavy through the old-fashion way, but using the 'bone and thread' technique, it would appear more delicate and graceful," Xu says.

In 2018, Xu's beloved cotton craft was included in the intangible cultural heritage list by the authorities of Lianhu district of Xi'an.

It impelled her to pull off another innovation afterward. As a fan of blue-and-white porcelain, she experimented with the idea of using cotton to create a porcelain vase.