Ethnic Yi embroidery caters to modern tastes

Handmade embroidery could take a month to finish and could easily fetch up to 5,000 yuan in Wang Zonghui's shop. [Photo by Yang Feiyue/China Daily]

Bridal outfits mostly have embroidery which is similar to that seen on the outfits for younger women, but are slightly different, in that the hat is made of black crepe and features silver accessories resembling dragons, phoenixes and snakes.

Eagles, dragons and tiger's heads are typically embroidered on the costumes for men.

Speaking of her journey, Wang says she always wanted to embroider modern clothes.

"So, I first drew patterns the way I remembered them on the ground with a stick," she says.

Drawing is the first step when doing embroidery.

At first, Wang used white mud blended with water as pigment to draw patterns on the cloth.

But, after years of practice, she can now draw complex patterns in one stroke.

"It's like writing characters, the chance of going wrong is slim," she says.

After the drawings are finished, threads of various colors are sewn on to fill the empty spaces in the drawings.

The techniques can often be complex, including cross stitching, embossing and mosaicking.

"There are different embroidering skills, making for different textures," says Wang.

Her skills won her an invitation to work in Suzhou, in Jiangsu province, in 2006.

The experience enabled her to hone her skills, and her daily salary jumped from 600 yuan to 3,000 yuan in three years.

However, Wang returned to Luquan despite the good income.

And, she was soon leading more than 200 local women in an embroidery business where she taught them how to draw and embroider more complex pieces.