Embroidery of the Yi ethnic group

The embroidery art of the Yi ethnic group, who dwell in provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, integrates its own history, customs and religion even as it preserves elements of ancient totems and paintings. It features a rich variety of patterns including plants, animals, and human and geometrical motifs, all designed with ingenious compositions and color matches. For example, embroidery done by cross stitches usually uses basic red and black colors highlighted with blue, green, purple, yellow, cyan and white, as well as various structures, to reflect strong Yi ethnic styles.

Beside cross stitches, Yi embroidery also boasts many other stitch techniques, such as appliqué, blanket stitches and twisted stripes.