Project｜Yunbroidery
Project Overview
Yunbroidery is a long-term research project and evolving embroidery structure database founded by 張美筠 (Meiyun Chang).
The project focuses on the systematic analysis of hand embroidery as a form of visual and technical intelligence. Rather than treating embroidery as a finished image or decorative outcome, Yunbroidery examines the internal logic that governs how stitches are formed, sequenced, and spatially organized.
This project aims to document, analyze, and preserve embroidery knowledge that has traditionally been transmitted through embodied experience, but rarely recorded in explicit or analytical forms.
Research Focus
Yunbroidery investigates embroidery through structural questions, including but not limited to:
- How individual stitches form continuous paths
- How thread moves between surface and depth
- How repetition, rhythm, and order emerge within patterns
- How visual outcomes are generated through sequential decisions
These elements are understood as components of a structured visual language rather than isolated techniques.
Methodology
Each embroidery work in Yunbroidery is analyzed through a consistent, drawing-based research method.
The methodology includes:
- Hand-drawn canvas diagrams based on grid systems
- Systematic recording of stitch entry points, exit points, direction, and sequence
- Analysis of stitch paths and their spatial relationships
- Cross-referencing between physical embroidery samples and visual diagrams
This approach allows tacit hand knowledge—often considered intuitive or non-verbal—to be translated into readable structural information.
The use of hand drawing is not a preparatory step, but a core analytical tool that functions as a bridge between physical practice and conceptual understanding.
Structure-Based Documentation
Rather than categorizing works solely by style, region, or visual appearance, Yunbroidery organizes its materials according to structural characteristics, such as:
- Path logic
- Directional systems
- Layering and overlap
- Node points and transition zones
This structure-oriented documentation enables comparative study across different works, techniques, and cultural contexts.
Relationship to Artificial Intelligence
Yunbroidery positions embroidery as a technical culture that can enter dialogue with artificial intelligence without reducing hand practice to automation.
By clarifying stitch logic, decision-making processes, and structural rules, the project provides a foundation for:
- Computational analysis of embroidery structures
- AI-assisted pattern understanding
- Future interdisciplinary research involving craft, data, and visual systems
The intention is not to mechanize embroidery, but to make its intelligence legible.
Scope and Development
The project currently consists of a growing body of experimental and analytical works documented through diagrams, annotations, and structured metadata.
Yunbroidery is an ongoing research initiative and will continue to expand as new works and analytical layers are added.
Academic Use and Citation
Yunbroidery is intended for academic research, education, and non-commercial scholarly use.
The content of this website may be cited in publications, teaching materials, and research projects.
Please credit: Yunbroidery – Embroidery Structure Database
Project Statement
Yunbroidery does not seek speed, replication, or trends. It follows a slower and deeper trajectory—one that values precision, structure, and continuity.
By documenting embroidery as a system of thinking embodied in the hand, this project aims to leave traces that can be understood, studied, and extended by future generations.