What it is
Developed by Zou Yingzi in 2008, Didi Stitch was inspired by the hand stitching once used on cloth shoe soles. Dot-like and short linear stitches become basic units that build lines, surfaces and texture.
Separation, overlap, contact and crossing create different densities, tempering the direct sheen of silk and producing weight, patina or movement.
Patent and identity
The studio archive records patent number ZL 2010 1 0160653.8; China’s official ICH platform reported that the technique received a national patent in 2011.
It is not a fixed motif but a method for organising stitches, colour and light across figures, landscapes, Dunhuang subjects and abstraction.
In practice
Entanglement uses nearly five hundred thread colours to evoke winter branches and vines. Buddhist Sculptures of Mogao Cave 45 combines Didi Stitch with fine random stitch, flat stitch and couching in gold thread.