Shandong Province
QuanBei Village
DaZhao Village
Lang Village
LiShe Village
LuLiu Village
MiaoJia Village
Xiaozhan Village
Nie Jiazhuang Village
Gaomi City
Weifang City
Shoe Making Artist at Work
QuanBei Village Chapters:
Shoe Making Gallery
Embroidered shoes reflect a sense of elegance, refinement, and tranquility. The themes used in shoe embroidery come from ordinary everyday items like animals, birds, and flowers, and from village traditions. It is customary in Quan Bei Village for young boys to wear shoes with a tiger head on the toes and a hat with a tiger head that sits just above the forehead. Tigers are powerful animals that can help boys grow up without difficulty, leading them into powerful and strong lives. Girls wear shoes with flowers embroidered on them, evoking the idea that they will grow up to be very beautiful.
All parts of the shoes are made by hand, and embroidered images can be sewn anywhere on them, even the soles. According to custom, expertise in the craft of embroidery is an important skill for a girl to have. Young girls used to learn embroidery at an early age. Today the skill is seen as a time consuming activity, and not all females learn it.
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