popular with embroiderers into modern times. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, it was used to embellish women's clothing. Today skilled embroiderers carry on the craft in places across the globe using it to adorn objects in ever more creative ways. A modern-day subcategory of this art form used primarily in production embroidery on automated embroidery machines is referred to as puff embroidery. The process involves putting down, typically, a layer of foam rubber larger than the intended shape on top of the target material to be decorated. The shape is then embroidered on top of the foam rubber in such a way that the needle penetrations cut the foam rubber around the periphery of the shape. When the embroidery is finished the excess foam rubber is weeded (pulled away or cleaned off) from the design area, leaving the underlying foam rubber shape trapped under the embroidery stitches, resulting in a stumpwork effect. Puff embroidery generally lacks the intricate design characteristics obtainable with true stumpwork techniques and is primarily seen on leisure wear, such as baseball caps, sweatshirts and jackets. Many times, the designs are used to portray company logos or team mascots. References External links Embroidery