Biography

About “3D Embroidery Sayoko”

3D Embroidery Sayoko is an embroidered art form that weaves life with thread, transcending the flat surface to achieve sculptural, three-dimensional expression.

Through 3D Embroidery Sayoko, Sayoko Kitai creates lifelike embroidered works inspired by nature— insects, animals, and plants—faithfully capturing their vitality and presence.

Self-taught in embroidery, she made her first public submission in 1991 to the National Embroidery Competition organized by The Mainichi Newspapers. Her tapestry My Dream Room, in which furniture, plants, and birds were all expressed entirely through three-dimensional embroidery, received the Grand Prize.

Following this achievement, she pursued an idea long considered impossible in conventional embroidery: creating works that are as beautifully finished on the reverse side as on the front. This led to the development of her original technique, Double-Sided 3D Embroidery, in which stitching the front simultaneously completes the reverse. The technique was officially trademarked in 1999.

Deeply inspired by the beauty of natural forms, she has devoted particular focus to butterflies, conducting extensive research into the shape, movement, and texture of their wings. By adjusting thread tension and needle angle stitch by stitch, and by using single strands of ultra-fine threads—thinner than cotton—as well as platinum and pure gold threads, she successfully reproduces the delicacy, brilliance, and even the opening and closing motion of butterfly wings.

This resulted in the establishment of her signature three-dimensional embroidered butterfly brooches, fully sculptural works that can be appreciated from all 360 degrees.