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Traditional festival vies for recognition
In modern society, a girl is no longer required to excel at weaving or needlework, so praying for dexterous hands holds no special meaning. But this is not to say the interest in needlework is dead and buried, as the skill sets of some young women have evolved from mending clothes and sewing buttons to making unique handicrafts. Wang Yilin is actually quite handy with a needle and thread, herself. "I think my earliest creation was a hat. It was quite easy as I just tied a knot in every corner of my handkerchief," she said laughing. She tried tailoring a skirt for her doll by sewing pieces of cloth together, but found it a hard task. She then moved onto small sandbags, which were used to good effect by Wang's peers when they played together. "I used to cover all buttons with beautiful cloth, and knitted colourful wool into different shapes to put them on my key ring," she added. The need to operate sewing machines and knit has dwindled in recent years as there is a glut of quality clothing available in shops and on the Internet, which is a change from the time of their mothers and grandmothers for whom knitting was an essential tool in times of shortage. Some young women have, however, fallen in love with knitting woollen scarves in recent years. "My roommate at university knitted a white scarf for her boyfriend, and then gradually all the girls in our department joined in," Wang said. Dong Yijun, 23, an office worker from Shanghai, is another scarf knitter. "It is simple to knit a scarf. And it feels satisfying to wear a homemade scarf," she said. A new form of needlework is now making waves the cross-stitch. Imported from Europe, the cross-stitch is a popular form of counted-thread embroidery, in which X-shaped stitches are used to form a picture. But this trend didn't sit well with Dong Yijun. "It causes too much trouble. I don't think I am patient enough," she said. Lin Yun, a 17-year-old high school student, is a spectator when her classmates spend time after class knitting and stitching. "Years ago we really enjoyed weaving bracelets. Soon we all got tired of it. Now there are new fashions. But we are too busy with homework. And after all, we girls prefer shopping and listening to pop music," she said. "Compared to the cross-stitch, I prefer traditional Chinese embroidery. Maybe one day I will take courses on it," Wang Yilin said. "I hope to make all kinds of embroidery patterns on hebao (a silk pocket used in ancient China). That soft cloth and colourful thread always make me excited."
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