Home News De Allá Into this Ink: Feast Your Eyes on These Indigenous Mexican Embroidery Tats

Into this Ink: Feast Your Eyes on These Indigenous Mexican Embroidery Tats

Photo Credit IG @polo_tatts

If you just returned from a life-changing trip to Mexico and want a permanent memory of the colorful indigenous textiles you saw, listen up to this new tattoo trend. An embroidery tattoo resembles a finely crafted textile, but doesn’t require actual thread and a sewing needle through your skin thankfully. These beauties are applied using a normal tattoo needle and ink, just like any other tat.

Currently trending on Instagram, these folk artsy creations mimic the cross-stitch texture of the Latin American tapestries we cherish and are catching people’s attention because of their unusual 3D appearance. From dainty floral designs to watercolor portraits of birds, these eye-popping, unique tattoos are far from the tough skull and cross bone tats of yesteryear.

The “Skin Embroidery” Process

KSU Arrow Tattoo Artist Belatina
Photo Credit IG @ksuarrow_tattoo
Mexico City, Mexico

Embroidery tattoos usually take longer to create since the use of multiple colors has tattoo artists washing out the needle every time they change the color. Some can take up to six hours to complete, while a smaller design may only take one to three. Perhaps one of embroidery’s tattoos most famous artists is KSU Arrow, a Russian woman who travels around the world and who fell in love with the vibrant embroidery work she saw in Oaxaca.

How does she work? Most clients bring her a fabric or a photo of real embroidered patchwork and Arrow then mimics what she sees. What parts does she usually work on for these types of tats?  Usually on arms, ankles and backs. Check out this glorious floral patch she created while in Mexico City. In an interview with Refinery 29 Arrow points out that although you can create just about any design the most important component isn’t the array of colors, but the contrast of the black ink and outlines. This is what creates the life-like embroidered illusion she says.

Photo Credit IG @polo_tatts

Another social media tattoo embroidery star is the Dallas-based Rogelio Vazquez. According to Vazquez his favorite tattoo is of a multicolored bird that received close to 10,000 likes on his Instagram page. Imagine how cute that happy little birdie of Mexican descent would look on your arm. Who needs a denim jacket when your body can become a permanent holder of patch work of permanent embroidered beauty?

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