How To Create Tattoo Stencil

New embroidery tattoos take the art form to a whole other level.

@dudalozanotattoo Instagram

Tattooing has been around for millennia, on nearly every continent and in many cultures. The modern English word tattoo is believed to be derived from the Samoan word tatau, and in that culture, it was a mark of a man becoming a leader in his community. In ancient Asia, Greece, and Rome, tattoos were used to mark thieves, prisoners, and slaves. In ancient Egypt, they were largely decorative. In the 21^st century, they're primarily a way for people to express themselves creatively.

Tattooing has long been inspired by many other art forms, from watercolor and oil paintings to photography and line-sketch drawings. Now, the art of sinking ink is extending into stitching: Known as embroidery or needlepoint tattoos, these aren't your grandma's pillow samplers—though some tats might well be mistaken for them. Brightly colored and vividly drawn, these designs take on the look of 3-D texture, whether it's fuzzy stitches or faux patches that seem to leap off the skin. Some use the traditional cross-stitching of needlepoint; others shade and fill in patterns like embroidery (which itself often tries to imitate watercolors). Nothing is off limits, from the goofy to the anatomical. For a sampling, take a look below.

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