What Is Schiffli Embroidery?
Schiffli embroidery is an industrial embroidery process that produces embroidered lace and allover embroidered fabric in continuous, wide lengths — not single garment pieces. A Schiffli machine carries hundreds of needles across the full width of the machine, all stitching the same repeating pattern at once, guided by a pantograph that traces the design. Beneath the fabric, a row of small, boat-shaped shuttles —schiffli is Swiss German for "little boat" — carries the bobbin thread back and forth to lock each stitch, which is where the technique gets its name.
How It's Different From Ordinary Embroidery
Most embroidery machines people encounter — the kind used for logos, monograms, or single garment panels — run one head, or a bank of identical single-needle heads, each embroidering a separate piece. Schiffli machines do the opposite: many needles stitch one continuous fabric in a single pass, which is what makes it possible to produce embroidered lace and allover embroidery as yardage, at manufacturing scale, rather than piece by piece.
What It's Used to Make
- Allover embroidery — a base fabric is embroidered across its full width.
- Eyelet lace — the embroidery includes cut or burned-out holes as part of the pattern.
- Scalloped-edge trims — embroidered fabric finished with a shaped, repeating edge.
- Chemical (guipure) lace — the pattern is embroidered onto a soluble backing fabric, which is then dissolved away, leaving only the embroidered thread as a true, backing-free lace.
These fabrics and laces end up in bridalwear, lingerie, kidswear, and fashion apparel trims worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Schiffli embroidery the same as regular embroidery?
No. Ordinary multi-head embroidery machines stitch one garment panel or logo at a time, per head. A Schiffli machine embroiders across a wide, continuous length of fabric in one run — hundreds of needles working together — which is why it's used to produce embroidered LACE FABRIC and allover embroidered yardage, not single garment pieces.
What is Schiffli lace used for?
Allover embroidered fabric, eyelet lace, scalloped-edge trims, and embroidered lace used in bridalwear, lingerie, kidswear, and fashion apparel. The base fabric can be embroidered directly, or, for chemical (guipure) lace, embroidered onto a soluble backing that's later dissolved away, leaving only the thread pattern.
Where does the name 'Schiffli' come from?
“Schiffli” is Swiss German for “little boat” — it describes the boat-shaped shuttle that carries the bobbin thread back and forth beneath the fabric as the machine embroiders. The technique originated in Switzerland's textile industry.
Where is Schiffli embroidery manufactured today?
Major hubs include Bangladesh, India, China and parts of Europe. RP Fashion manufactures Schiffli embroidery, lace and knit trims from Dhaka, Bangladesh, on European Schiffli machines.