Nicole Wallace, age 12, of Utica, N.Y., for her question:

WHEN DID WE FIRST USE EMBROIDERY?

Embroidery is the art of stitching a pattern or design on cloth with needle and thread. We don't know when embroidery was used for the first time, but we know the art has an ancient history.

Prehistoric peoples often created patterns when they stitched skins together for their clothing. And American Indians sewed feathers, quills and beads in elaborate patterns on their clothing.

Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Syrians, Greeks and Italians all produced embroidery using linen, silk or metallic thread. These people decorated handwoven cotton, linen and silk fabrics for their wearing apparel or their home furnishings.

During the Middle Ages, emboridery reached its highest development. Nuns in convents and ladies at home embroidered rich designs on linens for church altars, priests robes, wall hangings and clothing worn on state occasions.

Craftsmen began to embroider with pearls during the 1300s. They also combined embroidery with lace for some of the finer fabrics.

In the 1600s and 1700s, girls between the ages of eight and 12 made samplers to display their skill in various embroidery stitches. A girl often embroidered her name and the date at the bottom of her sampler.

Embroidery stitches are difficult to classify because there are many different kinds used in many different ways.

One basic pattern, the cross stitch, consists of two slanted stitches that form an "x." Some stitches cover an entire area. They include many canvas stitches, which are variations of the basic cross stitch.

The "couching stitch" fastens a thick thread to a fabric with small stitches.

Many countries have developed their own distinctive embroidery. The Chinese, for example, use silk and gold thread on silk damask to embroider flowers, dragons, birds and delicate scenes.

In India, craftsmen fasten beads, bangles or tiny mirrors on silk cloth with brilliant silk threads.

The Balkan countries use bold, simple folk designs to enrich necklines or to form wide bands at the bottom of skirts.

The French and Swiss embroider delicate flower sprays and scallops on fine linens while the people of the Island of Madeira are well known for the perfection of their festoons, or scalloped edges.

The Italians often use canvas stitches on white linen to embroider flowers, birds, animals or fountains.