Suzhou silk thread embroidery from the ancient city of Suzhou in China is a traditional art form which dates back thousands of years, as old as sericulture (silk farming). It's renowned because some of the art embroidery is double sided - the stitching is on both sides of a very thin translucent silk fabric. All the knots and loose threads are skillfully hidden. 

SuEmbroideryStudio explains :
The embroidery artists always works on the same side of the background, even though the picture on the other side may be entirely different. She must keep both images in her mind, which requires intense concentration. 

When embroidering areas that are the same color on both sides, the artist uses one threaded needle to do both sides at once. When embroidering areas that are differently colored on each side, the artist uses two needles threaded with different colors. She holds down satin stitches on the upper side with couching stitches from the underside. The couching stitches are not visible on the upper side because the thread is so fine. On the underside, the thread makes satin stitches as it travels from couching stitch to couching stitch. The result: parallel satin stitches on top and bottom in two different colors.
The embroidered decorative objects could be small as in Chinese flat fans or table top decor as shown below. The design from NiddleNStone is the same on either side as you can see from the desk decor listing video. 


The amount of work that went into creating this authentic double sided silk embroidery room divider/screen is staggering as is the price - from the original Suzhou master designer, Zhengliang Lu of EmbroideryArtLu. 

The design can be the same on either side but there are some where the designs are different! This is astounding as the colors from the reverse side have to be completely hidden by the silk threads on the front.  I did notice that the shapes remain the same. Watch the following video shorts and be amazed.t : 




Watch this beautifully produced video on how Suzhou embroidery is done. It is from the popular Youtube channel @Liziqi who demonstrates how many traditional foods and crafts are made. A Suzhou master embroiderer  guides her in the process. She starts with preparing the fine silk background and the careful splitting of the silk thread. The different types of stitches and layering styles used are shown and the master's critique is at the end. 


Marco Polo (1254-1324)  described the ancient city of Suzhou as the Venice of the East,  Watch this travel video from @thetravelboss to see why. The old part of the city probably looked much as it did several hundred years ago when he visited while in the service of Kublai Khan. Marco Polo was a trusted diplomat in the 17 years he lived in China.

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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM