双面绣也叫两面绣，就是在同一块底料上，在同一绣制过程中，绣出正反两面图像，轮廓完全一样，图案同样精美，都可供人仔细欣赏的绣品。双面绣主要体现在中国四大名绣（湘绣、苏绣、粤绣、蜀绣）的作品中。
据专家考察，双面绣在宋代便已出现，但大多数用于日用品，如经帙，手帕等。即使是在近代四大名绣（湘绣、苏绣、粤绣、蜀绣），史上也难以欣赏到双面绣的艺术品。
在四大名绣之一的湘绣中，无论平绣、织绣、结绣、打子绣、剪绒绣、立体绣、双面绣等等，都注重刻画物象的外形和内质，即使一鳞一爪、一瓣一叶之微也一丝不苟。从1958年长沙楚墓中出土的绣品看，早在二千五百多年前的春秋时代，湖南地方刺绣就已有一定的发展。
新中国成立后，政府为挽救、继承、发展刺绣技艺采取了积极的保护措施，并相继成功研发出双面三异绣,双面异色绣等。把中国画的许多优良传统移植到绣品上，巧妙地将我国传统的绘画、刺绣各种艺术融为一体，从而形成了湘绣以中国画为基础，运用七十多种针法和一百多种颜色的绣线，充分发挥针法的表现力，精细入微地刻画物象外形内质的特点，绣品形象生动逼真，色彩鲜明，质感强烈，形神兼备，风格豪放，曾有“绣花花生香，绣鸟能听声，绣虎能奔跑，绣人能传神”的美誉。
在中国传统手工艺中，中国四大名绣历史悠久，比如苏绣，建于五代北宋时期的苏州瑞光塔和虎丘塔都曾出土过苏绣经袱，在针法上已能运用平抢铺针和施针，这是目前发现最早的苏绣实物。据有关史料记载，自宋代以后，苏杭刺绣之技十分兴盛，工艺也日臻成熟。农村"家家养蚕，户户刺绣"，城内还出现了绣线巷、滚绣坊、锦绣坊、绣花弄等坊巷，可见苏杭刺绣之兴盛。当时不仅有以刺绣为生的，而且富家闺秀也往往以此消遣时日，陶冶性情，所谓"民间绣"、"闺阁绣"、"宫廷绣"的名称也由此而来。清代苏绣更是盛况空前，苏州、杭州被称为"绣市"而扬名四海。当时针法之多，应用之广，莫不超过前朝，山水、亭台、花鸟、人物，无所不能，无所不工。加上宫廷的大量需要，豪华富丽的绣品层出不穷。苏杭剌绣后来吸收上海"顾绣"以及西洋画的特点，创造出光线明暗强烈、富有立体感的风格。
俗话说：黄金有价，艺无价。人们常把艺术品比作价值连城，喻为无价之宝。双面绣艺术品是由艺人一针一线手工制成，不可能按原样重复制作或批量生产，从这个意义上来说，每一件绣品都是世上唯一独有不可再生的作品，因此，十分珍贵。
double-sided embroidery
Embroidery is a traditional Chinese craft which consists of pulling colored threads through a background material with embroidery needles to stitch colored patterns that have been previously designed on the ground. The adoption of different needling methods resulted in different embroidery styles and technique schools. Chinese embroidery had already reached a high level early in the Qin and Han dynasties, and silk and embroidery were the main products transported along the ancient Chinese Silk Road. The four famous Chinese embroidery styles are the Su embroidery of Jiangsu Province, the Xiang embroidery of Hunan Province, the Yue embroidery of Guangdong Province and the Shu embroidery of Sichuan Province.
The double sided embroidery is a technique in which stitching takes place on both sides of a single transparent silk fabric. The design shows on both sides (front and reverse). Such a piece is normally mounted on a wooden frame as a screen, one really can''t tell which side is the front or the back.
The embroiderer 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.
