This Ultra-Realistic Food Embroidery Makes Thread Look Delicious

Have you heard of ipnot? The mononymous Japanese textile artist has been embroidering since her grandmother taught her as a child, and she now creates stunning works of edible-looking thread that make for some mesmerizing YouTube videos. Both the process and the final product are a thing to behold, but you'll positively gasp when you see what happens with this pizza slice:

For anyone who's ever tried embroidery, you'll appreciate just how precise these stitches have to be to achieve their realism, and how the carefully selected thread colors contribute to the overall effect.

"I have chosen the French knot stitch to represent my stitching style," ipnot says on her About page. "I find this type of stitching to be a lot of fun to do and it is my favorite type of stitch." While standard embroidery stitches are tiny straight lines that connect to one another, French knots form a tiny ball on the surface of the fabric; the pointillist effect of so many French knots might be what helps these foods look so realistic. (And French knots are tricky! The speed with which she wraps the thread around the needle is stunning!)

We highly recommend a trip around ipnot's Gallery page and Instagram. This artist has stitched it all: pizza, sushi, strawberries, ramen, teeny-tiny cheeseburgers, the bubbled surface of a cup of hot coffee. (And there are plenty of non-food commissions as well, but food is clearly where she's having the most fun.) Fair warning, though: clicking through these amazing creations on an empty stomach might confuse you.