What technique involves stitching pre-selected designs into the fabric?

The technique that involves stitching pre-selected designs into fabric is embroidery. This art form is characterized by creating decorative patterns, images, and designs on fabric using a needle and thread or yarn. The versatility of embroidery allows it to be applied in various contexts, from embellishing clothing to crafting artistic pieces.

Embroidery can incorporate a wide range of stitching techniques, colors, and materials, enabling artists to express their creativity through textiles. Traditional and contemporary embroidery can be found globally, often with distinct cultural styles and methods. This historical craft not only enhances aesthetic appeal but can also serve functional purposes in clothing and fabric creations.

In contrast, other options like batik, repousse, and felting involve different processes. Batik is a wax-resist dyeing technique on fabric, repousse is a metalworking technique that shapes metal by hammering from the back to create a design, and felting involves matting fibers together rather than stitching. Each of these processes has its unique attributes and applications, differentiating them from embroidery.