Embroideries Of India

Embroideries of India belong to different groups that vary by region and clothing style. Designs in India demonstrate embroidery, on the basis of the texture and design of the fabric and the stitch. The dot and the alternate dot, the circle, the square, the triangle and permutations and combinations of these constitute the design.

KANTHA
Kantha is perhaps the closest form of Indian embroidery as it can be traced back to the 1st Century AD. The thought behind this needlework was to reuse old clothes such as saris and dhotis and turn them into something new with a simple running stitch. Kantha evolved in the eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, specifically in Bangladesh and in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Odisha. It is a form of embroidery often practised by rural women. There are 7 different types of Kantha stitches, each having their own unique usage: the Lep Kantha, which is used to make warm, padded quilts; the Sujani Kantha which is used on covers meant to wrap books and other precious objects. “Kantha saris” are traditionally worn by women in Bengal. Today, Kantha embroidery is popular amongst the designer fraternity.

KAMAL KADHAI
Kamal Kadhai is native to the state of Andhra Pradesh that primarily uses needle weaving to stitch beautiful flowers. The flower petals look like they have “steps” or “levels”. It has a 3D effect. The pattern can be used on dresses or cushion covers or matching other household stuff like bed sheets, pillow covers, etc. This style of embroidery first started amongst the rural folk about 500 years ago but later received royal patronage.

PHULKARI
Phulkari is the most famous rural embroidery tradition of Punjab, mentioned in the Punjabi folklore of ‘Heer Ranjha’ by Waris Shah. Its present form and popularity goes back to the 15th century, during Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s region. Phulkari also means headscarf and it comes from the 19th century tradition of covering a chadar or head-scarf with flower patterns. Its distinguishing property is that the base is a dull hand-spun or khadi cloth, with bright coloured threads that cover it completely, leaving no gaps. It uses a darn stitch done from the wrong side of the fabric using darning needles, thread at a time, leaving as little bobbin thread as possible to save material. Cities famous for Phulkari include Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ambala, Ludhiana, Patiala, Nabha etc.

CHAMBA RUMAL
The Chamba Rumal is an embroidered handicraft that was once promoted under the patronage of the former rulers of Chamba kingdom. Earliest reported form of this rumal is the one made by Bebe Nanaki, sister of Guru Nanak Dev ji in the 16th century, which is now preserved in the Gurudwara at Hoshiarpur. Chamba Rumal is made in square and rectangular shapes on muslin, malmal, khaddar, silk etc. Using a double satin stitch for the embroidery, both faces of the cloth are concurrently stitched by a forward and backward technique to maintain uniformity of design on both faces of the rumal. After completing the embroidery, the fabric is stitched with a border of about 1 to 4 inches on all sides. The dohrukha method is a heritage of Kashmir, which was adopted in Basohli and Chamba, that was improved upon by adopting themes from the Mughal art of Chamba miniature paintings which flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries.

KUTCH EMBROIDERY
Kutch Embroidery is a handicraft and textile signature art tradition of the tribal community of Kutch district in Gujarat. Its history is traced to the 16th and 17th centuries when people migrated from countries such as Afghanistan, Greece, Germany, Iran and Iraq to Gujarat. It is also said that cobblers known as Mochis were trained in this art form by the Sufi saints of Sindh. The art form became a vocation for women of Kutch not only to meet their own clothing requirements but also to make a living, in view of severe dry and very hot conditions. It became a generational art with the skills passed on from mother to daughter. The embroidery is generally done on fabrics of cotton, in the form of a net using cotton or silk threads. In certain patterns, it is also crafted over silk and satin. The types of stitches adopted are square chain, double buttonhole, pattern darning, running stitch, satin and straight stitches. The signature effect of the colorful embroidery sparkles when small mirrors called abhla are sewn over the geometrically shaped designs.

KASHMIRI EMBROIDERY
Kashmiri embroidery (also called Kashida) is used for phirans (woollen kurtas) and nāmdahs (woollen rugs) as well as stoles. It draws inspiration from nature – birds, blossoms and flowers, creepers, chinar leaves, mangoes, lotus, trees etc. The embroidery is done on a base of silk, wool or cotton: the colour is usually white, off-white or cream but nowadays one can find many other colours such as brown, deep blue, sky blue, maroon etc. Kashmiri embroidery is known for the skilled execution of a single stitch, often called the Kashmiri stitch which may comprise the chain stitch, the satin stitch, the slanted darn stitch, the stem stitch and the herringbone stitch.

KASUTI
Kasuti is a traditional form of folk embroidery practised in the state of Karnataka. Kasuti work is very intricate and includes tiny patterns involving upto 5,000 stitches by hand. It is traditionally made on dresswear like Sarees or Kurtas. Its history dates back to the Chalukya period. The Kasuti type of embroidery includes designs of traditional patterns of Karnataka, like mirrorwork and gold & silver thread embroidery. Kasuti work is used for special occasions like weddings. Kasuti involves embroidery done by intricate patterns like gopura, chariot, palanquins, lamps and conch shells. No trace of design to be embroidered. It’s marked with charcoal or pencil on the base. No needles and threads are selected. The patterns are stitched without using knots to ensure that both sides of the cloth look alike.

CHIKANKARI
The present form of chikan (meaning elegant patterns on fabric) work is associated with the city of Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh. Chikan embroidery is believed to have been introduced by Noor Jahan, the wife of Jahangir. Chikan embroidery involves the use of white thread on white muslin, fine cotton, or voile, which showcases shadow work embroidery. Other colours can also be used. This embroidery creates special individual motifs or butis and maintains flowerlike roses, lotus, jasmine, creepers etc. The designs are first printed onto the fabric with a mixture of glue and indigo. At least 40 different stitches are documented and include flat, raised and embossed stitches. The prominent ones include jali work, buttonhole stitch, French knots, running stitch etc.

TODA EMBROIDERY
Toda embroidery has its origins in Tamil Nadu. Locally known as “Pukhoor” meaning flower, this embroidery is an art work among the Toda pastoral people of the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu. This embroidery, like Kantha, is practised by women. The embroidery adorns shawls. The shawl, called putkuli, has red and black bands in between which the embroidery is done. As Todas believe buffaloes, the fabric becomes important with the motifs like the buffalo horn, sun, moon, stars etc. Both sides of the embroidered fabric are usable and both men and women from the community embellish the embroidered cloaks and shawls.

SHAMILAMI
A renowned textile art from Manipur is the Shamilami, which uses a technique that combines the technique of weaving and embroidery. The ethnic Meitei community practises this intricate technique used in the traditional production of attire called phanek, whereby motifs such as chakpa are inspired by the grandness of a significant pillar raising a star itself, decorate the fabric. The embroidery is done using cotton or silk thread or blended silk thread on border of the phanek (a lungi or lower body wrap worn by women). Colours in dark red, plum or chocolate are usually used. (The trend today is also artistically to blend it in not clash with the weaves and not embellish like Kantha embroidery. So Shamilami today is not in loud clash). This was previously called samhlamfe (which means warrior cloth of wild animals) and was given to brave male warriors during the war trophy, in recognition of their prowess. Possession of Shamilami is a distinguished emblem of membership of the knightly fraternity.

SUJANI
Sujani embroidery originated from the Bhusura village of Bihar. In ancient times, it was considered as a goddess by women, and the designs were believed to be sacred and magical. The process began with drawing down the designs on the base fabric using tracing wheel and tracing sheet. Black or brown threads are used for outlining the motifs and colourful threads are used to fill. The designs were mostly mythological stories or tributes for the Kanths of the 17th-18th period. Today Sujani embroidery dons ethnic outfits like sarees, kurtas, dupattas, stoles, jackets. It has now become a modern form of bedsheets, bridal wears, hangings. The Sujani is not merely traditional craft, it is also a way to convey social and political messages.

APPLIQUE
Applique is a form of embroidery that prepared separately on fabric to be applied or sewed onto a larger fabric or surface to create different designs, shapes that patterns or pictures. This embroidery in different form came into India sometime in the 17th century. Applique is used both by men and women to create wall hangings, decorative items, accessories and tents. In Rajasthan, the houses are decorated with appliqué hangings for welcoming new-borns. Perhaps the oldest embroidery was worn by the Banjara tribal women are not only enriched in embroidery but enriched with appliqué and gota work, which is to be created on velvet and other coarse fabric. The design is prepared by sewing pieces of zari ribbon onto fabric, to create the elaborate patterns.