INDIAN EMBROIDERY

INTRODUCTION OF INDIAN EMBROIDERY

Embroidery is an expression of self, rendered with patience and dedicated hard work, it is an art rightly described as "painting by needle".

Indian embroidery takes its inspiration from nature and religion.

The colors, the base the theme and the style are reflective of a particular region. Embroidery on leather, velvet, net, cotton and silk is done all over the country.

The patterns have always been floral, animals, geometric and religious. Each embroidery style has its own history and a story of development.

HISTORY OF INDIAN EMBROIDERY

The history of embroidery dates back to many centuries. The mere look of the intricate embroidery patterns adds elegance & grace to the product.

The main role is played by needle and thread for giving a shape to the designs.

Be it the 'bagh' or 'phulkari' stitch of Punjab, the darn stitch of Kashmir or the 'chikan' work of Uttar Pradesh, the 'kasauti' stitch of Karnataka or stitches of Kutch.

They are all unique in their own way. Nature and religion are the main source of inspiration for Indian embroidery.

Kantha embroidery Kutch embroidery

Kasuti embroidery Kashida embroidery

Applique craft Phulkari embroidery

Rajasthan embroidery Chikankari embroidery

Metal embroidery

Kantha of Bengal

Kantha of Bengal

West Bengal is famous for the variety of arts and crafts it offers. One of the most famous amongst them is the fine embroidery of West Bengal.

the several stitches and embroideries famous in West Bengal, Kantha embroidery holds a very special place.

Kantha of Bengal

One of the finest classes of embroidery, Kantha is popularly used on saris, dhotis, quilts, bed-sheets, pillow covers.

The process involves laying the worn clothes in layers and stitching them together.

Usually the motifs are gods and goddesses, flowers, animals or geometric patterns that means it can be anything the worker can relate to.

Kantha was said to be a lady's self expression. The real kantha narrates a story, the emotions and the life of the artist.

Kantha of Bengal

Archilata kantha Baiton kantha

Thalia kantha Lap kantha

Oaar kantha Sujani kantha

Rumal kantha

Types of kantha embroidery

Kantha embroidery garaments

Embroidery of Gujarat

Embroidery from the Saurashtra and Kutch regions in Gujarat is not only famous but also versatile. There are plenty of stitches used to beautify the product.

The stitches used in the embroidery of Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar are chain stitch, herringbone, interlacing stitch, darning stitch and buttonhole stitch.

Embroidery of Gujarat

Rust, light green, indigo, blue, deep red, pink, and purple are the colors used. skirts, kurtis(ladies shirt) and richly embroidered blouses are the other famous.

Motifs used in this type of embroidery are many- floral, peacocks, animals, birds, trees etc. Persian influence can be seen in the motifs.

Embroidery of Gujarat

Sindh embroidery

Kathiawar embroidery

Kutch embroidery

Buttonhole stitch

Herringbone stitch

Types of Gujarat embroidery

Gujarat embroidery garments

Kasuti Embroidery of Karnataka

Kasuti Embroidery of Karnataka

Kasuti is a form of embroidery that comes from the state of Karnataka in India. It resembles the embroidery of Austria, Hungary and Spain.

Hindu motifs are predominant in kasuti. They are taken from gopuram (temple tops) lotus flower, palinquin, cradles, birds and animals like- swans, peacocks, squirrels, elephants, nandi or sacred bull.

The threads used for embroidery were drawn from the fabric itself or they used silk thread from Mysore.

Colors used predominantly are orange, purple, green and red.

Women embroidered saris, bonnets, skirts and blouses.

Kasuti Embroidery of Karnataka

Gavanti

Murgii

Negi

Menthi

Types of Kasuti Embroidery

Kasuti Embroidery garments

kashida of Kashmir

kashida of Kashmir

Kashmiri embroidery is well known for the beauty of its color, texture, design and technique. Probably, the best-known Indian embroidery is the 'Kashida of Kashmir'.

The motifs were mainly taken from nature; Bird motifs were seen on the shawls (like parrot, woodpeckers and kingfishers). Floral motifs like lily, lotus, iris, saffron flower and tulips were mostly seen on the shawls.

Colourful fabrics like white (sufed), green (zingari), purple (uder), blue (ferozi), yellow (zard) and black (mushki).

The threads used were wool, cotton and silk. this embroidery enhanced.

the beauty of Kashmiri shawls, silk sarees, dress materials, cushion covers, bed covers, purses, veils and articles of personal and daily use.

kashida of Kashmir

Kashida is general term for Kashmir embroidery, which includes other stitches as Zalakdo (chain stitch), Vatachik (Buttonhole stitch), Talibar (Gold work).

Types of kashida

zalakdo

vatachik

talibar

Applique Craft of Orissa

Applique Craft of Orissa

Applique', is a French term that refers to an art form of superimposing patches of colored fabrics on a piece of basic fabric/cloth to give it an altogether a new look.

Applique works are a vivid expression of Orissa Crafts. It is generally accepted that appliqué works of Orissa date back to more than 850 years.

Applique Craft of Orissa

The art form typically depended on four basic colors - red, white, black and yellow to produce a striking effect.

Appliqué motifs in contrasting colors are then cut in the shape of animals, birds, flowers, leaves, celestial bodies and geometric shapes.

Applique Craft of Orissa

The use of all these products are associated with the religious ceremonies of Lord Jagannath.

The craftsman first prepares the base material in the shape of square, rectangle, and circle or oval which forms the background for the pieces of art.

The Pipli village in Puri district of Orissa is the main center of appliqué work

Rows of shops in Pipli flaunt appliquéd handbags, bed sheets, wall hangings, purses, cushion covers, letter cases, pillow covers, canopies and garden umbrellas.

Applique Craft of Orissa

Phulkari Embroidery of Punjab

Phulkari Embroidery

Phulkari embroidery is peculiar to Punjab. Phulkari literally means flower craft.

A Baugh or Phulkari, therefore, is not only a beautiful traditional art but a symbol of maternal love and faith expressed in embroidery

Khaddar cloth which was hand spun and hand woven cotton material, was always used for embroidery.

Phulkari Embroidery

The colour was mostly red, white, blue or black.

The thread used was pure silk. It is untwisted silken floss called PAT.

Phulkari Embroidery

The motifs are made up of horizontal, vertical and diagonal stitches, producing geometric pattern in Phulkari designs while the Baugh has an overall geometrically floral pattern.

The stitch craft of Phulkari consists long short darning stitches.

Kinds of Phulkari

suber Til parta

saloo nilak

Embroidery of Rajasthan

Embroidery of Rajasthan

Embroidery of Rajasthan brings new character and dimension to any article that it graces.

the three garments worn by women, the kanchli, ghaghra and odhni. Similarly men`s garments like the angarkha, achkan and jama also display certain elements of embroidery.

Embroidery of Rajasthan

Social threads of embroidery:-

As in many traditional societies, Rajasthani women lead somewhat restricted lives.

Embroidery, thus, becomes the expression of a woman`s artistic temperament.

Embroidery of Rajasthan

Folk embroideries- Also known as Bharat Kaan, means filling work. The main stitches employed in folk embroideries are:

Mochi Bharat: Mochi Bhara is a chain stitch prevalen in Barmer district .

Heer Bharat: Heer Bharat is embroidery where design is filled with thread work.

Embroidery of Rajasthan

Jaiselmer Applique work:

The quilts made by patchwork known as ‘Ralli’are the traditional product of Jaisalmer ,The quilt is made by sewing several layers of old fabrics

Moti bharat:Moti bharat is an art of Jalor district of Rajasthan. The opaque white beads are worked by stringing them together in various shapes and forms of birds, animals, human figures of day to day life, Traditionally blue, green yellow and red colored beads were commonly used.

Embroidery of Rajasthan

sujani work:An old cloth is folded three or four times and stitched together and new cloth is then attached over it for doing chain and running stitch embroidery.

Meo Embroidery:The Meos of Alwar has again their unique style of embroidering a rich pattern with chain stitch in contrasting colours and the body is roofed with the `phulkar bagh` stich.

Embroidery of Rajasthan

Rabari EmbroideryThe Rabari Embroidery depicts the creativity of women belonging to the Rabari community in their daily life and lifestyle.

They also traditionally spin the wool from their sheep and give it to local weavers to make the woolen skirts, veils, blankets and turbans Rabaris use.

Embroidery of Rajasthan

Gota Work :The metal embroidery of Rajasthan is known as Gotta work. Gota is a band of gold or silver ribbon of that varies with width, woven in a satin weave.

Zardozi or Zari work:Zardozi or Zari or kalabattu is an embroidery work done in metal wires. which involves the use of gold threads, spangles, beads, seed pearls, wire, gota and kinari.

Chikankari traditional Embroidery of Uttar Pradesh

Chikankari traditional Embroidery of Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh (India), is the centre of chikankari , a skill of more than 200 years old. It literally means “embroidery”.

It was originally done with a white thread on a white cloth, hence the name “white embroidery”. Now, it is done on a variety of fabrics and in a spectrum of colors.

The design to be embroidered is block printed on the fabric using washable dyes.

Chikankari traditional Embroidery of Uttar Pradesh

Depending on the final product to be this is either done on unstitched cloth or pre-stitched cloth so the design for the necklines, sleeves etc can be marked out.

Chikankari is unique in the sense that it uses about 40 stitches and each stitch is used for a specific purpose.

The motifs have been picked up from the nature and mostly include flowers, foliages, creepers, fruits like mango (integrated into design as paisleys), birds like peacock and parrot etc.

Chikankari traditional Embroidery of Uttar Pradesh

Metal Embroidery

Metal Embroidery

The use of metal embroidery in Indian textiles and costumes, especially the ones used for special occasions or ceremonial purposes, demonstrate the importance of gold and silver within the culture.

Zardozi embroidery involves the use of different shapes of metal wire like springs, coils, strips, ribbons and discs.

Zari, that means "gold" in Persian, refers to the metallic threads used in weaving.

The fabric used for metal embroidery is highlighted with colorful threads and metal made, it has shimmer, shiny and thin strips of colors.

Metal Embroidery

The fabric used for metal embroidery is highlighted with colorful threads and metal made, it has shimmer, shiny and thin strips of colors.

The short sleeves and V-necked cocktail dresses in silk are one of the examples for the clothes that are designed with metal embroidery.

Metal Embroidery