NDIAN EMBROIDER

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 The colors, the base the
theme and the style are
and religion.
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.

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

Kantha embroidery

Kutch embroidery

Kasuti embroidery

Kashida embroidery

Phulkari embroidery

Applique craft

Metal embroidery

Rajasthan embroidery

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

One of the finest

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

Kantha of Bengal
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.

Types of
kantha
embroidery

Archilata
kantha

Baiton
kantha

Thalia
kantha

Lap kantha

Rumal kantha
Oaar kantha

Sujani
kantha

Kantha embroidery
garaments

Embroidery of Gujarat

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

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.

Types of
Gujarat
embroidery

Sindh embroidery

Herringbone stitch

Kutch embroidery
Kathiawar
embroidery

Buttonhole stitch

Gujarat embroidery garments

asuti Embroidery of Karnata

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
likeswans,
peacocks,
squirrels,
elephants,

Kasuti Embroidery of Karnataka

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.

Types of Kasuti Embroidery

Gavanti

Negi

Murgii

Menthi

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

kashida of
Kashmir
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.

Types of kashida

zalakdo

talibar

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

Applique Craft of Oriss

Applique Craft of Orissa

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

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 Craft of Orissa

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

Appliqu motifs in contrasting

colors are then cut in the shape
of animals, birds, flowers, leaves,
celestial bodies and geometric

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.

Applique Craft of
Orissa

The Pipli village in

Puri district of Orissa is
the main center of
appliqu work

Rows of shops in Pipli

flaunt appliqud handbags,
bed sheets, wall hangings,
purses,
cushion
covers,
letter cases, pillow covers,
canopies
and
garden

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

Phulkari Embroidery

Khaddar cloth which was hand

spun and hand woven cotton
material, was always used for
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 stitch craft of Phulkari

consists long short darning
stitches.

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.

Kinds of
Phulkari

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
Ralliare
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

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 Embroidery
The 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.

Chikankari traditional Embroidery of Uttar Pradesh

The design to be embroidered is

block printed on the fabric using
washable dyes.

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 traditional Embroidery of Uttar Pradesh

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.

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.

Metal
Embroidery
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.