Applique or Katab is another form of decorative needlework, more pronounced in Saurashtra where women from the darzi (tailor) community prepare it for commercial use. Its origin relates to a tailor’s wife who saved the cloth remnants in the shop, which finally created quilt covers, and other decorations. After all, in the land of scarcity nothing should go waste.
Rabari Embroidery is the most prominent work and widely available. The women of this community wear black skirts with creative edges embroidered and so are their profusely decorated veils with tie and dye patterns. A Rabari bridegroom’s embroidered longcoat is worth a look. Even children wear heavily embroidered salwars and shirts. The Kutchi Rabaris make use of mirrors of various shapes and sizes and therefore their works have a variety though they stick to minute chain stitches.
Ari Embroidery is equally old and famous for its heavy work. Prepared with the help of an awl it represents a cobbler’s stitch, which requires considerable skill and practice. The sharper and finer the hook of the awl, the more refined the quality of the embroidery. This is done in silk or locally made satin called Gajji or on a silky satin fabric Atlash.
In Saurastra, a special style of embroidery called mahajan is famous. Mahajan has a special design called kajuri in which a satin shine and fine effects are attained by special manipulation of the satin and herring bone stitches by interchanging vibrant red with shades of violet.
Abhala (mirror inset embroidery) has now become a part of the ethnic chic fashion world, where small mirror discs which are fixed to the material with the help of buttonhole stitch, with closely worked silken thread. Usually the mirror work is done on a dark background with motifs like flowers, creepers, petals, etc. The motifs are inspired by daily life; ancient belief and rituals but they vary from place to place and are passed down over the centuries from mother to daughter.
Zari Work of Varanasi, one of the famous Crafts of Uttar Pradesh. In fact, Varanasi takes pride in being a center of hand-made textiles that is renowned all over the world.
The age old traditions of weaving are more preserved in Varanasi than anywhere else. The main products are brocades and Zari Work of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The weavers who are behind these beautiful creations are mainly Muslim and are called by the name of ‘karigars’ which refers to ‘artists’.
Varanasi Zari Work uses Zari thread that is called ‘kalabuttum’. It consists of finely drawn silver, gold or base metal threads that are wound round as silk thread. Silk traditionally used to come from Central Asia, Italy and Bengal. However, at present, it comes from Kashmir, Malda in Bengal or Japan.
The craft of zardozi or silver and gold embroidery was brought into India by Delhi's Turko-Afghan sultans in the 12th century. Down the ages, the craft became equally popular with the wealthy Hindu, Muslim, and European classes. Today several families in Varanasi, Agra, Lucknow, Rampur, Bareilly, and Farrukhabad, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, have revived this old craft to supply exquisite zari embroidered bridal outfits and salwar kameezes to boutiques round the country. But prices are considerably lower in Uttar Pradesh.
The delicate art of embroidery has its origin in the city of Nawabs. Its name has been derived from the Persian word 'chikan' meaning cloth wrought by needlework. Earlier it emerged as the court craft but with the keen efforts of the art lovers this craft was publicized and became the important commercial activity. The various patterns of the chikankari are muree, lerchi, keelkangan and bakhia. The charm of thuis craft lies in the minuteness, evenness and sheer exclence of craft as well as the use of white embroidery on white cloth.
The tradition of colourful ornamentation on Aanchal cloth is a unique Kumaoni tradition, rooted deep in its long history. In all ritual ceremonies women wear the colourful Pichhora, also known as Rangwali or Kusumia. It is a piece of muslin cloth, three mts. in length and one to one and a half mts in width, which is dyed yellow and dried under shade. It is then spread on the floor and printed with design. This is done with a padded wooden stick, using red colours. At the centre is the sign of Swastik, and the motifs of sun, moon, bell and conch shell.
'Phulkari’, literally meaning the flower working, is designed to enhance the beauty of attire. It is an art form, in which exquisite embroidery is done over shawls, dupattas and headscarves, in a simple and sparse design. In some cases, the entire cloth is covered with dense designs, so that the ground cloth becomes invisible. This is called as the 'bagh’ design, which literally means 'garden’. Bagh is generally considered as a symbol of marriage and is widely used during special occasions.
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