“She watched and taught the girls that sang at their embroidery frames while the great silk flowers grew from their needles.”…
Embroidery to some women meant...
"I’ll eat from the carton,
sleep on the floor.
If it means I can stitch some more."
Times have changed today and very few would relate to this sentiment today.
But do we love embroidered saris still??
Well I have always had a soft spot for embroidery. Today when Reshma sent me her picture in this striking blue hand embroidered Kashmiri sari, got me thinking about the rich cultural mix our country is...
There are over 22 types of main category embroideries, which Indian artisans create magic with.
Lets traverse through the lanes of this knowledge path, and gather information about this art which is embedded deep in our culture and is a legacy handed down centuries. It is a striking fact that in the development of embroidery ... there are no changes of materials or techniques which can be felt or interpreted as advances from a primitive to a later, more refined stage. On the other hand, we often find in early works a technical accomplishment and high standard of craftsmanship rarely attained in later .Kashmiri embroidery or Kashida as known locally, is inspired by nature. The designs and colour combinations of motifs and patterns showcase the flora and fauna of Kashmir. The motifs depict the trees, chinar- maple leaves, lotus, creepers & twigs, flowers, blossoms, badaam (almond), other fruits and birds. The entire pattern is made with one or two embroidery stitches, and mainly chain stitch on a base of silk, wool and cotton: the colour is usually white, off-white or cream. Kashida is primarily done on canvas with crystal threads, but Kashida also employs pashmina and leather threads.
For the base cloth, craftsmen use shades that blend with the background. Thread colors are inspired by local flowers.
Kashmiri embroidery is known for the skilled execution of a single stitch, which is often called the Kashmiri stitch and which may comprise the chain stitch, the satin stitch, the slanted darn stitch, the stem stitch, or the herringbone stich. Sometimes, the doori (knot) stitches are used but not more than one or two at a time.
Sozni embroidery (dorukha) is often done so skillfully that the motif appears on both sides of the fabric with each side having a different color. Consequently, there is no wrong side. This is done by a fine needle and generally a single or at the most double thread is used.
'Papier maché' embroidery. Here flowers and leaves are worked in the satin stitch and employ the bright colors that are found in papier maché objects. Each motif is then outlined in black. This design is employed either in broad panels on the borders or on the entire surface of a fabric. The final effect of this type of embroidery looks translucent and has a “stained-glass work” look.
Aari (hook) embroidery; motifs include the well-known flower design finely worked in concentric rings with the chain stitch. The Aari is a hook needle which gives an even and machine like finish of embroidery. The cloth is firmly set of a wooden frame & the aari is maneuvered over the pre-drawn pattern or design. Thoridaar is yet another variation of the aari work. It is generally the first step to learning the art of hook embroidery.
Shaaldaar and Chinar-kaam are other popular forms.
Samovar (the antique Kashimiri tea-pot) is a very typical & popular design used in Kashmiri embroidery. The Samovar pattern is then filled up with intricate flowers and leaves and twigs.
“Kashir-Jaal” implies fine network of embroidery, particularly on the neckline and sleeves of a dress material. “Naala Jaal” implies embroidery particularly on the neckline and chest/yoke, because “Naala” means neck in the Koshur dialect of Kashmiri language.
“Jaama” A very dense embroidery covering the whole base fabric with a thick spread of vine/creepers & flowers, badaam and heart shapes, A variation of this form is “Neem-Jaama”, where neem means demi or half, because the embroidery is less dense, allowing a view of the fabric underneath.
“Jaal”. It consists of “bel-buti“: a fine and sparse net of vine/creepers & flowers. Variation of this form is “Neem-Jaal”, where again the work is less dense.
We are both in Kashmiri embroideries. The sari is a hand embroidered Kashmiri jal all over the sari..
