Traditional Embroideries of India

 

6. Kantha

Origin: Kantha embroidery, primarily practised by rural women, comes from East Indian states such as West Bengal, Odisha and Tripura, and Bangladesh.
Creation: Kantha embroidery is done by stitching on the fabric, which gives the fabric a wrinkled and wavy look, with various motifs of flowers, animals, celestial objects, and geometric patterns. Originally done to make cushions, blankets, sarees, and bedspreads, Kantha is now used for both men and women in dupattas and tops.

7. Phulkari

Origin: Mentioned in Heer Ranjha's folklore, Phulkari comes from Punjab 's rural embroidery tradition. Its present form can be traced back to the 15th century reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Creation: The base cloth is dull khadi, mostly hand spun, which is then fully covered with a vibrant embroidered pattern that leaves no gaps. Each motif follows a geometric pattern using darn stitch for simple vertical , horizontal and diagonal thread worms with motifs of nature (mainly flowers).

8. Shisha / Mirrorwork

Origin: Mirrorwork was originally done with Mica, brought into India by Iranian travellers during the 17th century. Mirrorwork, which is funded by Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat, varies in usage and style according to area and taste.
Creation: Mirrors (of different sizes and shapes) are applied to clothing using a special cross stitch, and the fabric is then adorned with identical stitches to enrich the overall appeal of the cloth.

9. Toda

Origin: Toda embroidery comes from the Toda tribe belonging to the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu, named 'pohor' (flower) in the Toda language. It is practised by Toda women exclusively.

Creation: Historically, Toda embroidery portrays motifs of nature and/or celestial bodies in a geometrical pattern using black and red woollen threads on a coarse white fabric. For a reverse stitch technique, a single stitch darning needle is used, which then creates a pattern that appears to come out of the cloth.

10. Kashmiri

Origin: The name of this embroidery is borrowed from its place of birth, Kashmir. The fabric for this embroidery was woven and embroidered by members of the same, sometimes extended, family, also known as Kashida embroidery.

Creation: Winter dark-colored woollen clothes, summer light (and bright) coloured cotton clothes are selected from which base patterns are made. For a single design, a single stitch is used and the whole pattern in a few stitches is completed.