Sometimes when we look at some designs ,we feel how beautiful they are made.They are neither designer nor custom made but they reflect an essence of elegance.
Though there are many which comes under this category,as of now i am talking about few of Traditional Embroideries .Lets have a look into "Chickan Embroidery/Chickankari".
Origin:
The name chikan has been derived from the Persian word Chakin or Chikeen meaning a kind of cloth wrought with needlework. Chikan is said to have originated as a court craft, during the reign of Mughal Emperor Jehangir, by his wife Noor Jahan. Traditionally, the chikan embroidery was exclusive white items, decorations similar to the cotton, jamdani, and woven traditions. The Nawab Shirajudaula of Avadh, great lover of grace, style and beauty was greatly attracted by this craft. It was his keen initiative and interest, which promoted this craft in present day Lucknow. Another record of the travelers of the sixteenth century describes that during the sixteenth century, white work from Bengal, was influenced by the Portuguese traders, the residents of the port Hugli, north of Calcutta of that time. The Bengali migrants who came from Dacca in eighteenth century to settle in Lucknow brought this art of surface ornamentation to Lucknow. Chikan work came into production by the nineteenth century. During this period similar work was also produced at Calcutta and Madras. It is reported that earlier brass, bone, copper or iron needles were used; now only steel needles are used.
Embroidery:
Fine Art Originally embroidery was done on white tanjeb; the muslin from Dacca, using only white untwisted cotton or some times tussar silk for embroidery. A large number of men were practicing this art of embroidery since nineteenth century. Woman in Lucknow and adjoining villages now predominantly practices this trade. Some of the popular motifs are Kairi; dhaniya patti; phanda; dhum patti; ghas patti; murri; kangan; joda murri; maharaki; sadi-maharaki; daraz/katub; pechani; tanjire; gitti; phanda; keel; kangira.
Chikan embroidery is a very laborious and time-consuming task (The craftsmen are trained for 15 to 20 years and sometimes it takes 10 to 15 days to make an outfit with hand embroidery as they fill in the designs with threads with detail work). This is why Chikan is so expensive as compared to machine embroidery. But it is worth it as you really do feel like a queen when you wear it - a Chikan suit is a regal treasure in any fashion connoisseur's wardrobe! Really, the great thing about this form of embroidery is that it never goes out of fashion and it suits women of all ages. If you are going to invest in a few pairs of elegant wear, try adding chikan to your wardrobe. And before the men (in your heart and home) start feeling left out, they too can wear this form of embroidery - get a Chikan shirt / kurta for them!
Procedure:
After cutting the fabric in required length, the designs are traced on the marked areas with blocks of a variety of shapes, sizes and forms. In the chikan industry the wooden block makers are very important, as they are the men or tappagars who carve the woodblocks with the intricate designs. And the cheepis or the printers transfer these designs on the fabrics to be embroidered. These blocks are quite durable as they are made Sheesham wood. These blocks are dipped in neel (a chemical dye), which is mixed with glue and is soaked in cloth pads. The block is then printed on the desired area of the design. The embroiderer uses these printed outlines as a pattern and guide. These designs are embroidered by various stitches. The stitches used for chikankari are only that applied in regular embroidery. Tepchi (stem stitch), bukhara 2(inverted stem stitch), are some of the popular stitches. Skill lies in rendering them in a specific way with the needles of the varying sizes The stitches employed for this embroidery are pulled work, which create intricate patterns, locally known as jali work; the double back stitch; running and back stitch. No hooks or frames are used while embroidering. The left hand has to continually stretch the cloth gently weft ways and warp ways to avoid puckering. The jali work in particular is done with wide blunt needle. This needle makes the holes in the fabric with ease. Intricate floral designs are indigenously embroidered using white/coloured cotton thread, on sheer white or pastel coloured muslin, organza and these days some times silk. The ingenuity of chikan-kari, the art of surface ornamentation lies in deploying up to thirty-five stitches to embroider the floral, geometrical, animal patterns.
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