The second area I studied for my City and Guilds course was India.
So why India? I don't think you can think of India without imagining colourful, beautifully embroidered clothing. This is what springs to mind, but I knew there was even more than this, so India had to be on my list to study.
Different regions
India is the 7th largest country in the world by area, and has a population of 1.3 billion, so it is no surprise that it has wide regional differences, and of course that applies to it's embroidery.
Kashmir has it's zalakdozi (chain stitch embroidery) with its concentric circles worked using an aari hook. The sozni embroidery of this region is is very intricate and is often found on shawls, jackets and dress materials, likewise Amli embroidery is used to decorate shawls. The traditional Kashmiri garment called the Phiran is often decorated in Tilla embroidery worked in gold or silver thread.
Uttar Pradesh has Chikan or Lucknow lace, which is traditionally a form of whitework, with shadow stitching in floral patterns. Rajasthan has Gota embroidery which is an appliqué technique where ribbons (traditionally gold or silver) are cut out and stitched down.
Moving to Southern India there is Kasuti counted thread embroidery which dates back as far as the 6th - 8th centuries, and Eastern India has its Kantha, which is one of the oldest known forms of embroidery.
In Gujurat there is the colourful Kutch and Khaarek work, Suf geometrical counted thread, Garasia Jat which is made up of tiny cross stitches, as well as Paako and Rabari work. Many of these techniques from this region incorporate Shisha mirrors.
Trying out Indian embroidery
Of course after researching all these areas and different styles of embroidery I was keen to create a sample inspired by India. I chose a red background, as this is a predominant colour in a lot of the embroideries I had researched.
I chose to use a central motif of a Kadal Kadai flower. Each petal is worked using needleweaving. There are many different variations that can be used, and I plan to experiment with those in the future. I chose to use a variegated thread , as I love these and I thought it would add an extra element of colour.
I had always fancied having a go with shisha mirrors, so now seemed like the perfect opportunity. I found a tutorial in a magazine on how to attach them and had a go, none of the mirrors fell out, so I call that a success! I chose to include some chain stitch, as this is so common in Indian embroidery, but mine was done with a needle rather than an aari hook, that is a challenge for another day!
I'm pleased with how it turned out, albeit annoyed with myself that I didn't get the crease out of the fabric properly before I started stitching - lesson learnt the hard way!
There are so many different styles and techniques from India, and they are all beautiful. I doubt anyone would ever be able to try them all, but I'll definitely be trying a few more, and I'm certain I'll be inspired to bring elements of Indian embroidery into other projects.
After India, I moved on to Italy. Read about what I learnt here: Italian Embroidery (claireharveyembroidery.com)
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