ASIAN TEXTILES - OATG. Oxford Asian Textile Group

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CHIKAN10export orders - or ‗commercial‘, which isdone for cheaper goods.Printing is carried out by usingwooden blocks dipped in temporary dyes likeneel and safeda (which are washed out afterthe embroidery has been done).Embroidery on the fabric is mainlydone by women - It takes an artisan at leastfour to five days to embroider a chikanensemble. Each piece has to be completed byone artisan as the handiwork of each artisandiffers. Only those with artistic and nimblehandiwork can master the art fully.Washing and finishing is the laststep in the process. It includes bleaching, acidtreatment, stiffening, and ironing.Examples of chikankari work using white cottonthreads on plain muslin.The most common motif used inchikan embroidery is that of a creeper.Individual floral motifs may embellish theentire garment or just one corner. Among thefloral motifs embroidered, the jasmine, rose,flowering stems, lotus and the paisley motifare the most popular.Due to the variety of stitchingstylesinvolved in chikankari, it is said to be aone-of-a-kind hand embroidery that isimpossible to imitate in any other part of the
11 CHIKANworld. Chikan embroiders claim a repertoire of about thirty-two stitches, to which they givedelightfully fanciful names, including, for example, Double-Star Earring and Peacock Feather‘sEye.Chikankari is delicate, fine embroidery done in white cotton threads on plain muslin.Chikan work attains a rare perfection as it relies for effect on simplicity of design, the motifs beinglimited in number and the excellence of the work being judged by the minuteness and evenness ofthe embroidery. The number of stitches is also limited; the most common are the darn stitch, theinverted satin stitch, the elongated satin stitch, network, and appliqué work.The chikan designs depend for their effect on the variety of stitches used and differentgrades of threads used to form the patterns that include the lace like jali, the opaque fillings (likethose done in shadow work) and the delicacy or boldness of outline and details.There is a discipline and method in the application of the stitches. The darn stitch isworked on rough cotton fabric to fill angular designs and to cover the surface of the fabric, whilesatin stitching is done exclusively on delicate fabrics like silk, muslin, or linen. In chikan somestitches are worked from the wrong side of the fabric, while others are worked from the right side.It is, however, unique in its discipline in as much as stitches designated for a particularpurpose are used only for that purpose - they are not replaced by other stitches. For example, thechain stitch (zanjeera) will only be used for the final outline of a leaf, petal, or stem.Chikankari is something like unity in diversity i.e. it includes some simple andcomplex stitches giving it an effect which is simple, gentle, delicate and yet elegant. In days goneby chikankari was only done on dresses, but these days it can be seen on a variety of items such assaris, suits, kurtas, table covers, bed sheets, pillow and cushion covers, table linen and curtains etc.Earlier, chikan embroidery was done using white-coloured thread only, but now it is found in avariety of colours to cater for the modern and international tastes.Wonderful effects can be obtained by using different stitches and grades of thread
Page 1 and 2: ISSN 1757-0670ASIAN TEXTILESMAGAZIN
Page 3 and 4: 3EditorialThe remarkable discovery
Page 5 and 6: 5 NEWS5,900-year-old woven skirt ex
Page 7 and 8: 7 NEWSNew technique discovered for
Page 9: 9 CHIKANA womanconcentrates on thed
Page 13 and 14: 13 AFGHAN RUG TRADEour carpets. And
Page 15 and 16: 15 SILK ROAD TEXTILESFrom this vari
Page 17 and 18: 17 SILK ROAD TEXTILESIn her second
Page 19 and 20: Historical Themes: Trade and Religi
Page 21 and 22: 21 SILK ROAD TEXTILESIslamic and Mo
Page 23 and 24: 23 SILK ROAD TEXTILESThe illustrati
Page 25 and 26: 25 MEETINGSbition designers. Thus w
Page 27 and 28: outdoors without attracting the unw

ASIAN TEXTILES - OATG. Oxford Asian Textile Group

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