ASIAN TEXTILES - OATG. Oxford Asian Textile Group

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