Embroidery - the luxurious art of needle craft (Part 5

India is a diversified country having varied range of customs and traditions. Amongst the Indian handicrafts that attained world wide acclaim the pride of place is held by Indian embroidery. Embroidery like any handcraft of aesthetic value is the manifestation of man’s yearning's for beauty, for introducing grace and elegance into the monotony and drabness of everyday life through fine form and colour. This lure has remained constant and explains the fascination of embroidery through the ages. Embroidery transforms nothing into something. Fills blankness with substance. The entire composition needs a good skill in the arrangement of form and colour producing beautiful combinations which please the eye.

An interesting fact is that mostly all types of embroidery stitches practised the world over are found in India. And each region of India has developed a distinctive style of its own embroidery and form remote corners have errated fabulous composition.

Traditionally the hand embroidery work is done on huge frames called "adaa" and hence the work as "adda work" or "adda embroidery". These frames are used for hand embroidery on fabrics in running lengths. Its length and width can be adjusted as per the fabric or in cases where the sizes are fixed the smaller fabrics are worked upon by help of rough cotton or rope extensions. As an indispensible tool for the serious embroiderer – especially those who get into goldwork, silk shading, and other complex techniques – is the "slate frame" or adda.

Name of Embr.	Types	State	Fabric	Thread type	Colours of thread	Motifs	Stitches
Kashida	Kamkar shawls, Ambika shawls.	Jammu & Kashmir	Silk, Cotton, Wool in off-white or cream colour.	Usually of silk, wool, cotton and cut silks.	White, green, purple, blue, yellow, black.	Animal, human, bird (parrot, woodpecker, canary, magpie, kingfisher, butterfly), Fruit (grapes, plums, cherries, almonds, apple blossom) and kalka motif	Darning, stem satin, chain & buttonhole stitches.
Chamba	Chamba rumals.	Himachal Pradesh	Unbleached cotton, tussar silk	Untwisted silk floss called ‘pat’.	Purple, brilliant pink, blue, lemon & mustard yellow, cream, red, orange, crimpson. Red, black and white is used for Brahma, Vishnu & Maheshwara respectively.	Animal (leaping tigers, running boars, goats, prancing horses, fleeting rams, running deer), bird (peacock, duck, swan, parrot), Musical instruments (Drums, Dholaks, Tanpura, Veena, Kharthala, Sitar), Geometric (triangle, square, diamond, rectangle).	Satin
Kantha	Lep, Sujni, Bayton, Oar, Arshilata, Durjani.	West Bengal	Mulmul	Drawn form old saris, silk.	Blue, green, yellow, red and black	Animal, flower, birds and decorative motifs. Lotus, bull with the linga on his head, the tiger representing goddess Durga, Swastik and the mouse reminiscent of Ganesha.	Darning, satin, chain. For border stem stitch is used.
Chikankari	Taipchi, Katawa, Bukhia, Murri, Phanda and jail.	Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh)	White muslin	Cotton	White	_	Satin, stem, back, herringbone, buttonhole
Manipuri	Angami, Chaddar, Naga chaddar, Russ.	Manipur	Cotton red in colour	Untwisted silken floss.	Two shades of red, white and black.	Circular – Akoybi, boat design – hijay mayak.	Satin. Applique work.
Phulkari	Subhai, Chope, Til patra shawl, Nilak Shawl, Shishedar phulkari, Reshmi sheesha, Thirma, Sainshi, baghs.	Punjab	Hand spun, hand woven cotton material in blue, black, brown, red, and white.	Pure silk untwisted floss	Golden, yellow, green, white, crimpson, red, orange, blue, violet and dark brown.	Geometric patterns	Long and short.
Kasuti	-	Karnataka	Hand woven fabric, matty.	Mercerized cotton, silk	Red, orange, green, purple, red, white, black, blue, yellow.	Mythological, architectural, flora and fauna, animal, bird (squirrel, parrot, cock, peacock, duck, pigeon, swan, deer), sparrow, tulsi leaf.	Gavanti – back stitch, Murgi – zig-zag ladder, Negi – running or darning stitch, Menthi- cross stitch.
Kutch	Mochi, Kahbis, Ahirs, Rabaris	Swarashtra, Rajasthan	Satin, cotton	Cotton, sometimes silk	Yellow, white, saffron, green and purple.	Parrots, peacock, bulbul, women dancing/ churning butter/ carrying pots of water on their heads, dolls, flowers.	Chain, darning and herringbone.
Kathiawar	Heer bharat, Abla bharat, chain stitch, Sindhi taropa, Applique work, Moti bharat.	Kutch, sindh and Punjab	Cotton	Cotton, untwisted silken floss.	Crimpson, red, deep blue, green, yellow, beads	Parrot, elephant with its marot, camel with a rider, warrior on horse, geometric, floral.	Chain stitch, interlacing, herringbone, appliqué work, beadwork, mirror work.