BREATHING LIFE INTO AN ANCIENT CRAFT

"KUTCHI EMBROIDERY"

India is a land of diverse cultures and her uniqueness lies in her unity in diversity. The sheer variety of the costumes, the traditions, festivals is enough to keep one fascinated. The same can be said about embroidery. Embroidery in India is different in different parts and states of India. One can identify the origins of an embroidered piece of fabric simply by the style, colors, fabric and the stitches used. Among the many different types of embroidery one can see in India, the embroideries of Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar are very popular.

THE ORIGIN OF THIS EMBROIDERY

Kutch Embroidery was practiced from the sixteenth and seventeenth century in Patan, a little town in the state of Gujarat. It was believed that this art was taught to the Mochi’s by a Muslim who came from Sindh. The embroideries of Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar are very similar, almost identical. The embroidery is extremely pictorial and original, the mirror work and interlacing set it apart from any other kind of embroidery.

The Rabari shepherds, Kanbi farming and Ahir herding castes are the main practitioners of what can be loosely termed the “Kutchi” style of embroidery. 

Interlacing stitch in pink and mirror work in yellow.

STITCHES

The stitches used in this embroidery of Kutch are chain stitch, herringbone, interlacing stitch, darning stitch and buttonhole stitch.  

COLOURS USED

Chain stitch is usually done in white or any other colour, interlacing stitch is done with indigo, blue, crimson, red, green, yellow. Mirror work is done with red, green, blue and yellow predominantly, but other colors could also be used. Herringbone is typically done in indigo, blue, crimson, yellow, but not limited to those, other colors could also be used.

A Typical choli

Wall Hanging

MOTIFS

For the people of Kutch, embroidery is more than just decoration for the household goods; it is an important means of personal, social, and spiritual expression. Each piece of intricate embroidery brings, creativity and beauty into daily life, providing a welcome foil to the harsh climate and austere landscape. Traditionally, embroidered articles formed an integral part of a girl’s dowry, while for royals and nobles these articles were a symbol of status and wealth.

Today, each ethnic group and community, retain their own distinctive motifs and lexicon of stitches, handed down through the generations in 16 different styles of embroidery. While many of the stitches are universal, the craftswomen create unique combinations with a great degree of complexity. Rabari embroidery, for example, is vigorous with bold shapes and designs taken from mythology and inspired by the desert surroundings. Ahir embroidery is, by contrast, curvilinear in style, animated with motifs such as peacocks, parrots, scorpions, elephants and flowers. Soof embroidery, on the other hand, is a counted thread style, which uses a single stitch to create highly geometrical designs. Other styles use mirrors or a form of quilting and the colour selection also differs : Rabari embroidery features earth tones and white, while Ahir embroidery is more of dark violet, gold and red.

The ‘shisha’ or ‘abla’ mirrors, used, are bought either in pre-cut rounds, or in large pieces to be cut up with scissors.

The painstaking and beautiful craft of hand-embroidery dates back several thousand years in one of its traditional homes of Kutch. Known for its intricate and diverse styles, Kutchi embroidery has, since the 1960s suffered a decline due to a modern emphasis on speed and profit, and a growing reliance on machinery and synthetic fabrics.