Know About The Process Of Chikankari Embroidery

Chikankari is a famous hand embroidery traced back to the 3rd Century BC. The Mughal Emperor Jahangir's wife Noor Jahan introduced Chikankari in India that showcases the intricacies of Indian traditional craftsmanship. It is a delicate shadow work embroidery mostly done on white muslin cotton cloth or other sheer fabrics like georgette, chiffon, organza, and more alike.


Process:
The Chikankari embroidery procedure involves three stages:

  1. Block Printing
  2. Embroidery
  3. Washing


Block printing

Block printing is itself a part of the Indian textile heritage. This printing process is done by another group of artisans who specializes in block printing. The design is selected and is first printed on plain fabric with the help of a wooden block dipped in washable blue dye. After this step, the fabric is ready for embroidery. Since chikankari have Persian lineage, we see lots of floral designs, butis, and nature-inspired designs.

 block print chikankari process

Embroidery

The hand-block printed fabric, part by part, is tightly fixed within an embroidery hoop. Then, using needle and thread, embroidery is done on the fabric. The artisan works on stitches in which they are skilled. Different types of stitches like murri, tepchi, bakhiya, phanda are done on the same garment.

chikankari embroidery

Washing

The last stage of this process is washing. When the embroidery work is done, the washerman soaks the fabric in water and then wash it to remove the indigo color of the block print. After this, it is starched and ironed to achieve stiffness and then we are ready to sell the product.

chikanakari process


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