Embroidery Designs Guide

I came across this resource called Jersey Forms, Body Forms (you see this just above this post and below the image) - on elegant accessories done using flower and beadwork embroidery techniques. It is called “A touch of Asia” and features various jewellery containers, lipstick cases and change purses. This collection contains some unique and simple beadwork on an otherwise ordinary purse. The beadwork fruit motif and rooster are good examples of these. The watermelon (shaped like a cut piece) is sized at 5″ x 3.5″ and the pineapple is 4″ x 4″. The rooster purse which comes with a blue background (sized at 4.25″ x 3.88″) and multi color combination looks awesome.

The jewellery container is a satin folding pouch sized at 8.63″ x 5.5″. The highlight of this piece is the flower embroidery on its outer covers. Some other products are the coin purse with side charm, 5 in 1 Asian multipurpose accessories clutch and the satin covered lipstick case with mirror.

Millions of Indians all over the world rejoiced last week when it was announced that Taj Mahal was reinstated as one of the seven wonders of the world.
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned it as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction began in 1632 and was completed in 1648. This was designed by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri along with skilled worksmen and craftsmen. The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal Indian architecture, a style that combines Persian, Indian, Islamic and Turkish styles. The white domed marble mausoleum is most popular and many a time denoted as a national symbol (India). In 1983, this monument became a UNESCO World Heritage site and was cited as the “Jewel of Muslim Art in India”.

What does this edifice have anything to do with embroidery. Have you ever seen an embroidered Taj Mahal…! Check this out at Patterns Boutique. Isn’t it a beauty. This has been done through cross stitch embroidery. Since it is a pattern, it is important that the embroiderer uses the recommended fabric - Aida 18 and the recommended color - white to ensure the beautiful marvel of Taj Mahal comes out best on your embroidery. In the case of the pattern next to the post, the fabric size is 40*32 cm and there are a total of 30 color stitches.

Portraits like the Taj Mahal are great as wall hangings and door adornments.

I will try to follow this up sometime later with some of the portraits of the other wonders of the world.

Embellishments on Indian embroidery designs cannot be complete without the use of adornments like glass or mirrors at the right locations to give the right look and feel. The Hindi word for mirror is Shisha and embroidery using mirrors are known as shisha embroidery. The mirror glass used in embroidery, known as shisha or abla, can decorate clothing, torans (doorway hangings), household shrines, curtains and rumals (cloth wrappings).

How does one attach the mirror to the fabric?  The basic accessories needed are :

* Soft cotton fabric:
* Calico for backing
* Shisha glass generally of size 25 mm diameter
* Beads
* Embroidery frame
* Sewing thread to match the appliqué fabrics

The calico comes below the background fabric since it needs to support the weight of the mirror pieces. Stitching is done through both the fabrics. Once this is done, the panel is trimmed to the correct size and after turning under about 1 cm of fabric, the mirror embroidery is ironed in place (The information on iron-on appliques would be helpful here)

The common shape of shisha is round, but they do come in square and triangular sizes. There are no holes in the shisha, hence it has to be held in place with a network of stitches which forms the base for the decorative stitches.

The various types of shisha are :
* Handblown glass shisha is also known as antique shisha or mica. As it is hand cut, the sizes are more variable and the shape can be slightly irregular.
* Machine-cut glass is known in India as embroidery glass.
* Sequin shisha are in fact large flat sequins. They are thin and flat and have a hole at one side, but this is covered with the stitching.

Embroidered shisha rings are becoming popular, where you place the ring over the chosed mirror and slipstitch in place around the edge of the ring. The decorative ring around the mirror glass can be worked in various stitches, including shisha stitch, herringbone or cretan stitch.

Check out this great resource I came across on hand embroidery designs - “Knitting-and” The critters have come out really cute, haven’t they! This is one place where we could find some rarely embroidered creatures like dragonfly and redback spider. The Indian motifs especially the peacock design is worth a peek. You could find more information on cultural embroidery at Indian embroidery. Most of these embroideries can be knitted using Brother embroidery machines. But the one which takes the cake is the moth you see besides this post. A moth at the onset of its transformation to a butterfly is a beautiful sight and this embroidery manages to capture that moment. This knitting embroidery was done using 6 six strands for filling and 3 for the outline.

Knitting is a beautiful art and if you ever want to learn knitting, I would recommend the tutorial on Knitting Tips.  It has a basic 5 day free e-tutorial for you.

Check out these Indian applique patterns on parasols beautifully handcrafted on handloom cotton fabric.

Some of the unique points to note are that these applique embroidery designs are made of colorful and multi pattern cotton fabric and are handmade by artisans from Pipilli (meaning Papillion) in Orissa in India.

I found this interesting product description which I am reproducing verbatim: “Applique in Orissa, India is an old temple art, which has been refined to a perfection. A fine example of the craft is the enormous applique canopies above the reigning deity of Puri, Lordjagannath. Applique art is the process of cutting coloured cloth into shapes of animals, birds, flowers, leaves and other decorative motifs and stitching them on to a piece of cloth that can ultimately be used as a lamp shade, a hand bag or even a garden umbrella. The village of Pipli, close to Bhubaneswar, is the site of beautiful applique work, created by artists, quite a few of whom have won national awards for their crafts. Applique’, which is a French term, is a technique by which the decorative effect is obtained by superposing patches of coloured fabrics on a basic fabric, the edges of the patches being sewn in some form of stitchery. It is distinct from what is known as patch work in which small pieces of cut fabrics are usually joined side by side to make a large piece of fabric or for repairing a damaged fabric. Though the form is not unknown in other parts of India, it is Orissa and specially in Pipli that the craft has a living and active tradition continuing over centuries.”

At the start of this new year, we have for you a one stop shop for all Indian embroidery designs at Indian Embroidery. India is famous for fabric decoration using traditional weaving, dyeing and embroidery. What is interesting is that each province of India has its own unique style of embroidery coming down from ancient times. In traditional Indian embroidery, the threads are dyed in natural vibrant colors and the embroidery is done using a variety of stitches unique to that form of embroidery. The simple running stitch of kantha or the satin and chain of Kashmiri Kashidakari depict the passion and life of the people of the state. The Chikan work of Lucknow resembles the fine marble carvings of the Mughal dynasty at Uttar Pradesh and Phulkari embroidery springs forth from the florals of Punjab. The intricate patterns and stitches of Katiawari and Sindhi embroidery entrap the beauty of the desert landscape of Rajasthan. The Mirror embroidery designs of Gujarat reflects the Persian influence on the state.

All the patterns are hand embroidered. The various forms of embroidery that you would find at this website are Kantha, Banjara, Kathi, Aari, Rabari, Kasuti, Soof, Zardozi, Chikankari, Mirror, Phulkari, Bidri, Kashmiri, Banni and Ahir embroideries. The history behind each of these designs is explained before proceeding on to the process of stitching each of them. This website should, to the best of my knowledge, cover all the varieties of Indian embroideries. If you do come to know of any more, please do let me know through the contact button below.

These are the happy days of Deepavali, a festival in India, which symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. It is called the Festival of Lights. Indians generally dress themselves in elegant splendour and with sweets and savouries to feast on, this festival is indeed a time to look forward to.

On Indian embroidered dresses, the resplendent Indian saree has stood the test of time. It symbolizes the adorn and beauty of the Indian women. The various categories of Indian sarees are cotton sarees, pure silk saree, wedding embroidered sarees, crepe sarees, chiffon sarees, georgette sarees to name a few.

But today, I draw special attention to the lehengas - one is next to this post - which are unique to this country. You must see some good examples of the hand embroidered lehenga cholis made by tribes of Gujarat, India and is handloom woven cotton fabric with thread and mirror embroidery designs.

What is unique in this technique of hand embroidery is the use of glass, mica, herring bone, mirror woven around with the embroidery design to give the entire pattern a stunning look! The silver glass used are produced by blowing glass into spheres and then breaking them into pieces of the required size. This is an art in itself.

For all lovers of hand and silk embroidery, you should not miss this. Kasooti is an ancient art form of hand embroidery credited to the Lambani tribes, the gypsies of India. The process is as follows: Initially the silk cloth to be hand embroidered is decorated with bits of cut mirror, costume jewellery and coins. Then the intricate stitching of Kasooti comes into play. The stitches are called Ele, Mente, Negi, Gavanthe and Marige. The designs are in tune with nature - flowers and creepers interwoven with animals such as cows, parrots, peacocks. The choice of the needles and the coloured threads is critical for the success of this embroidered product. Most of these designs are mirrored designs - that is, the left half would be a mirror image of the right half. You can view quite a few examples at the above mentioned site.

Kasooti embroidery is very useful for bridal trousseau, embroidered sarees (traditional dress of Indian women), bedsheets, cushions, wallhangings and table mats.

The Indian shoes were first designed 400 years ago and were called jooti or nagra. Even today, they retain the first position in the world when it comes to the best fashioned footwear. The Indian embroidered shoe is generally made of plain upper leather and the shoe takes the shape of the wearers foot. Have a look at the beaded And embroidered handcrafted leather slippers beside this post which is worn by women. This is studded with beads and the upper portion of the shoe is embroidered with silk thread and decorated with Khasida embroidery. This is generally used as casual wear. You have other varieties of Indian footwear which are adorned with appliqué and bead work. Dying in various colors or fixing brass eyelets has been another way of decorating jooties.

I am doing an analysis of flip flops and footwear of unique varieties and if you have come across anything interesting, do let me know through the contact form below. That would be helpful. Thanks.

Cutwork embroidery designs are most of the times invisible - yes you heard it right - Invisible. This technique originated by initially embroidering the design, then cutting out pieces of excess cloth and finally finishing the edges with different stitches or connecting bars of thread in a creative manner to give the end result a beautiful look. Cutwork can be placed on apparels, handkerchiefs, bedsheets, curtains, pillow covers - you name it. Even as you are reading this, there would be a cutwork design somewhere around you but not noticeable. If you remember, I had mentioned about the Lucknowi Chikan work at Indian embroidery designs. The cutwork resource - LaceFairy - has designs that look similar to those patterns, but the style and technique of stitching is quite different from Indian. The Spanish cutwork is distinguished by it’s hemmed satin stitch edges and the Venetian cutwork is characterised by its thick buttonhole stitches. We also have the Moorish Cutwork with colorful filings of silk and gold with gold embroidered cords forming loops and the Hedebo category which are essentially Danish cutwork with satin stitches which include fillings of wheels, triangles and ladders. But the one that stands out over the rest and which has been displayed next to this post is the Broderie Anglaise, which is a Whitework technique and uses the presence of eyelet holes of various shapes and sizes amidst floral embroidery designs to give the motif a stunning look! This is indeed a time consuming and complex work involving hours of involvement of the designer. You might be interested in knowing more about other forms of hand embroidery.