COLLOQUIUM PAPER

CHIKAN EMBROIDERY

SUBMITTED BY:
IVANSHI SRIVASTAVA
F&LA 7
ROLL NO.: 13
Ivanshi Srivastava
Chikan Embroidery

Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, is the centre of chikan embroidery, renowned
for its timeless grace and delicacy, a skill more than 200 years old exploited,
commercialised but not dead. In fact, the craft is alive and struggling to regain some
of its former beauty and elegance. Chikan embroidery is done on fine cotton fabric.
The garments are first stitched and then embroidered, whereas skirts, saris, and table
linen are first embroidered and then finished. A study of the origin of chikan reveals
that this form of embroidery had come to India from Persia with Nur Jahan, the queen
of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir.

History of Chikankari
Chikankari is an ancient from of white floral embroidery, intricately worked with
needle and raw thread. Its delicacy is mesmerising. For centuries, this fine white
embroidery on transparent white fabric has delighted the heart of king and commoners
alike. It is centred mainly in the northern India, namely Lucknow, the capital of a
large state, Uttar Pradesh. It has survived the loss of royal patronage, suffered deeply
at the hands of commercialization, lost its way sometimes in mediocrity and yet
stayed alive, is a tribute to the skill and will of the crafts persons who have handed
down this technique from generations.
The origin of chikan are shrouded in mystery and legend. Some historians opine, that
chikan is a Persian craft, brought to the Mughal Court of the Emperor Jahangir by his
beautiful and talented wife Nur Jahan. The queen was a talented embroiderer and she
so pleased the king with this art of white floral embroidery that it was soon given
recognition and royal patronage. Workshops were established wherein this
embroidery was practiced and perfected.
The word 'chikan’ is probably a derivative from the Persian word ‘chikin’ or 'chikeen'
which means a kind of embroidered fabric. In all probability the word chikan is used
for the white floral embroidery that Nur Jahan brought with her from Persia. This
form of embroidery became very popular with the king and his nobles and was
embroidered on the finest cloth.
There are some very fine Mughal miniatures that depict the Emperor Jahangir in
white flowing muslim garments. Historians believe this could be chikan. After the
decline and fall of the Mughal court, the artisans and craftsmen scattered across the
India. Some settled in west Bengal, so for some time chikan flourished in Calcutta,
though it is no longer practiced there. Some fled to the Northern state of Awadh and
settled in the royal courts of the descendents of Burhan - ul - Mulk a Persian
nobleman, who had found favour with the last Mughal king, Bahadur Shah Jafar and
was appointed as the governor of Awadh.
The craft flourished under the Nawabi influence. The ladies of the harem competed
with each other in making white embroidered caps for the Nawabs in order to be
noticed and favoured. Earlier garments were so fragile that they had to be discarded
after a few washes --this explains why early samples of chikan garments are not
available. With the British influence, designs became more formal and items other
than ethnic apparel began to be created. This brought a formalisation of designs to a
large extent, which resulted in an export market. These items found a place in the
prestigious homes in Europe and England, specimens of which are still available. The
bel or creeper was the most commonly used design, individual motifs or butis of
animals and flowers were also made. Fish (mahi) was a very common motif in
Lucknow and used widely because it was the emblem of the Court of Awadh.

The design to be embroidered is printed on the fabric with wooden blocks, using
fugitive colours, which are commonly made by mixing a glue and indigo with water.
For extra fine designs, brass-blocks are sometimes used.
In chikan, the needle is held in the right hand while inserting it into the fabric, the left
hand supports and controls the thread so that the stitches take the right shape. In
traditional chikan no frames were used, the portion of the cloth to be embroidered is
placed over the index finger of the left hand, supported by the rest of the fingers,
leaving the thumb free. The needle is pulled away from the embroiderer who starts
from the nearest end and finished at the farthest end.
There is a discipline and method in the application of the stitches. The darn stitch is
worked on rough cotton fabric to fill angular designs and to cover the surface of the
fabric, while satin stitching is done exclusively on delicate fabrics like silk, muslin, or
linen. In chikan some stitches 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 particular purpose are used only for that purpose --- they
are not replaced by other stiches. For example, the chain stitch (zanjeera) will only be
used for the final outline of a leaf, petal, or stem.
Different specialists work with different types of stitches. For example, open work or
jaali is not done by embroiderers who do the filling work - each worker completes
his/her bit and the fabric is then sent to the next embroiderer. The wages for each job
are fixed separately.
Chikan embroidery has a repertoire of about 40 stitches of which about 30 are still
being used. These can be broadly divided into 3 heads - flat stitches, raised and
embossed stitches, and the open trellis-like jaali work. Some of these have equivalents
in other embroideries, the rest are manipulations that make them distinctive and
unique. They cover almost all the embroidery stitches of the country and have
interesting and descriptive names.

Fine Art of Chikan Embroidery

Originally embroidery was done on white tanjeb; the muslin from Dacca, using only
white untwisted cotton or some times tussar silk for embroidery. A large number of
men were practising this art of embroidery since nineteenth century. Trade is now
predominantly practiced by woman in Lucknow and adjoining villages. Some of the
popular motifs are: Kairi (mango motif, generally made using taipchi stitch ); dhaniya
patti (corriander leaf); phanda is made and a straight stitch is done to make the base of
the stem; dhum patti (leaf pattern made of cross-stitch); ghas patti (grass leaves V-
shaped line of stitches worked in a graduated series); murri (grain motif - diagonal
stitches are worked several times on a basic stitch to form a grain shape); kangan
(bracelet-made by combination ofkeel, murri andjali stitch);joda murri (pair of
grains);maharaki (close button hole is done around a hole, and finished with murri);
sadi-maharaki (no hole is made, the part made in the centre is finishedwith tapichi and
murri); daraz/katub (two fabrics are overlapped, stitched and extra fabric is cut, the
cutting is called katub); pechani (taipchi stitch is covered by entwining the thread over
it in a regular manner to provide the effect of a lever spring); tanjire (for lining the
motif, looks like a chain); gitti (circle is formed with minute hole in centre); phanda
(single chain is made, then on its top 3-4 similar chains); keel (first phanda is formed
then the needle is inserted over and over the chain stitch to form a keel); kangira
(seam allowance of fabric is folded such that triangles are formed on the wrong side
of the fabric).

The main flat stitches with their traditional names are:

Taipchi: Running stitch worked on the right side of the fabric. It is occasionally done
within parallel rows to fill petals and leaves in a motif, called ghaspatti. Sometimes
taipchi is used to make the bel buti all over the fabric. This is the simplest chikan
stitch and often serves as a basis for further embellishment. It resembles jamdani and
is considered the cheapest and the quickest stitch.

Pechni: Taipchi is sometime used as a base for working other variations and pechni is
one of them. Here the taipchi is covered by entwining the thread over it in a regular
manner to provide the effect of something like a lever spring and is always done on
the right side on the cloth.
Pashni: Taipchi is worked to outline a motif and then covered with minute vertical
satin stitches over about two threads and is used for fine finish on the inside of badla.
Bakhia: It is the most common stitch and is often referred to as shadow work. It is of
two types:

(a) Ulta Bakhia: The floats lie on the reverse of the fabric underneath the motif. The
transparent muslin becomes opaque and provides a beautiful effect of light and shade.

(b) Sidhi Bakhia: Satin stitch with criss-crossing of individual threads. The floats of
thread lie on the surface of the fabric. This is used to fill the forms and there is no
light or shade effect.

Khatao, khatava or katava is cutwork or appliqu? - more a technique than a stitch.

Gitti: A combination of buttonhole and long satin stitch, usually used to make a
wheel-like motif .

Jangira: Chain stitch usually used as outlines in combination with a line of pechni or
thick taipchi.

The bolder or knottier stitches include the following:

Murri: A very minute satin stitch in which a knot is formed over already outlined
taipchi stitches.

Phanda: It is a smaller shortened form of murri. The knots are spherical and very
small, not pear shaped as in murri. This is a difficult stitch and requires very good
craftsmanship.

Jaalis: The jaalis or trellises that are created in chikankari are a unique speciality of
this craft. The holes are made by manipulation of the needle without cutting or
drawing of thread. The threads of the fabric are teased apart to make neat regular
holes or jaalis. In other centres where jaalis are done, the threads have to be drawn
out. In chikankari, this is not the case. Names of jaali techniques suggest the place
where they originated from --- Madrasi jaali or Bengali jaali ---- or possibly the place
of demand for that particular jaali. The basic manner in which jaalis are created is by
pushing aside wrap and weft threads in a fashion that minute openings are made in the
cloth. Shape of openings and the stitches used distinguish one jaali from another.

The source of most of the design motifs in chikankari is Mughal. Noor Jehan's
personal preferences and desire to replicate the Turkish architectural open-work
designs is said to have that led to the introduction of jaalis in chikan embroidery. The
designs in chikan are graded and used according to the stitches employed - murri ka
buta and tepchi ka jaal --- though terms like hathi (elephant) and kairi (mango) are
also used to signify the shape of the motif. It is however the stitch employed that is
the established nomenclature.
The production process of a chikan garment, assuming it is a kurta, goes through
several processes. In each process a different person is involved. The final
responsibility is, however, that of the person ordering the manufacture, who is also
usually the seller. Chikan work involves several stages. The fabric is cut by the tailor
into the required garment shape, after which the basic pre-embroidery stitching is
done so that the correct shape is available to the block-printer to plan the placement of
the design. The design is printed on the semi-stitched garment with fugitive colours,
and the embroidery of the garment is then begun. After completion, the article is
checked carefully since most defects can be detected at first glance. However, the
finer flaws surface only after washing. The washing is done in a bhatti, after which
the garment is then starched and ironed. The whole cycle can take from one to six
months. Earlier, chikan embroidery was done with white thread on soft, white cotton
fabric like muslin or cambric. It was sometimes done on net to produce a kind of lace.
Today chikan work is not only done with coloured threads but on all kinds of fabrics
like silk, crepe, organdie chiffon, and tassar.

Fine Art of Chikan Embroidery

Originally embroidery was done on white tanjeb; the muslin from Dacca, using only
white untwisted cotton or some times tussar silk for embroidery. A large number of
men were practising this art of embroidery since nineteenth century. Trade is now
predominantly practiced by woman in Lucknow and adjoining villages. Some of the
popular motifs are: Kairi (mango motif, generally made using taipchi stitch ); dhaniya
patti (corriander leaf); phanda is made and a straight stitch is done to make the base of
the stem; dhum patti (leaf pattern made of cross-stitch); ghas patti (grass leaves V-
shaped line of stitches worked in a graduated series); murri (grain motif - diagonal
stitches are worked several times on a basic stitch to form a grain shape); kangan
(bracelet-made by combination ofkeel, murri andjali stitch);joda murri (pair of
grains);maharaki (close button hole is done around a hole, and finished with murri);
sadi-maharaki (no hole is made, the part made in the centre is finishedwith tapichi and
murri); daraz/katub (two fabrics are overlapped, stitched and extra fabric is cut, the
cutting is called katub); pechani (taipchi stitch is covered by entwining the thread over
it in a regular manner to provide the effect of a lever spring); tanjire (for lining the
motif, looks like a chain); gitti (circle is formed with minute hole in centre); phanda
(single chain is made, then on its top 3-4 similar chains); keel (first phanda is formed
then the needle is inserted over and over the chain stitch to form a keel); kangira
(seam allowance of fabric is folded such that triangles are formed on the wrong side
of the fabric).
BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Indian Handicrafts
• Hand Embroidery by Sheila Paine
• Wikipedia