Chamba Rumal

Chamba Rumal

Chamba Rumal is the embroidery work on a square format. The size can be as small as a handkerchief to as large as bed sheets. 

Fabric chosen is either Khaddar or Malmal. 

The figures are filled with untwisted silk floss which is also know as pat. 

This is also called Chamba Kashidakari or "Do-Rukha" embroidery. 

Chamba Rumals are embroidered with the technique of double satin stitch known as "Do-Rukha Tanka". The stitch is carried forward and backward alternately and both sides of the cloth are stiched simultaneously so that the space on both sides look equally effective and identical in content.

The outline is marked in danditanka a stem stich or chain stitch with knot after each stitch. 

No chamba rumal is done in single color. 

From the early eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth, Chamba and its neighbouring hill states such as Kangra and Basohli, formed the nucleus of rumal production, which was embroidery work on thin unbleached muslin ( malmal) of great charm and simplicity. Rumal means cover or Kerchief, and these square shaped textiles were used mainly as a covering for gifts. When an offering was made to temple gods or gifts exchanged between the families of bride and grooms, an embroidered rumal was always used as wrappings. Chamba rumals were also used in temples as a backdrop to , or canopy for deity.

Motif generally comprises of a floral border whcih enclosed a finely drawn religious scene set against a clear, unembellished and unembroidered background. The designs are initially drawn out in Charcoal and featured scenes from Krishna's life and other mythological episodes, which are surrounded by clusters of willow and cypress trees and running animals such as tigers, horse and deer.

Chamba rumals are embroidered in silks of soft colours, using a double darning or double satin stitch stitch, so that an identical design appeared evenly on both sides of the cloth, and double running stitch  or danditanka is used for outlines and details.

An excellent article on the process is found here. 

Baluchari Sari

Baluchari Sari

It is a popular ninteenth centruy figured silk saree. It is an elaborately woven brocade known to have been made during 1850-1900 in the village surrounding Baluchar (Murshidabad Distt.)

Baluchar Sarees are similar in appearance and in weaving techniques to many Banaras Brocades although they never contain Zari threads, only silk. They have intricate supplementary weft or warp borders and end pieces created in untwisted silk threads of colors that contrast with the ground, with elaborate floral borders. The figures are commonly involved in such activities as smoking a hooka, riding a train, or smelling a flower, and are often dressed in Mughal style or European cloths, the grounds of these saris are generally dark with purple, dark brown and red being common, while the wide range of colors found in the supplementary threads are always light, such as white, yellow orange of pink

The Bengali Saris are created on draw looms, which contains a complicated mechanism for weaving multi-warp and multi-weft figured textiles.

Material is used as silk. The dimensions for a Baluchar Sari are in Cm (length=558, width=112, ends per cm=38, picks per cm =35)

This is an amazing video on the Baluchar Silks

tanchoi

This is a figured silk in which a densly patterned heavy fabric is created that has no floats on the reverse. The unused threads are woven into the foundation at the back. Traditionally, the face of the fabric has a satin weave ground ( warp threads) with small patterns made by the weft threads repeated over the entire surface.

The supplementary weft patterning of these brocades is woven in silk. The threads may be either untwiste, giving a 'thick' line to the woven design or they may be made of twisted yarns that produce a finer, denser pattern.

Tanchoi brocades originated from China, initially being part of nineteenth century Parsi trade between India, China and England.

Dimensions for a Banaras 5 colored tanchoi silk may be length 559 cm, width 117 cm, warp count may be 109/cm and weft count as 132/cm.

Phulkari

Phulkari

The rich agricultural states of Punjab and Haryana are famous for the "phulkari" (flower work) shawls that were worn with choli and gaghra . It formed the traditional costme of rural women of this regioin. It was a costume both spectular and eminently practical. Phulkaris were made for every day wear. Usually the border and field of the shawls were not so densly embroidered. Phulkaris were made for family use, or as gifts, very rarely were they made for sale.

Motifs of flowers, birds and human figures were embroidered in soft untwisted silk in combinations of gold, yellow, white, organge or red, on a ground that was usually a brick red color, but could sometimes be black or white. Although designs on phulkaris were often figurative, motifs and scenes from daily life-houses, temples, flowers, animals, wedding rituals and processions were used. Images of vegetables and flowers, wheat and barley stalks, the sun, moon, trees and rivers, mughal gardens, kites and even playing cards were stitched on phulkaris.

the embroidery was worked in silk thread from Kashmir, Afghanistan or Bengal, although the best quality silk was Chinese. the yarn was worked on a coarse handmade cloth known as Khaddar, which was produced in the village by local Jullaha. Three of these pieces would be joined together to form a phulkari. Khaddar was locally available cheap, hard wearing, and more importantly, it was preferred to mill made cloth as its coarse weave facilitated the counting of threads necessary for phulkari work.

The design was embroidered from the reverse side using darning stitches over counted threads. Only one thread was taken up with each pick of the needle, leaving a long stitch below to form the pattern. Stitching ran in both horizontal and vertical directions in order to give a variation in texture. In addition to darning stitch, double running stitch or chain stitch is used to form the outline of figures of birds, animals and humans, which were then filled in with darning and satin stitch. Satin or stem stitch was used on phulkari. Borders and blanket stitch or button hole stitch was used for finishing off the edges.