Dokra or Dhokra Jewellery

This is an art of metal practiced by tribals of west Bengal and Orissa. The metal used is usually brass. The technique is basically a low wax casting. This technique is ages old going back to the Indus Valley Civilization.

The name for this technique comes from the Dhokra Damar Tribes in the regions of Orissa. In this technique, the core is developed using clay or wax. Then it is covered with wax and the figure is engraved on it and then covered with layer after layer of clay.

The molten metal is then poured. The wax gets melted and then comes out from the holes meant for this purpose. 

New Book - Who is Mangalgiri- Essential Fabric Knowledge for Merchandisers

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I take it a great pleasure to announce the arrival of my new book on Kindle. I am getting recurrent queries from readers who want the basic textile knowledge. I have conducted several sessions with store managers, buyers and merchandisers, who wished to have some basic book explaining all the relevant terms related to fabrics. I myself have struggled a lot when buying fabrics, as the terminologies are very different than those taught in textbooks of textile technology. 

It is said that merchandising is all about merchandise and the “ing” part is “right time, right place, and right cost. Thus It seems imperative that the merchandisers in the apparel trade should know about the merchandise, the building block of apparels, the fabrics.

This book is aimed at the industry professionals who are in this trade but are from a non-textile background and who want to know about fabrics. However this is equally useful for managers who are new in this trade and textile enthusiasts. 

Most of the other books dealing with fabrics are written in complex language and give more than necessary information about fabrics. In the process they go sometimes too technical and difficult to read. This book is an attempt to bridge the gap and help even novice to learn the tricks of trade very easily.

Every chapter starts with a day in the life of a merchandiser and these situations are used in this book to help learning, situations that the merchandisers learn in this trade day-in and day-out.

Special emphasis is made to cover Indian ethnic and Indian common fabrics, these are not found anywhere in this context. These fabrics have their own peculiar characteristics which make them unique to define.

I hope this book will fill a void which was long awaited to be filled.

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Phoolpatti (Phulpatti) Work of Aligarh

In Phool Patti work, flower and leaf patterns are applied using cloth as patch work. Here small pieces of fabric are cut into different sizes and shapes. These are then folded and made into various petals and leaves. Finally they are stitched into the fabric with a hemstitch.

Fabrics like organdy, organza, kota and voile are used as the base and figures. Gold and Silver shimmer fabrics are also used for applique.

For stitching, machine threads are used, for ornamentation, Anchor threads are used. Badlas and Mukaish are also used sometimes to have some glitter.

Different shapes of leaves such as Badi patti, Dil Key phool ( Heart Shaped flowers), Gol patti or choti patti are used. 

Pipli Applique

Applique is the application of the patch work on a base cloth. Orissa is known for its applique work. Previously this wok was carried out by professional tailors or "darjis". Later on the applique work was taken to Puri where it is used as canopy and flags along with other decorative work.

Any applique has a foundation on three elements: stitches, stripes and patchwork. Stitches are used to attach the stripes ( or patches) on the foundation fabric so as to create the patchwork, which is described in terms of various motifs.

The most common stitch in the applique is the chain stitch. Various stripes such as Phula patti or Sadha patti are used to create motifs. Motifs can be animals, fish, flowers, birds or trees.

Over time their have been changes in the craft. Various modern articles such as bags and kushan covers have been done in this craft. There is a very good demand of these products in the Indian and International markets.

References