Dyeing and embroidery traditions

Dyeing. Until the middle of the 19th century, all dyes came from natural sources: mostly plants (roots, bark, leaves, flowers, seeds), and some insects and minerals. Old samples show that Indian dyers had a deep knowledge of the chemistry of dyes.

Resist dyeing is the oldest way of making designs with colour: parts of the cloth are protected from the dye (with tightly wound thread, pieces of cloth, or clay or wax), so they keep the base colour. The process can be repeated, always going from light to dark colours. Tie-dyed cloth has ritual meaning: it is considered auspicious for weddings, used for brides' dresses and men's turbans.

Fabric tie and dye (pattern made after weaving) is the speciality of Gujarat and Rajasthan:

• Bandhani or bandhej: patterns of countless tiny dots.
• Chunari: tie-dyed veils and dupattas.
• Laheria: diagonal stripes, like waves.

Yarn tie and dye, called ikat, is more complicated: the yarns are tie-dyed before weaving, so the pattern appears as the cloth is woven. The weaver must calculate exactly so that dyed sections line up.

• Single ikat: only the warp or only the weft is tie-dyed.
• Combined ikat: both are tie-dyed, each making its own pattern.
• Double ikat: both are tie-dyed to form one unified pattern.
• Patola of Patan (Gujarat) is a colourful double ikat silk sari, with geometric, floral, bird, animal and dancing-doll designs whose colours flow softly into each other.
• Odisha's bandha (single or combined ikat) has softer, curving designs.
• Pochampalli and Chirala (Andhra Pradesh) make cotton ikat telia rumals, square cloths once used as lungis by fishermen and, in finer qualities, as dupattas.

Embroidery, 'painting with a needle', decorates fabric with threads of silk, cotton, gold or silver. In India it was done at every social level, from nomadic herders to royal households; on every fabric, from coarse cotton and camel wool to the finest silk and pashmina; with mirrors, cowrie shells, beads, gems and coins; and on clothing, household items, temple offerings and even decorations for cattle. Mostly a home craft by women, some styles became important trades:

• Phulkari (Punjab): 'flower work' in untwisted silk floss (pat) on coarse cotton khaddar. Heavily embroidered baghs ('gardens') cover the cloth completely and were made by grandmothers for weddings.
• Kasuti (Karnataka): the most subtle embroidery, its stitches following the weave of the silk fabric, with motifs from temple architecture.
• Kantha (Bengal): running stitches through 3 or 4 layers of old saris or dhotis, like quilting, often with threads pulled from old sari borders.
• Kashida (Kashmir): on woollens, from fine shawls to pherans and namda rugs. Suzani uses flat stitches that look the same on both sides; zalakdozi is chain stitch made with a hooked tool, the ari. It is a commercial craft done mainly by men.
• Chikankari (Lucknow): traditionally white thread on white cloth, with shadow work, net-like effects and raised knots like grains of rice; commercialised early, its designs change with fashion.
• Gujarat: richly coloured tribal embroideries (Rabari, Mochi, Kanbi, Mahajan, Sindhi styles) on torans, wall hangings, garments and animal trappings; appliqué patchwork; and the bead work of Saurashtra and Kutch.
• Chamba rumals (Himachal Pradesh): cloths for covering gifts, showing mythological scenes like Pahadi paintings, at their best the same on both sides.

Through invasions, migrations and trade, these traditions blended and enriched each other. Almost all have survived; today government and non-government organisations, designers and academic institutions are working to preserve, revive and adapt them for contemporary use.