Embroideries of India

In different parts of India, people use many kinds of stitches — not just to join cloth, but to decorate it beautifully too. Decorating cloth with stitches is called embroidery. Each kind tells a story of a place, its people and their tradition.

Here is your book's table of embroideries and where each began. Chikan, or Chikankari, comes from Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh. Banjara comes from Rajasthan, and so does Gota. Kantha comes from eastern states: West Bengal, Odisha and Tripura.

Phulkari comes from Punjab. Toda comes from Tamil Nadu. Kashmiri embroidery comes from Kashmir. Khneng embroidery comes from Meghalaya.

Your book also tells us about Bandhani. It is a kind of tie-dye: small parts of the cloth are tied tightly with thread, and then the cloth is dyed, making dots, circles and patterns. It is done by hand, using just fingers and thread.