Fabrics of India

Crazy things are happening to us -- some good and some very bad. Which has forced us to take a hiatus. During this time we will share some interesting facts and events happening around the city. Till then keep us in your prayers, we should be back early next month.

Recently we visited:
Event: The Paramparik Karigar Textile Exhibition
Date: Till October 16th, 2010
Venue: Coomaraswamy Hall in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya aka The Prince of Wales Museum at Kala Ghoda.
Why should you attend: The exhibition has a varied range of fabrics from all over India, which made us realise how rich and colourful Indian culture and fashion is.

Badhini/Bandhani
  •  The term bandhini derives its name from the Hindi word Bandhan which means tying up.
•   Legend has it that the work of bandhej was initiated exclusively by the Muslim Khatri community of Kutchh and then moved on to other part of Gujrat and Rajasthan.
•    The bandhini work involves tying and dyeing of pieces of cotton or silk cloth. The main colours used in Bandhani are yellow, red, green and black and are all natural.

Ikat
•    Ikat or Bandha originated from Orissa. It is a woven, blurred, and gem-coloured with unique motifs in silk and cotton. 

•    The dominant motifs in this craft include animals and birds, with the traditional designs being fish and conch shell. As the design-type is single – ikat -- the designs on the material are blurred.

•    Ikat fabrics have seen on the international runway shows of designers like Pollini and Oscar de la Renta

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Phulkari

•    The art of phulkari originated in Punjab. The word literally means flowering and is a form of craft in which embroidery is done in a simple and sparse design over shawls and dupattas.
•    It is the skilful manipulation of this single stitch that lends an interesting and characteristic dimension to this needlework. The smaller the stitch, the finer the embroidery.
•    Phulkari designs are inspired by various day to day items:
Surajmukhi (sunflower) is in brilliant yellow, which creates a stunning effect.
Mirchi, as the name suggests, has chilies in red, orange or green usually on brown.
Belan and parantha symbolise the rolling pin and leavened bread.
Ikka or ace of diamonds has been inspired by playing cards.

Information courtesy:

http://www.craftandartisans.com/

http://indianetzone.com/

http://www.india-crafts.com/