CHIKANKARI EMBROIDERY 

Chikankari is the embroidery work done with the white cotton thread on fine white cotton material.
Chikankari is also called as shadow work. The word 'Chikan' is basically derived from Persian word
'Chikeen'. In earlier days, the chikankari embroidery was traditionally done on mulmul- fine muslin
cotton. Due to non-availability of mulmul, now-a-days this work is done on cotton, wool, chiffon,
crepe, organde chiffon and silk clothes using contrast colour threads. The origin of chikankari is
initiated by the influence of intricate carving patterns of Mughal architecture during their period.
The chikan work in Lucknow is older than 200 years and later it is patronized by Nawabs. There are
5000 families involved in chikankari embroidery around villages of Lucknow. The artisans belong to
local muslim community. Nearly 90% of chikankari work is done by women professionally. Delhi,
Mumbai are the other centers for chikankari work. [ CITATION Uts16 \l 16393 ]

Figure 1 Chikankari work Figure 2 Chikankari work

ORIGIN AND HISTORY

The art of chikan embroidery in India is about 400 years old and this is a Persian Craft, which came
to India with Noorjahan, the queen of Jahangeer the Mughal Emperor. At that time it was designed
and practiced by her and other begams (wives) of Mughal Emperors. Chikankari flourished under
the patronage of the rulers of Awadh. Later when the capital of Awadh shifted to Lucknow from
Faizabad, in the year 1722, the knowledge of the craft came to Lucknow. It is informed that here
the Mughals found the Hand Block Printing skills that made it easier for them to practice this
embroidery, as earlier the tracing of design was very difficult. This availability of easy process of
drawing of base design encouraged them to teach this fine embroidery-work to their servants who
in turn taught it to their other family members and gradually this embroidery become a part time
earning source of many women of rural areas. The craft of Chikankari is quite distinctive and forms
an integral part of life in Lucknow. The fine needlework adorned the garments made from gossamer
silk fabrics and muslin for the ruling elite. The love and hard work of the artisans created delicate
designs on fabrics that were reminiscent of sheer grace.

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SOURCES OF INSPIRATION
Due to the strong influence of Persian aesthetics on this craft, flowers have been a staple
in chikankari designs. The types of flowers (including their stems, buti, leaves) as well as their
stylizations have varied throughout time to keep up with fashion trends, but in general have
remained fairly intricate and delicate.[ CITATION Uts16 \l 16393 ]

CHIKANKARI ARTISANS
Since its conception, chikankari has been inspired by the intricate and beautiful patterns and the
linings on the marble jaali found during the Mughal era architecture. The Nawabs had their own
personal artisans and their families trained to design chikan Embroidery garments that suited the
royal stature. With utmost devotion and passion for their masters, these artisans worked on
angarkha and topi-palla creating delicate hand embroidery that was unmatched in style and charm.
With time however, the encouragement and the patronage gradually diminished and these artisans
were forced to look for other means of employment. With this, the art of chikankari was passed on
to the women of their community and till today, Lucknow chikan is the main source of income for
the Muslim women in and around the rural areas of Lucknow city. With around 2.5 lakh artisans
presently in the business, chikan Embroidery is by far the largest cluster of artisans in India.
Workers from the stitching block printing, cutting, washing, jaali work and textile printing also form
a part of this diverse cluster with all of them residing in or around Lucknow. It is surprising that this
beautiful craft of hand embroidery manufactured by hand within the 125 km radius of Lucknow and
adjoining districts. The districts covered are Unnao, Barabanki, Lakhimpur, Hardoi etc. Some other
villages where one can find few artisans of chikankari are in Raibareilly, Sultanpur and Faizabad. The
women are mostly housewives and in most cases this work is their only source of personal income.
chikan embroidery not only provides employment to about 250,000 artisans of different crafts, but
people from non-craft base also earn their livelihood by associating themselves with this craft.
Expected number of non-artisans earning their bread and butter from this craft is about one million.
They may be contractors, manufacturers, retailers, raw material providers or employees with
manufacturers. [ CITATION Ast15 \l 16393 ]

MARKET SCENARIO : FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR INCREASE IN DEMAND

 Large domestic market as well as increase in export opportunity

 High competitions among manufacturers
 Variety in availability of raw material
 Availability of designer work catalogue
 Garments are available in all price ranges
 Government support for promotion of craft

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 STYLE & VARIETY
Originally Chikan work was done on Muslin or sheer cotton cloth with white thread. Over time,
more colours have been incorporated including pastels and fluorescents. The fabrics used for this
craft must be soft as hand stitching is required. They include: Silk, Chiffon, Georgette, Net, Voile,
Kota, Doriya, Organza, Cotton and faux fabrics.

There is a huge variety of garments for men as well as women which includes long and
short kurtas, tunics, sarees, Anarkalis, palazzos and Capri pants to a range of accessories such as
shoes, bags, belts, lamp shades, table cloths and cushion covers. [ CITATION Ast15 \l 16393 ]

TOOLS AND RAW MATERIALS

LIST OF TOOLS
• Sui- needle is the important tool which plays a major role in chikankari work.
• A circular shaped frame is used to hold the cloth as it obtains tautness. These frames are made
with cloth as well as wood as per the need.
• Wooden blocks are used to print the design on plain cloth.
• A rectangular wooden table used as support during printing process.
• Containers are used while washing the cloth after completion of stitching work.

RAW MATERIALS
• Types of fabrics like cotton, silk, chiffon, crepe, georgette, wool, orange chiffon are used to do the
embroidery work.
• Cotton thread is traditionally used to create the design patterns over the cloth.
• Golden zari, silver zari, wool are the types of threads also used to do the Chikankari embroidery.
• Indigo colour used in printing process.
• River water used to wash the clothes to clear the printing marks.
• Starch is used to obtain the stiffness for cotton clothes.

Figure 3 Different colours of silk threads Figure 1 Cloth frame, scissors and needle

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 Figure 2 Wooden Block used to print the big Buti

Figure 3 Indigo color used for printing

Figure 4 Block used to print borders

Figure 5 Big rectangular block used to print the series patterns

Figure 6 Plane cotton cloth used as basic raw material

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 MAKING PROCESS
Stages involved in making process are:
1. Block Printing
2. Embroidery work
3. Washing

BLOCK PRINTING - The wooden block is dipped in the color solution which is made by mixing glue
and indigo. Then it is printed on the fabric. There will be different blocks for butis, floral patterns
and borders.

Figure 7 the design to be stitched is block printed Figure 8 Separate blocks are used to create type of

motif work

EMBROIDERY WORK - The embroidery is done over the printed design pattern using needle and
thread. The artisan creates traditional patterns using different techniques. Different types of
stitches can be made in one product.

Figure 9 Polyester and resham (silk) threads for embroidery Figure 10 A lady sorting the embroidery threads

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Figure 11 Printed fabric being fitted into the frame Figure 12 Ulti-bakhiya stitch (zig-zag on the front side)

Figure 13 Sequins being stitched on the embroidered fabric Figure 14 Thread-cutting

WASHING - Washing is the final stage of production process. The fabric after embroidery work is
first soaked in water and then washed to remove the block printed blue colour. Then it is starched
and ironed to obtain stiffness. The final product is now ready for the market.

PRODUCTS
Beautiful and intricate designs are created with great artistic skill. The design patterns range from
small butis to elaborate floral motifs. Chikankari embroidery basically done on saris, suits, dress
materials, tops, lahenga, dupattas, sherwanis, chudidaars, salwars and skirts. Now-a-days,
chikankari work is not only restricted to Kurtas and saris it is also done on sofa covers, dining
covers, bed sheets. Most of the design motifs are inspired by flowers, leafs, buds, fruits and stems
of trees. The Jaali work is mainly influenced by Mughal architectures.

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Figure 15 Georgette sari Figure 16 Kurti

Figure 17 Table mat in Chikankari work Figure 18 Table cloth with Crochet work

STITCHES
Chikankari embroidery consists of 40 different types of stiches. Among them, the five basic stiches
are Phanda-small circular dot, Jaali, tepchi-the running stich, murri and bakhia- the most common
and popular stich that gives the shadow effect. Dhoom, Gol-Murri, Janjeera, Keel, Kangan-bangle,
Dhania Patti, Murri lambi -the murri stich ends with sharp point, Karan Phool, Karan, Kapkapi, Bijli,
Ghas Patti, Rozan, Meharki, Kaj, Phool chameli, Chane ki patti, Balda, Jora, Penchni, Kauri. Sidhaul
jaali, Makra, Mandrazi, Bulbul Chashm, Phool Jaali and Tajmahal are the varieties of Jaali work.
Hathkati and bank jaali are the straight line Jaali works. [ CITATION Kum16 \l 16393 ]

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Figure 19 Bakhiya stitch Figure 20 Bakhiya stitch as seen from the back side

Figure 21 Ghass patti stitch Figure 22 Pechani stitch

Figure 23 Phanda and jaal work done on sari Figure 24 Bijli stitch

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ISSUES FACED BY THE ARTISANS

 Highly under-paid
 Middlemen pay less
 No concept of incentives
 Low Standard of living
 Medical issues
 No medical insurance
 Illiteracy
 Unaware of any association where they can register their complaints
 Spare 7-8 hours of time
 Less time is left after completing all the household duties
 No vocational training or skill enhancement training
 No social security

PROBLEMS FACED BY THE ENTREPRENEURS

 A piece takes months to complete

 Chinese chikan
 Activities done in scattered locations
 No awareness campaigns and marketing tools as packaging

IMPACT OF FASHION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF CHIKANKARI

Innovation is basically defined as adding value or new feature to an already existing product. The
feature has to go in for mass production and should increase the product client spectrum. It should
give the product an edge over competitors. Effective innovation provides the solution to meeting
this growth demand. An innovation model provides the conceptual framework for identifying and
advancing the change ideas most likely to generate the value needed to create sustained growth.
Innovation research has come forward with some more models to overcome the deficiencies seen
in the linear model.

These are named as -

 Technology Push
 Market Pull
 The Phase Gate Model

Market Pull Model is more effective which states market need development production sales for
garments which are comfortable and stylish in today’s trends. Chikankari done on Suites, Saries and
Kurta Pajamas have less consumer demand than Kurtis, shot shirts, Formal shirts, Palazzos,
Anarkalies etc. Similarly more than cotton and muslin, georgette, crape, silk, tussars and chiffon are
in demand more as they are easy to wear and maintain. Seeing the need, manufactures developed

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the garments accordingly as well as on textiles in demand in public. More detailing been done on
basic chikanwork in the form of zardozi and crystal work. Items as tablecloth napkins bedspreads
are also being made. Famous designers like Sabyasachi, Ritu Kumar, Manish Malhotra etc have
given chikankari important place in their assembles and shows so it is much more highlighted now a
days.

ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS

 AVAILABILITY OF RAW MATERIAL - The basic raw material for manufacturing of chikan
embroidery products is cloth, which is easily available in India. Availability of various variety
of cloth in the market provides manufacturers with opportunities to produce many varieties
of products.
 SUBCONTRACTING OF PRODUCTION PROCESS - Job workers are hired on per piece basis
who then usually work from their own place and complete all the process of production
such as cutting, stitching, printing, embroidery and washing. Some manufacturers have also
started in-house process of manufacturing.
 NO DESIGN INPUT - Chikan embroidery dresses are now treated as fashion garments but
manufacturers do not use designers for product designing or for development of new
products. Very few i.e. just two or three manufacturers are making use of designers
expertise. All the designing work is carried out by the manufacturer himself, either by
copying designs from fashion catalogues or by ideas imparted by buyers. Lengthy
production time normally about 3-5 months time is required for production of chikan
embroidery products. Sometimes it even extends up to 7-8 months depending on the
intricacy of the design
 NO REGULAR WORK TO ARTISANS - The embroidery artisans are not directly related to the
manufacturers for work. One contractor of the area procures the work from the
manufacturers and distributes it to the artisans. Artisans are dependent on the contractor
who usually exploits them. Artisans do not get regular work and payment from the
contractor.
 VERY LESS WAGES TO ARTISANS - Due to the job distribution by the contractor, the artisans
who are the actual masters of the art do not get their due wages. The normal earning of an
artisan is just Rs. 15/- to 40/- per day. Very few artisans of high skills get Rs. 60/- to Rs. 80/-
per day.
 POOR WORK PLACE CONDITION OF ARTISANS - The workplace conditions of the artisans
are quite poor. Usually they do work at their home along with their regular household work.
 SPECIALIZATION IN PRODUCT MANUFACTURING - In this, usually manufacturer has
specialization in manufacturing one or two products. Some are only manufacturing Ladies
suits while some only produce saris. The manufacturers can also be differentiated as
producers of Low range, Medium range or High range products. [ CITATION Cha17 \l 16393 ]

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ROLES AND INITIATIVE TAKEN BY VARIOUS ORGANISATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT OF CHIKANKARI CLUSTUR

 NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS - There are many NGOs working for welfare of

artisans in the cluster. They are implementing various schemes of Central or State
Government Departments. These NGOs have established Craft Development Centres in the
area, which directly helps the artisans. One very prominent NGO who has done significant
work in field of Chikan Embroidery is SEWA (Self Employed Women's Association).
 DISTRICT INDUSTRIES CENTER (DIC), LUCKNOW - This centre functions under the Director
& Commissioner Industries, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur. It is the main
coordinator between other Government offices and artisans. It recommends names of
enterprises for various exhibitions, bank-financing, State/National Awards for master
craftsmen. It also implements the Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana for benefit of unemployed
persons. The centre also provides Small Scale Handicraft (Chikan) Industry registration to
Manufacturers of the area.
 U P TRADE PROMOTIONS AUTHORITIES KANPUR - It was established under
Commissioner Director of Industries, Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The organization is
making efforts for promotion of trade from UP. It organizes fairs and exhibitions of different
product groups. It is also responsible for setting up the U.P. Pavilion of Pragati Maidan, New
Delhi for advertisement and marketing of products manufactured in the state. It also
participates in international fairs.
 EXPORT PROMOTION BUREAU LUCKNOW - In 1999, the Export Promotion Bureau
was formed under the Ministry of Small Scale Industries in U.P. The main functions of the
bureau are monitoring and policymaking. It also provides Marketing Development
Assistance to small exporters in form of grants under different schemes.
 U.P. TOURISM - The basic aim of this office of the Government of Uttar Pradesh is to
promote tourism of state but it also gives an exposure to the craft and culture of state
through organizing festivals, publicity catalogues and website.
 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS - There are many banks in the area but very negligible
amount has been given as finance to the manufacturers of chikan Embroidery goods. A total
Rs.5 Crores has been financed till now to about 300 manufacturers and that too mainly as a
working capital loan.

CHIKANKARI ETHNIC WEAR IN PRESENT SCENARIO

There are not many styles and trends in fashion that stand out and beat the passage of time.
Popularity of different designs or styles changes from one period to another. The ones prevailing
today will be upgraded and donned in a different manner tomorrow. Every generation adopts its
own fashion in terms of clothing that is related somewhat to the trends of the earlier generation.
This artistry originated as a court art during the Mughal period in the city of Lucknow but even after
centuries chikankari work remains a casual fashion trend as well donned as an ethnic wear by men

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women and kids alike. Not only in India but across the globe in several countries and in
international fashion events, this stunning art of hand embroidery has shown its might. The
embroidery in coloured threads that are contrasting or that bring out the richness of the base
colour of the garment always make heads turn. The different life like patterns and designs and the
intricate details the artists capture in their work is just amazing. The Indian ethnic wear that has
ladies chikan work includes embroidered kurtas, embroidery kurtis clubbed with churidars and
salwar. For ladies chikan sari, chikan suits and chikan salwar kameez form an integral part of
fashion. For men as a casual fashion wear, men’s short kurta are very popular. These can be
accompanied with a nice pair of jeans, shorts or even trousers to give the perfect casual look. When
going out with friends or just to the market. Chikan embroidery for men is not limited to just kurtas.
It is also found on hand embroidery shirts as well. Chikan embroidery finds much likability among
kids these days than ever before. For girls and boys alike, there is such a wide range of collections
of chikan embroidery that are meant for every age group. In the recent years, home decor items
also have seen an increase in the chikan embroidered linens. Hand embroidered bed sheets have
never gone out of fashion. To create an ethnic look and feel for the bedroom, one chooses
embroidered linens. Bed sheets, pillow covers, bedspreads, table runners, curtains, etc., all come in
various embroidered patterns. With embroidery works one has to be careful about the kinds of
colour palette to engage in. Mixing and mashing too many styles of embroidery could be a
catastrophe.

CHANGE IN TRADITIONAL PRACTICE OF SUSTAINABILITY

 Printing done with synthetic indigo and emulsion of synthetic gum

 ‘Gerua’ a natural pigment that comes from earth was used for printing.
 Bleaching was done with Goat dung , Reetha and Rehu (acidic salt extracted from the earth).

DESIGNERS INTERVENTIONS

 Designers like Abu and Sandeep, Manish Malhotra , Ritu kumar, Tarun Tahiliani , Sabyasachi
added a new charm to this elegant embroidery.
 They opened new doors for the embroidery to come out of its restricted technique of
designing and develop a new and contemporary look.
 Introduced designs or motifs having a fashionable touch of value addition like sequins,
mirror work, zardozi etc, to satisfy fashionable crowd.

EXPORT OF CHIKANKARI OUTSIDE INDIA

Chikankari forms an integral part of the Indian ethnic wear. Chikan is adorned equally by both men
and women. Chikan has been accredited as a masterpiece not only in India but in other parts of the
world as well. Chikan embroidery has been famous as Indian embroidery in different countries.
Chikankari has registered and witnessed global acknowledgment and this has proved as a catalyst
for the export of not only embroidered apparel but also embroidered bed sheets, embroidered
table cloth, and embroidered cushion covers. Lucknow is the birthplace as well as the largest

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exporter of this unique hand embroidery. Chikan apparel is a clear indication of the popularity the
Lucknow Chikan has outside the country. MLK Exports is the leading export company that is famous
for exporting product of this Hand Embroidery. Since 1975, this company has exported Chikan
embroidery products like dresses to global brands like Amina (Japan), Fashion Fuse (United States),
Ghora Tabela (Uruguay), Jackpot (Copenhagen), Betina Gers (Argentina), HHG (Spain), Coline
(French), etc. [ CITATION Cha17 \l 16393 ]

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