Guided by :

Chanchal Ma’am

Presented by:
Kinjal Sharma
Nilam Baria
Priyanka Vekariya
Dimpal Vaghadiya
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(FDA Sem-II)
• Brocades of Varanasi
• Cut Work Textiles
• Jamdani Weaving
• Batik on Textiles
• Chikan Embroidery of
Lucknow
• Patch Work Embroidery
• Hand Block Printing
• Zari - Zardozi Embroidery
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• Introduction
• History
• Fabrics
• Colors
• Motifs
• Stitches
• Types and Technique
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• Zari Work: Zari embroidery is the use of thin gold or silver
thread for embroidery work. Surat in Gujarat and Varanasi in
UP are major centers for making the metal thread which is
also known as kalabathi.
• Zardosi: “Zari embroidery is known as Zardosi.”
• The word Zardosi derives from Persian words “Zar” meaning
Gold and “Dosi” meaning Embroidery.
• It uses varieties of metallic spring thread (gold or silver
threads) along with stones, beads, seed pearls, sequins, wire
and gota to embellish the work.
• The original embroidery of Zardozi was done with pure silver
wires coated with real gold, and was known as Kalabatun.
• It is used to embellish wedding outfits, heavy coats, cushions,
curtains, canopies, bags, purses, belts and shoes.
• The main centers are in Lucknow, Banaras, Agra, Delhi, Jaipur,
and Surat. 5
• It is mentioned in Vedic literatures, the Ramayana, and
the Mahabharata.
• The original process, known as “Kalabatun”, used silk
threads wrapped in real gold and silver wires to
decorate satin and velvet fabrics.
• The technique entered in India with Persian invaders,
and attained its peak in the 17th century, under the
patronage of Mughal Emperor Akbar and was used by
the royalty to adorn tent walls in the form of tapestries
and wall hangings, as well as on royal garments and
accessories for elephants and horses.
• Lucknow remained the main center of production due
to the high demand from the city of Nawabs. However,
over time, with the rise of gold and silver prices, the
use of such expensive materials became difficult and
artisans resolved to use synthetic threads or copper
wires polished in gold and silver.
• It is particularly popular in countries like Iran, Pakistan
and India.
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• Fabrics: Heavy Silk, Velvet and Satin
• Colors: It is mainly used on vivid colored Fabric as
the color of Zardosi thread will stand out against
them: like Red, Emerald Green, Navy Blue etc.
• Zardosi work is chiefly used on wedding attire, the
colors used are bright red for marriage ceremony,
maroon, turquoise, royal blue, mauve, pink and
bottle green for a more regal look.
• The overall look is shimmery because of the gold
and silver zari.
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• Flowers, petals, leaves, trees, creepers
• Birds like peacock, parrot and pigeons
• Animals like elephant, deer etc.
• Geometrical

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 3) Twisted stem 4) Padded slanting
1) Straight stitch 2) Stem stitch
stitch stitch

8) Surrounding a
5) Chain stitch 6) Loops 7) Lazy daisy
bead

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 9) Fish bone stitch 10) Filling stitches

• Zardosi is usually done by marking and outline with the zari thread
(diff. stitched are used e.g. chain, stem, running, couching etc.)
and then filling the design with the bullion thread or spring thread.
• Stitches used in Zari are:
Chain: on Saree
Stem & Running: Fine & Net
like fabric
Couching: Cushion covers 10
Two main types of Zardozi work.
 Karchobi
 Kamdani
 Karchobi is distinguished by the density
of its stitches on a heavy base material
such as velvet or satin done with badla.
It is usually seen on garments like coats,
tent coverings, umbrella.
 Kamdani technique is lighter, more
delicate work and it is more
magnificently practiced on finer fabrics
such as muslin and silk. which is more
suitable for costumes and related
accessories such as caps, veils, scarves,
shoes, belts, purses, jewellery etc. 11
The basic technique is 4 steps:
• Designing: Initial stage of the process, where the entire
design is drawn on to a tracing sheet and holes are made
along the traced pattern using a needle. Patterns like floral
and leaf motifs are used.
• Tracing: The papers with the patterns are placed on a flat
table with the fabric underneath. A kerosene and Robin Blue
solution is made and wads of cloth are used to dip in it, which
are then wiped against the tracing sheet. This enables the ink
from the sheet to seep in to the fabric.
• Setting the frame or “Adda”: The design imprinted fabric is
stretched over a wooden frame called adda and stitched onto
frame using thick cotton thread giving it uniform tension. The
artisans then sit around this frame to begin the embroidery
work.
• Embroidery: A crochet-like needle that is fixed to a wooden
stick called “Ari” is used to carry out the embroidery. 12
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The Making of Zardosi Threads:
• The raw material to make original Zardosi threads is an
alloy of gold and silver.
• Silver is converted to bar which is known as Pasa.
• Gold leaf is wrapped around the bar and heated in
furnace till there is fusion of gold leaf with silver bar.
• The bar is pressed through perforated steel sheet called
jantri.
• They are further flattened by hammering and then
converted into wires.
• Resulted fine wire is called as Badla.
• The silver wire is produced by same process without
covering the bar with Gold leaf.
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Badla: Plain flattened metal wire.

Kasab/Kalabattu: When badla wire

wound round a thread, it is called kasab.

Mukaish: Tiny dots made of badla are

called mukaish.
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Sitara / Sequins: Small round metal
piece with hole in centre are
called sitara.

Dabka is a light weight coiled wire

which is soft, flexible, and light both
in weight and colour.

Kora : Heavier form of dabka known

as Kora.

Nakshi is a flat metal wire coiled in

angular way similar to dabka except
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that it is thicker.
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