Chikankari is the white on white embroidery of Lucknow, stitched by hand on fine cloth for over four hundred years. Every piece we make is embroidered entirely by hand by karigars in and around the old city.
How a piece is made
A pattern is carved into a wooden block and pressed onto the cloth in a blue that washes away. A karigar follows that blue line with a needle, sometimes for weeks, using stitches with names like tepchi, bakhiya, phanda and jaali. The piece is then washed, the blue disappears, and only the thread remains.
Why it takes time
Nothing is printed and nothing is machine made. Turn any of our pieces over and you will see the small knots and travelling threads that only a hand leaves behind. That is the honest side of chikankari, and the reason every piece is made in small numbered editions.