Chikankari Embroidery

An ancient special art form called Chikankari Embroidery creates intricate hand embroidered designs. Believed to be more than four centuries old, the technique was created during an empiric period where embellishing fabrics into exquisite artworks flourished.

Our Chikankar artisans live in Lucknow, where Chikankari is a specialty of that region. It takes a Chikankar a decade to learn and train alone. To finish a panel of work on a single item takes approximately 15 days. Due to the work involved, each of our Chikankari pieces are custom made.

The process begins with a printing of the intended design onto fabric panels using washable ink.

Three to four women then execute the embroidery by hand. Once embroidered, the panels are sent to us and the items are then individually cut and sewn. Once completed, the item is shipped carefully to its recipient. 

Pictured below is a type of stitch called Faggoting where fabric threads are carefully counted and the stitch is every stitch is worked over one row which results in a reversible stitch pattern.The resulting stitches produce an elastic fabric that resembles netting. On the backside of the fabric, you can see the evidenced hand-work of all of the knotted threads.

Pictured are two special pieces below. View our Chikankari Embroidery collection here. You may also check out our Kabir Embroidered Shirt.