Some GI Protected Embroidery Products from India

Following products made in embroidery are provided GI protection in India.

Kasuti Embroidery

Kasuti is a traditional form of folk embroidery practiced in the state of Karnataka. Kasuti work which is very intricate sometimes involves putting up to 5,000 stitches by hand and is traditionally made on dresswear like Ilkal sarees, Ravike and Angi or Kurta. The Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation (KHDC) holds a Geographical Indications (GI) protection for Kasuti embroidery which provides Intellectual Property rights on Kasuti to KHDC.

Applique – Khatwa Patch Work of Bihar

Khatwa is the name given to appliqué works in Bihar. And is commonly found on wall hangings, shamianas, and now even on saris, dupattas, cushion covers, table cloths, and curtains. The craft uses waste pieces of cloths as its row material and is usually done with white cloth on bright backgrounds like red or orange. So fine was the work that, in the past, the articles produced were used by kings, emperors, and the nobility.

Sujini Embroidery Work of Bihar

Sujini and Khatwa Embroidery is famous as well as beautiful work of handicraft in Bihar. Traditionally, Sujani is embroided quilt made in Bihar by recycling a number of worn out saris and/or dhotis in a simple running stitch that gave the old cloth a new structure while ornamenting it. Sujani was sometimes stitched in white, red and black, drawn from the borders of old saris. The embroiderers outline and fill motifs in a circular manner with coloured quilting stitches, while covering the background with white stitching. The circular stitching creates a dimensional distortion which renders a unique surface character.

Nakshi Kantha

Nakshi kantha, a type of embroidered quilt, is a centuries-old Bengali art tradition in Bangladesh. The basic material used is thread and old cloth. Kanthas are made throughout Bangladesh, but the greater Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Faridpur and Jessore areas are most famous for this craft. The colourful patterns and designs that are embroidered resulted in the name “Nakshi Kantha”, which was derived from the Bengali word “naksha”, which refers to artistic patterns. The early kanthas had a white background accented with red, blue and black embroidery; later yellow, green, pink and other colours were also included. The running stitch called “kantha stitch” is the main stitch used for the purpose. Traditionally, kantha was produced for the use of the family. Today, after the revival of the nakshi kantha, they are produced commercially.

Kutch Embroidery

The Kutch Embroidery is a handicraft and textile signature art tradition of the tribal community of Kutch District of Gujarat. This embroidery, practiced normally by women is done on fabrics of cotton, in the form of net using cotton or silk threads. The embroidery has been registered for protection under the list of Geographical Indication.

Kashmir Sozani Craft

Sozani craft refers to a type of hand embroidery, traditionally done on pashmina hand woven wollen fabric. It employs extremely fine stitches applied very close to each other creating intricate patterns. The stitiches are executed using coloured thread sand a fine steel needle.

Lucknow Chiikan craft

Chikan is a traditional embroidery style form Lucknow. Literally translated, the word means embroidery. Believed to have been introduced by Nur Jehan,  the wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir. It is one of Lucknow’s best known textile decoration styles . The market for local chikan is mainly in Chowk Lucknow. The technique of creation of a chikan work is known as chikankari.

Sandur Lambani Embroidery

Karnataka’s famous Sandur Lambani embroidery has now found a place in the products with Geographic Indication (GI) tag in the country. With this registration, about 300 craftswomen of Lambani tribe located in and around Sandur in Bellary district will benefit from the GI tag as they can utilise this tag as a unique selling proposition in various marketing and advertising activities across the globe. With this, no other organisation or individual can sell the embroidery products under this name without registering them as authorised users.

Phulkari

Phulkari embroidery technique from the Punjab region , literally means flower work, which was at one time used as the word for embroidery, but in time the word “Phulkari” became restricted to embroidered shawls and head scarfs. Simple and sparsely embroidered odini (head scarfs), dupatta and shawls, made for everyday use, are called Phulkaris, This whole work is done with white or yellow silk floss on cotton khaddarh and starts from the center on the fabric called “chashm-e-bulbul” and spreads to the whole fabric.

Toda Embroidery

The Toda Embroidery, also locally known as “pukhoor” is an art work among the Toda pastoral people of Nilgiris, in Tamil Nadu, made exclusively by their women. The embroidery, which has a fine finish, appears like a woven cloth but is made with use of red and black threads with a white cotton cloth background. Both sides of the embroidered fabric are usable and the Toda people are proud of this heritage. Both men and women adorn embroidered cloaks and shawls.