Lucknowi Chikankari designs

Chikan is a traditional embroidery style from Lucknow, India. Literally translated, the word means embroidery. Believed to have been introduced by Nur Jehan, Mughal emperor Jahangir’s wife, it is one of Lucknow’s most famous textile decoration styles.

History of Chikan cloths

So fine was chikankari that the Romans called them ‘textili venti’, woven winds. In early times, the embroidery was done in Dacca and Calcutta in Bengal and in Lucknow by professional Muslim men under patronage of courts for court and temples: women stitched for domestic use – dowries and animal trappings. Evident in 16th C, chikankari reached its height in the 18th C in Lucknow and crystallized into its definitive form in 19th C. With the advent of the British rule, chikan work declined due to loss of patronage of the courts and landlords: the work changed from professional to a cottage industry for women. By the beginning of the 20th C, standards dropped as the industry became orientated towards the mass market resulting in cheap and rough work. Uttar Pradesh became the chief centre of production, mainly garments, for the huge export trade.

Chikankari Designs

How Chikankari is made

Creation of a chikan work (chikankari) piece begins with the use of one or more pattern blocks that are used to block-print a pattern on the ground fabric. The embroiderer then stitches the pattern, and the finished piece is carefully washed to remove all traces of the printed pattern. The patterns and effects created depend on the types of stitches and the thicknesses of the threads used in the embroidery. Some of the varieties of stitches used include back-stitch, chain stitch and hemstitch. The result is an open work pattern, jali (lace) or shadow-work. Often the embroiderer creates mesh-like sections in the design by using a needle to separate threads in the ground fabric, and then working around the spaces.

The handcrafted magic – Chikan

The Chikan traders and designers make the design block prints and give the cloths to the Chikan workers across Lucknow. The Chikan workers are mostly unorganized workers especially women – work on this job during their free time. depending on nature of work  one piece may take up to 3 days to 30 days to get completed. “A full length Saari with intricate design may take up to 30 days for a worker to complete” says Puneet Bhalla a leading Chikan trader in Lucknow’s Chowk market. Puneet runs a Chikan distribution and retail business by name Shyam Lal Harish Chandra.

So next time you want to  take a gift for your loved one’s or want some Lucknowi nazakat and elegance in your dressing – think of Chikan cloths or Chikankari from Lucknow.