Traditional Indian Fabric With Colorful Kutch Embroidery

Hand embroidery in India has a very rich and varied tradition. Inspired by nature and religion – colours, themes and styles vary across different states and regions. The base material varies from net, velvet, cotton, silk to leather. Basis patterns and fabric and the desired texture, different embroidery stitches are chosen for a particular finish and effect.

Traditional Kutch Embroidery:

The Kutch Embroidery is a handicraft and textile signature art tradition of the tribal community of Kutch District in Gujrat, India. Kutch is world renowned for its mirrored embroideries. Most of these were traditionally stitched by village women, for themselves and their families, to create festivity, honor deities, or generate wealth. While embroideries contributed to the substantial economic exchange required for marriage and fulfilled other social obligations which required gifts, unlike most crafts, they were never commercial products. 

Embroidery also communicates self and status. Differences in style create and maintain distinctions that identify community, sub-community, and social status within community. The "mirror work" of Kutch is really a myriad of styles, which present a richly textured map of regions and ethnic groups. Each style, a distinct combination of stitches, patterns and colors, and rules for using them, was shaped by historical, socio-economic and cultural factors.