Embroideries and textiles of Gujarat
In October 2018 Sarah was fortunate to be a tour leader on a textile trip to Gujarat with Colouricious Holidays. Her exercursions took her to see many wonderful textiles of this rich and diverse region of India. The Guide, Gautam Popat of Gujarat Jounreys, visited the UK recently and we were able to make this video for you of some pieces from the tour! So sit back with a cuppa, press play and learn all about the skills of these very talented artisans. Below are accompanying images which you can just browse through on their own at your leisure!
Please note, all images are copyright of Sarah Homfray, please do not use them, or repost without Sarah's permission
Click on the images to view larger versions
Aari work
This work is done with a very small hook called an aari hook and makes very small chain stithes through the fabric. You can see here how intricate it is and how densely you can work the stitches filling in areas to give a thick fabric feel.
Zhardosi
This is a very skilled technique worked with gold threads and metals and the same aari hook as used in the above work. It is usually done by men and mainly worked on clothing for the couture industry. Note these designs are the same as the ones above!
Ajrakh - Single sided
This beautiful block printing done in the village of Ajrakhpur, is the ultimate in block printed deisgns! There are over 16 processes from start to finish using various blocks, resists and dying processes; the dyes used are all natural. There is single sided and double sided, the latter being where the same design is printed on the reverse and even matches up with the front!
Ajrakh Printing - Double sided
Suf embroidery
This is worked on an evenweave fabric (the same number of weft threads and warp threads) and the stitches are counted across the holes of the fabric so that they are all the same. It's worked on etremely finely woven fabric from the back so that when the embroidery is turned over you have a finished design on the front.
