Tribal Embroidered Shawls Hanamade Gifts

Tribal Embroidered shawls have been made in the Kutch region of Gujarat. The name 'Kutch' has become synonymous with its variety of embroideries. Womenfolk produce utility articles with an elegance and grace in their leisure. With the patronage of a former princely state, the indigenous craft grew up, flourished and reached great heights. The deep rooted custom of giving embroidered articles as dowries to brides also supported the craft. The techniques of producing a variety of rich embroidery are handed over from a mother to a daughter, from generation to generation.

Essentially two different kinds of embroidery techniques are used in making of these shawls.Soof embroidery is practiced by the SodhaRajput women who migrated from Pakistan in 1971 during the Indo-Pak war and are concentrated in the Banni district border villages of Banaskatha. This embroidery similar to Phulkari is done by using satin thread by insertion of the needle from behind the cloth by counting the wrap and weft, without tracing the designs. Hence, the specialty is that each piece is different and unique.
Ahir Bharat is another embroidery technique used in creating Gujarat shawls. Like the Rabaris, Ahirs are also devotees of Lord Krishna. The cow-herding community, which migrated from Gokul and Mathura, is mostly settled in Kutch. Round mirrors are used with geometrical and floral motifs, bird motifs and animals like elephants, horses etc. are also embroidered. The stitches used are cose herringone, ladder chain, kanta and mirror work.

Shawl Since Ancient Times in India

The shawl has been in existence in India in a variety of forms since ancient times, serving the rich and poor as a protective garment against the biting cold. References to shawls are first found in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The shawl is also mentioned in ancient Buddhist literature.

Kashmiri Embroidered Shawl

The word 'shawl' is derived from Persian shal, which was the name given for a whole range of fine woolen garments. Kashmir has become synonymous with shawls all over the world. The Mughal emperor, Akbar, was greatly charmed by the Kashmiri Shawls. Akbar encouraged the weavers to try new designs. The royal shawls were richly embellished with precious metals and stones. Incredibly soft, and painstakingly crafted, few samples of these shawls have survived and are treated as priceless heirlooms.

The sahtoosh woolen shawls are made from special wool, which is taken from the underside of the wild Pashima goats, which are found at high altitudes of the Kashmiri hills. The wools is first collected, sorted and then spun by hand by experts and then woven. The finished product is light and extremely warm.

Meaning of Jamawar Shawl

The literal meaning of jamawar is 'grown piece' , the technical and trade name for a shawl cloth or long shawl. Such pieces are woven on loom, have an intricate pattern, and can be used as dress material for chogas, achkans, sherwanis, gowns, jackets or shawls.

The most significant reference to the jamawar also comes in the Ain-i-Akbari but it does not say anything regarding the designs of these jamawars and the visual evidence from Akbar's period, does not tell much. The next important referenc is Moorcroft's. He says, 'The length of this cloth is three-quarter gaz and the breadth one and a half gaz and these were specially made for the persian and afghani markets.'

It appears from literary references that initially the jamawar was the trade name for a special kind of woollen fabric that was prevalent among Afghans and Persians. Later, other communities also wore it. It became so popular that weavers started using the term jamawar even for those long shawls that had floral designs over the field and did not have any border. These jamawars were made of pashm wool though some cotton or silk fibres were also used at times.
Just like the development of shawl, jamawars might have gone through different changes in raw materials, designs, and size, as different costumes were made from different widths of dress material. The jama and choga required different sizes of material - a fact easily noticed in miniature paintings. The same thing as been mentioned in Ain-i-Akbari too. The famous chakdar jama of Akbar needs lots of yeildage as compared to later period jamas or sherwanis. These changes occurred due to the choices of the patron as well as the foreign traders. The latter usually came with their designs and often asked weavers to work according to them. Such jamawar were popular in India and in Afghanistan, Turkistan, Bokhara, Russia, Armenia, Persia, Turkey and Europe.

Fine Pashmina Cashmere Wool Shawls, Stoles and Scarves

In the higher reaches of the northern states of Himachal, Uttaranchal and Jammu & Kashmir the famed Pure Pashmina, known to the world as Cashmere Wool, comes to the world in the form of beautifully soft shawls, stoles and scarves in a large variety of colors. The wool is collected from the Pashmina goat, the Capra bircus, which grows an extra layer of soft fleece on its underbelly in winter. This is removed in the summer months and is handspun into yarn in Ladakh and small villages of other states. Women engage themselves in spinning and men weave the shawls in Kashmir while in the other northern states, both men and women spend time weaving. In Kashmir many of these shawls are further worked upon in homes and karkhanas where they are embellished with fine embroidery in silk or thread. The colors of the embroidery usualy match the soft pastel hues and designs inspired by nature in kashmir with kingfishers, the golden eyed bulbul, chinar eaves, apple blossoms, vines, creepers and paisley patterns. When the preservation of wildlife became an important international issue and the life of the high altitude Pashmina goat took precedence over the livelihoods of those who wove the ultra-fine Shahtoosh shawl, silk and Pashmina yarn were woven togetherto give the same effect as the famed 'ring shawl' which difined the aristocratic Shahtoosh. Extra light, yet warm and elegant, the Shahtoosh of yore or its present imitation are still prized possessions.

Zari Work on Shawls and Scarves from Banaras

Zari is the gold and silver thread, used in Indian brocades. The were produced mainly in Surat wire, the ancient method of making zari from pure metal without any core thread. This accounted for its peculiar stiffness. Sometimes cracks developed in the metal during the process of weaving. This resulted in the loss of its natural lustre and smoothness, and therefore weaving with badla zari was difficult and required great skill. Often a touch of badla was given to floral motifs to enhance their beauty. this type of zari has gone out of favout aong contemporary weavers. The other type of zari is kalabattu. In this, thin silver or gold wire is wound around silk or cotton, and now even rayon thread. The technique for making kalabattu demands that the silver wire pass through a series of holes in an iron plate called a nantri. The holes are arranged in decreasing sizes, and the silver wires which go through them are pulled to the required fineness

by means of charkhas or spinning wheels. The wire is then ready for winding on silk threads. Silver wire is wound around white thread to make silver zari called rupa. To make gold zari, gold is the final stages of pulling the wire. The heat generated by the wire as it passes through the jantri gives the silver wire a gold coating, which is subsequently wound around yellow thread. It is not uncommon to find a blend of gold and silver zari in brocades - the impact is called Ganga Jamuni.

Tribal Embroidery on Shawls from Gujarat

The Rabari tribe of Kutch is an expert in such embroidery. They make excellent wall hangings and cushion covers with all types of embroideryThe special shawls of this region with embroidery are very famous because of their bright look that complements a winter day. The embroidery is never very dense but the colours are combined in such a manner that the brightness of body colours of the shawls are always enhanced. With addition of a little mirror work, the shawls look even prettier.

Brocade Silk Scarf Patterns with Golden Embroidery

very impressive, June 22, 2008

By	Aradhana (India) - See all my reviews

Prompt delivery of products has really impressed me. The quality is of these scarves are very good. I can not wait to flaunt them all. Thanks to the team at Shalincraft.