Indian heritage of prints and patterns

Being a surface patterns designer, I was considering starting a category on my blog focusing solely on prints and patterns. I thought why look anywhere else when my India is itself a treasure of rich weaves and unique textiles. Our love for colors and prints is legendary. From Kashmir to Kerala and from Gujarat to Nagaland, it is embellished with vibrant as well as varied patterns!  No country in the world has remained untouched by the Indian fabrics.

What gives our fabrics their unique identity is the prints and weaves that are so unique to the region. The ethnic diversity inspired by nature, culture, the architecture of temples and forts, art, and humanity speaks a thousand words to the beholder. The true experts are the artisans, the weavers; the printers; dyers; block carvers who live in the villages of India. They bring these prints to life with their tireless endeavor and artistic expertise, and creative offerings.

One more thing that makes them famous amongst the world is the traditional printing styles followed in India. The various traditional art of printing like block printing, kalamkari printing are still practiced. And since these printing methods remain the same, they are popular all around the world.

From now on, I will try my best to take a tour of Indian printing styles and pattern designs throughout my blog. There are various types of Indian fabrics based on material and art. But before diving into the actual world of patterns, I would love to make you familiar with some historical background of Indian textiles.

Indian Textile History

 The record of ancient and medieval Indian textiles exists mostly in literature and sculpture. There is archaeological evidence of a cotton textile industry at Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley around 3000 B.C. The Greeks with Alexander the Great wrote of the fine flowered muslins and robes embroidered in gold they had seen in India. They may also have seen the cotton fiber that grew on trees.¹

 Marco Polo left detailed accounts of the people and industries of the coastal regions of India in the late thirteenth century. He mentioned seeing on the Coromandel Coast the finest and most beautiful cloth in all the world-buckrams like the tissues of spider webs, and he observed dyeing with indigo in the great tex­tile center of Cambay and spinning of cotton in Gujarat.

Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan, founded a new and important dynasty, the Mogul, in 1526. A series of great rulers-the greatest Akbar who ruled for the second half of the sixteenth century-governed a glorious empire where the textile arts flourished until the late seventeenth century. European ambassadors wrote some of the best accounts of Indian textiles to the Mogul courts. 

Fabulous horse and elephant trappings, as well as the apparel, pillows, and wall hangings, were remarked upon. A king always wore a garment but once. The marvelous gold brocades called kimhabs, or kincobs, from Banaras, are also famous. Writers proclaimed on the sheerness of Dacca muslins, called evening dew, running water, or sweet-like-sherbert. Seventy-three yards, a yard wide, weighed only one pound?. By comparison, the finest Swiss cotton ever made was at best sixteen or seventeen yards to the pound.

Contemporary Indian Textiles

Indian textile heritage has been preserved by the woman’s sari, which often exhibits fine weaving, delicate textures, beautiful colors, and rich patterns. 

 Phulkari (flower work) is a specialty of Punjab embroiders. Lavishly embroidered phulkari garments are a must-have part of bridal trousseau in Punjab. It originated in the Jat community. Phulkari literally means a garden of flowers.

Indian fabrics decorated with small mirrors or shishas are a sight to behold. They are dazzling, inexpensive, easy to stitch on to clothes, lightweight, glamorous.². In the hill tribes of southern India, people sew blue and green beetle backs onto the wedding garments. Orthodox Hindus not only disapproved of the practice but substituted it with pieces of mica. Eventually, glass or mirrors replaced the mica.

Small squares form the basis of the Kutch embroidery. Brightly colored threads usually red, orange green results in a very colorful festive look. The Kutch work in geometrical patterns is done mainly with herringbone stitches which are then interlaced with a contrasting colored thread.

Kantha embroidery belongs to the state of West Bengal and is a very beautiful and very unique style of embroidery. Simple running stitches are used throughout this embroidery, which gives the cloth a very special texture which is a visual delight and very popular among Indian ladies.

Kashmiri embroidery (also Kashida) belongs to Kashmir. It draws inspiration from nature. Birds, blossoms and flowers, creepers, chinar leaves, gobi, mangoes, lotus, and trees are the most common themes. It involves chain stitches worked throughout the design. The designs were based on nature, with common patterns being flowers, leaves, peacocks, animals like elephants, bhutis ( polka dots) etc

Types of Stitches

            The various types of stitches used are satin stitch, stem stitch, back stitch, Kashmiri stitch, cross as well as chain stitch. Herringbone and buttonhole stitches, Jaal stitch, overcasting stitch together with catch stitch, etc.

A type of chain stitch is worked with a hook in Gujarat to make birds, animals, and flowers in addition to humans in bold colors. In the valley of the Ganges, plant designs worked in white on soft fabrics using satin stitch, while near Bombay running stitches make delightful animal figures on loosely woven cotton. The cross stitch is popular all across India.

Traditional Printing Techniques

All the block printing techniques and tie and dye prints that are practiced in India boast of the rich culture and heritage of the country. Creativity, craftsmanship, and a whole lot of effort go into keeping these printing techniques alive and trending around the globe³.

Bagh, kalamkari, Ajarakh, Dabu, Sanganeri Bandhani, etc. are some of the techniques which we are going to learn in detail in my incoming post.

History of Carpet

           Carpet Industry is one of the oldest industries of India and had an ancient heritage of carpet weaving and craftsmanship. The story begins in the 16th century when the Great Mughal Akbar took over the reign in India. To invite some glamor to the palace, Akbar brought a few best carpet weavers from Persia to Agra, the capital. 

Thanks to their expertise, the Persian craftsmen were able to start the weaving industry in India practically from scratch. They helped to set up workshops for local people and arrange weaving areas in Agra, Delhi, and Lahore.

High-quality rugs made of silk, sheep wool, even cashmere, started to cover royal floors. Some of the exclusive ones included riches such as golden threads or gemstones. Although antique Indian rug patterns created during the Akbar reign copied the Persian style, they managed to smuggle in a bit of Indian essence.

Usually inspired by the court life, they occasionally featured motifs such as exotic animals and decorative florals. Each antique Indian rug delighted with deep colors, thanks to pigments extracted from vegetables, plants, and minerals.

Some of the designs and their significance is as follow:

Cypress tree: Survival in the afterlife.

Tree of Life: Eternal Life.

Anar: Pomegranate riches in abundance.

Camels: Wealth and happiness.

Peacock: The sacred bird.

Dove: Peace and good Omen.

Later, Persian style was amalgamated with Indian design giving rise to Indo-Islamic carpet. Today a wide variety of contemporary and sophisticated designs are available suiting according to the taste of the customers⁴.