Oh! The overwhelming feeling of wearing richly crafted Indian embroidery lehenga, is just out world!. They are every woman’s wardrobe essential, as these Indian dresses with a minimal embroidery are perfect as a guest dress for wedding ceremonies, mehndi functions,festivals and parties to swirl and twirl!. Heavily embroidered lehenga having a combination of two or three embroideries are perfect for a bride.
3D embroidery lehenga is a new favourite among women as it is modern and creates so much drama as the embroidered patterns stand out from the fabric due to raised threadwork on the fabric.
Origin
Early embroidery can actually be traced back to Cro-Magnon days or 30,000 B.C. Archeologists have found fossilized remains of heavily hand-stitched and decorated clothing from this time period.
Other early examples of embroidery are found in China dating to the Warring States period between 5th and 3rd century B.C. Finds of embroidery were found in Sweden which belonged to the Viking period of the 9th and 10th century. Around the year 1000, the practice of embroidery began to rise in Europe with the growth of the Christian church and royal kingdoms emerging.
The Bayeux tapestry depicting the Norman conquest of England in 1066 is one of the world’s most famous works of embroidery. The tapestry measures 70 m x 50 cm, is embroidered with stem stitch and double couching on unbleached linen and is thought to have been embroidered in 1076.
During the 18th century women of England and its colonies considered embroidery sewing as one of the key skills of womanhood conveying their high status and rank in social standing.Soon after, however, the development of the embroidery machine and mass production came about in stages during the Industrial Revolution and everyone rich and poor were able to adorn embroidery clothes. The earliest machine embroidery, found in France in the mid-1800s, utilized a combination of machine looms and hand embroidery.
Today’s embroidery looks a lot different from the embroidery of the past. Most contemporary embroidery is stitched with a computerized embroidery machine using patterns that are “digitized” with computer software.
Types of Indian Embroidery
Indian embroidery varies by region, as each state uses different fabrics and weaving techniques. Here are some of the different embroidery on Indian clothes such as lehenga.
Chikankari embroidery lehenga
Chikankari embroidery, known as Shadow work is done using herringbone stitch from the wrong side of the fabric and creates shadow on the right side, while at the same imparts an outline to the motif. Chikan is said to have originated as a court craft during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir, by his wife Noor Jahan. Traditionally, the Chikankari was exclusively done on white fabric .using white thread. But later different colours and patterns were introduced and the motifs are inspired from nature’s flora and fauna.
There are three types of stitches used in chikankari: Flat stitches, such as Taipachi (running stitch), Bakhia (herringbone stitch, done on both sides of the fabric) and Thurs (cross stitch done on the right side of the fabric. Jali work is the most striking feature of chikankari, creates a delicate net effect on the fabric and lehenga made using chikankari work are so elegant and graceful.
Zardozi embroidery lehenga
Zardosi embroidery has been in existence in India from the time of the Rigveda. The word Zar means gold and Dozi means embroidery .It involves making elaborate designs, using gold and silver threads along with embellishments like crystals,precious stones and pearls. The embroidery is done on different fabrics like velvet, satin and silk with a variety of zari threads and materials like badla (the untwisted wire), salma (stiff finely twisted circular wire) gijai (twisted metallic wire), dabka (zig-zag coiled wire), sitara (small circular disc), pearls and coloured beads. The different stitches used in Zardozi are chain stitch, stem stitch and satin stitch. The motifs are used in this embroidery are creepers, flowering bush, florals and intricate jali patterns.
There are two types of zardozi embroidery namely, Karchobi and Kamdani. In Karchobi, the fabric is clamped on wooden frame and elaborately embroidered to create decorative home furnishings and ornate apparel. Kamdani is lighter embroidery done on apparel like dupattas and scarves without clamping the fabric on any frame and this is the type of embroidery traditionally done as ornamentation for womens favourite Indian dresses, the lehenga choli.
Gota patti embroidery lehenga
Gotta-Patti work originated in Rajasthan as a royal craft .It was quite prevalent during the Mughal Periods and this technique was used to adorn the clothes of kings and queensThe highlight of a Gota patti lehenga is its rich blend of colors and golden applique work and the twirl of a traditional gota patti lehenga is indeed picturesque and depicts moments of celebration.Chiffon, georgette and satin are the standard fabrics used for Gota Patti work lehenga which help in making the attire light and not heavy to wear.
You can style up your gota lehenga with jewellery like a long choker necklace, long earring , mangtika, big bangles with jaipuri jutti.As part of a bridal trousseau, an authentic gota lehenga piece can easily become an heirloom down the line.
Dabka embroidered lehenga
This art originated in Rajasthan. Dabka embroidery work uses coils like metal wires, which are sewn together with threads passing through it to make intricate patterns. The base of this embroidery is formed with a cotton thread which is then covered with a metal coil. This embroidery is usually done on chiffon fabrics as this material is strong and durable yet lightweight at the same time.This embroidery gives a 3D appearance that looks mesmerizing and this 3 D effect is a fad among the ladies these days.
Cut dana embroidery lehenga
Cut dana work is a type of embroidery which uses shimmery thread work and gemstones makes a cutdana work lehenga look stunning.The stones are cut in a way,the most common being barrel and tubular,which reflects light looking radiant and scintillating. So, there’s no taking away from the fact that a lehenga with this kind of work will make you look every bit like a queen. cutdana work lehenga looks equally stunning with American diamond pendant sets.
Phulkari embroidery lehenga
Phulkari means ‘flower work’ and it is the embroidery art of Punjab. Soft untwisted silk thread (floss silk) known as ‘Pat’, is used for the embroidery using geometrical motifs designs. The colours of the thread are red, green, golden yellow, orange, blue, white etc. The basic stitch employed for Phulkari is darning stitch, which is done from the reverse side of the fabric and creates a beautiful effect on the fabric by changing the direction of the stitches.
This sewing technique is quite unique as it is done on the wrong side of the fabric, but the perfectly finished work is shown on the right side of the fabric. Lehenga made with this technique looks very simple yet elegant, perfect for festivities.
Shisha(mirror work) embroidery lehenga
Shisha or mirror work embroidery is common in gujarati clothes, features affixing of small mirrors and providing it with a casing. It is a form of embroidery where tiny mirrors are sewn into the fabric with threads by using the cross stitching technique. Circular, square, triangular, hexagonal and polygonal mirrors are used and along with other embroidery techniques, will work as beautiful wedding Indian dresses. This embroidery art on a tie and tie dress like bandhi lehenga would look absolutely stunning and are the perfect combo.
