Vintage rust Phulkari Chaddar

Phulkari, a rural tradition of handmade embroidery, literally meaning “flower work” is an auspicious textile, embroidered by the versatile fingers of the women of Punjab. Phulkari was never fabricated for sale; it was embroidered by a family for its own use, for every important moment in their local life like wedding, birth, and religious functions. The embroidery work was made on a plain cotton fabric (KHADDAR) whose thread was manually spun, loomed and dyed with natural pigments, which would be joined either before or after the embroidery to form desired designs. Khaddar could be of various colours, but the most popular was dark brownish red. Phulkari derives its richness from the use of Darning stitch in different directions (horizontal, vertical, and diagonal). Unlike others, embroidery on Phulkari was done from the wrong side of the Khaddar with a floss silk thread called Pat. Darning stitch was the most commonly used technique to make Phulkari and the quality of a piece could be measured according to size of the stitch. The smaller the stitch, the finer was the piece. An authentic Phulkari comes with a "nazar battu" or some identifying mark / embroidery to ward off evil eye.