Chikan ( embroidery ) - Wikipedia Chikan ( embroidery ) Chikan embroidery on a cotton kurta Chikan ( Hindi : चिकन, Urdu : چکن ‎ ) is a traditional embroidery style from Lucknow, India. Literally translated, the word means embroidery. Believed to have been introduced by Nur Jehan, the wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir, it is one of Lucknow 's best known textile decoration styles. The market for local chikan is mainly in Chowk, Lucknow. Contents 1 Start / Origin 2 Technique 2.1 Stitches 3 GI status 4 In popular culture 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Start / origin There are references to Indian chikan work as early as 3rd century BC by Megasthenes, who mentioned the use of flowered muslins by Indians. There is also a tale that mentions how a traveler taught chikan to a peasant in return of water to drink. However, the Noor Jahan story is the most popular of the lot. Chikan began as a type of white - on - white ( or whitework ) embroidery. Technique The technique of creation of a chikan work is known as chikankari ( चिकनकारी چکن کاری ‬ ). Chikan is a delicate and artfully done hand embroidery on a variety of textile fabric like muslin, silk, chiffon, organza, net, etc. White thread is embroidered on cool, pastel shades of light muslin and cotton garments. Nowadays chikan embroidery is also done with coloured and silk threads in colours to meet the fashion trends and keep chikankari up - to - date. Lucknow is the heart of the chikankari industry today and the variety is known as Lucknawi chikan. Chikan work in the recent times has adapted additional embellishments like Mukaish, Kamdani, Badla, sequin, bead and mirror work, which gives it a rich look. Chikan embroidery is mostly done on fabrics like cotton, semi-Georgette, pure Georgette, crepe, chiffon, silk and any other fabric which is light and which highlights the embroidery. The fabric can not be too thick or hard, else the embroidery needle wo n't pierce it. The piece begins with one or more pattern blocks that are used to block - print a pattern on the ground fabric. The embroiderer stitches the pattern, and the finished piece is carefully washed to remove all traces of the printed pattern. The process of chikankari includes the following steps : Design Engraving Block printing Embroidery Washing and finishing Stitches The patterns and effects created depend on the stitches and the thicknesses of the threads used. Some of the stitches include backstitch, chain stitch and hemstitch. The result is an open work pattern, jali ( lace ) or shadow - work. Often the embroiderer creates mesh - like sections by using a needle to separate threads in the ground fabric, and then working around the spaces. It consists of 32 stitches : Front view of Chikan embroidery being done over temporary block printed pattern Chikan embroidery from the back Chikankari - Tepchi is a long running or darning stitch worked with six strands on the right side of the fabric taken over four threads and picking up one. Thus, a line is formed. It is used principally as a basis for further stitchery and occasionally to form a simple shape. Bakhiya -- ' Shadow work ' or bhakia is one of the stitches of chikankari. The reason for the name shadow is that the embroidery is done on wrong side and we see its shadow on the right side. Hool is a fine detached eyelet stitch. A hole is punched in the fabric and the threads are teased apart. It is then held by small straight stitches all round and worked with one thread on the right side of the fabric. It can be worked with six threads and often forms the center of a flower. Zanzeera Rahet Banarsi Khatau Phanda Murri is the form of stitch used to embroider the centre of the flowers in chikan work motifs. They are typically French knots that are rice - shaped. Murri is the oldest and most sought - after form of chikankari. The use of this stitch is depleting due to a decrease in the artisans doing this embroidery. Jali stitch is one where the thread is never drawn through the fabric, ensuring that the back portion of the garment looks as impeccable as the front. The warp and weft threads are carefully drawn apart and minute buttonhole stitches are inserted into the cloth. Turpai Darzdari Pechani Bijli Ghaspatti Makra Kauri Hathkadi Banjkali Sazi Karan Kapkapi Madrazi Bulbul - chasm Taj Mahal Janjeera Kangan Dhania - patti Rozan Meharki Chanapatti Baalda Jora Keel kangan Bulbul Sidhaul Ghas ki patti GI status Geographical Indication Registry ( GIR ) accorded Geographical Indication ( GI ) status for chikankari in December 2008, which recognized Lucknow as an exclusive hub of chikankari. In popular culture The 1986 Indian film Anjuman directed by Muzaffar Ali and starring Shabana Azmi and Farooq Shaikh is set in Lucknow and deals with issues of chikan workers. References Jump up ^ Wilkinson - Weber, Clare M. ( 1999 ). 5. Skill and Knowledge in Fine Chikan Embroidery, Embroidering Lives : Women 's Work and Skill in the Lucknow Embroidery Industry, pp. 12 - 13. State University of New York Press. ISBN 0 - 7914 - 4087 - 7. Jump up ^ `` Chikankari ''. Cultural India. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 11. Jump up ^ `` White on White Chikankari ''. Dress365days. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 11. ^ Jump up to : Dusenbury, Mary M. ( 2004 ). Flowers, Dragons and Pine Trees : Asian Textiles in the Spencer Museum of Art, p. 42. Hudson Hills Press. ISBN 1 - 55595 - 238 - 0. Jump up ^ `` Washing and finishing ''. RZUstyle. Retrieved 2015 - 08 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Stitches in Chikankari ''. Hand-embroidery.com. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 11. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` There are 32 stitches in chikankari. 1 )... - Dress365days Facebook ''. www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2015 - 10 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Chikankari GI a step towards international branding ''. The Times of India. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2013. Jump up ^ Anuradha Dingwaney Needham ; Rajeswari Sunder Rajan ( 28 December 2006 ). The Crisis of Secularism in India. Duke University Press. pp. 235 -- 236. ISBN 0 - 8223 - 8841 - 3. Further reading Romancing With Chikankari by Veena Singh Paine, Sheila ( 1989 ). Chikan embroidery : the floral whitework of India. Shire Publications. ISBN 0 - 7478 - 0009 - X. Ashok Rai ( 1992 ). Chikankari Embrodery of Lucknow. National Institute of Design. External links Embroidery Styles Assisi Bargello Berlin work Blackwork Broderie anglaise Broderie perse Candlewicking Canvas work Celtic cross stitch Counted - thread Crewel Cross-stitch Cutwork Darning Drawn thread work Free embroidery Goldwork Hardanger Machine Needlepoint Quillwork Smocking Stumpwork Surface Suzani Whitework Stitches Backstitch Blanket Box Buttonhole Chain stitch Couching and laid work Cross stitches Embroidery stitch Featherstitch Holbein Parisian Running Satin stitch Sashiko Shisha Straight stitch Tent stitch Tools and materials Aida cloth Embroidery hoop Embroidery thread Evenweave Perforated paper Plainweave Plastic canvas Sampler Slip Yarn Regional and historical Art needlework Bunka shishu Brazilian Burmese Chikan Chinese ( Cantonese, Xiang ) English Indian Islamic Jacobean Kaitag Kantha Kasuti Korean Mountmellick Nakshi kantha Persian Opus Anglicanum Rushnyk Sewed muslin Ukrainian Vietnamese Vyshyvanka Zardozi Embroideries Butler - Bowden Cope Bayeux Tapestry Bradford carpet Hastings Embroidery Hedebo Hestia tapestry Magna Carta ( An Embroidery ) Margaret Layton 's jacket New World Tapestry Overlord embroidery Quaker Tapestry Fragments of a Cope with the Seven Sacraments Designers and embroiderers Emilie Bach Leon Conrad Kaffe Fassett Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty Marilyn Leavitt - Imblum François Lesage Ann Macbeth May Morris Jessie Newbery Charles Germain de Saint Aubin Mary Elizabeth Turner Dimitri Vlachos - Castano Teresa Wentzler Kathleen Whyte Erica Wilson Lily Yeats Organizations and museums Embroiderers ' Guild ( UK ) Embroiderer 's Guild of America Embroidery Software Protection Coalition Needlework Development Scheme Royal School of Needlework Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum Han Sang Soo Embroidery Museum Related Appliqué Crochet Knitting Lace Needlework Quilting Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chikan_(embroidery)&oldid=853065902 '' Categories : Embroidery in India Culture of Lucknow Culture of Uttar Pradesh Economy of Lucknow Geographical Indications in Uttar Pradesh Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from May 2017 Use Indian English from May 2017 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Articles containing Hindi - language text Articles containing Urdu - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Tools हिन्दी తెలుగు Edit links This page was last edited on 2 August 2018, at 06 : 04 ( UTC ). 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Question: lucknow is a home of finest work of
Answer: Chikan