HEAVY FULL JALL CHIKANKARI EMROIDERED SARI IN PURE GEORGETTE WITH MUKESH /KAMDANNI/BADLA WORK

HEAVY FULL JALL CHIKANKARI EMROIDERED SARI IN PURE GEORGETTE WITH MUKESH /KAMDANNI/BADLA WORK

This image above represents tha palla of the Saree

Fully chikan embroidered Palla with tradtional Pasley embroidery chikankari pattern. Full Jaal all over work with additional Mukesh / kaamdani/ badla work.

Image above represents the Palla along with the portion of the all over length of the saree

This all over chikan embroidered Saree can be DYED in any color of choice

The pattern follows on the entire saree

Chikan heavy Full Jaal Lehenga top and Choli with Mukesh/ Kamdani work

Chikankari Wedding / Bridal Lehangas

Chikan Gagra choli or Chikan  Ghagra choli , which is also known as Chikan  Lehenga choli, is the traditional clothing. Lehenga is generally worn by women from  Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sindh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. It is a combination outfit of a Lehenga, tight Choli and a Dupatta.

Chikan  Lehenga or Chikan  Ghagra, is a form of skirt which is long, embroidered and pleated. It is worn as the bottom portion of a Gagra choli. It is secured at the waist and leaves the lower back and midriff bare.

Let your wedding attire be as special and grand as your wedding day! Lehangas, richly 

embellished with awe-inspiring chikan work are designed tastefully not just in in traditional reds & maroons but also in contemporary pastel shades, for the brides who are innovative and experimentative. Let festive flamboyance be a part of you that so aptly reflects in your lehanga!

Chikan very heavy Full Jaal Lehenga top and Choli in 

heavy Chikankari along with additional Mukesh/ Kamdani/ Badla work

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Chikan hand embroidered heavy Lehenga with Pasley design

Additional Mukesh/ Kamdani/ Badla work in Chikan Lehnega

Heavy Full jall work on all over embroidered Chikan Lehenga

Another wedding dress form can be made with Chikan embroidered fabric which is Chikan Ghararas. Ghararas originated in Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh during the era of the Nawabs. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was considered everyday attire among Muslim women of Hindi belt particularly among women of Nawab and Taluqedars families. They were representative of the status of the person wearing them.

Although they are not worn as everyday garment today as they once were, they still remain as popular wedding attire among Muslim women of Hindi belt and also among Urdu speaking immigrates in Pakistan & Bangaldesh. Ghararas were also made popular in Pakistan & Bangladesh, in the 1950s and 60s with popular public figures like Fatima Jinnah and Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan wearing them.

Full Jall Chikan Dupatta with Lehnega

Full Jall Chikan Dupatta with Lehnega

Ideal for marriages/ home ceremonies and formal functions Full GHER of Chikan Lehenga

This Chikan Lehenga can be colour DYED in any color of your choice...and can have more emblishments as per the requirement of the customer.

Mukesh/ Kamdani / Badla - The metal wire/ Disk work on Chikankari.

In recent times the sequin work has totally been oversahdowed by this new form of Exquisite work called Mukesh / Badla / Kamdani......

Mukesh / Badla / Kamdani work are tiny disks/ TIKKI of silver or gold pieces that artists hand-sew meticulously throughout a garment to create an all-over shine and glitter effect. Artisans start the Mukesh / Badla / Kamdani process by flattening the metal threads used in zari work into the signature disk shape. Then, they space these metallic circles evenly throughout a garment, a technique that creates a soft shimmer that some people say looks like the luster of stars in a night sky.

Mukesh / Badla / Kamdani may be subtler than sequins, but when your Mukesh / Badla / Kamdani done apparel reflects in the light, you’ll get a gorgeous all-over glow that you just won’t get from any other embellishment.

Mukesh / Badla / Kamdani combines with Chikan is a real hit these days. Chikankari which itself is an intricate form of hand embroidery when combined with intricate silver disks hand-sewn throughout pure georgette fabric,  your dress will shimmer from every angle. Mukesh / Badla / Kamdani work, designer dresses take around 3-6 months of hard work to prepare. The even placement of Mukesh / Badla / Kamdani work tell a lot about the apparel and adds ot its look.

At Unique Chikan we have dedicated and self employeed Mukesh / Badla / Kamdani work workers to give that rich look to the apparel. These Chikan Combined with Mukesh / Badla / Kamdani are a must have for every dress collection wardrobe.

http://www.hand-embroidery.com/

Fake imitation of Chikankari by Machine made embroidery

Chikan ( persian meaning embroidery) Chikankari is an ancient from of white floral embroidery, intricately worked with needle and raw thread. Its delicacy is mesmeric. For centuries, this fine white tracery on transparent white fabric has delighted the heart of king and commoner alike. It is centred mainly in the northern heartland of India, namely Lucknow, the capital of a large state, called Uttar Pradesh. It has survived the loss of royal patronage, suffered deeply at the hands of commercialization, lost its way sometimes in mediocrity and yet stayed alive, is a tribute to the skill and will of the crafts persons who have handed down this technique from one generation to another. Today, This delicate form of embroidery is traditionally practiced in and around the city of Lucknow.

Like many other art forms and the huge demand of the Chikankari in the International market and art lovers the cheap imitation of Chikankari is now done with the help of machines. This cheap quality of machine Chikan ( Look a like) embroidery for obvious reasons has mass production capacity and hence been dumped in to global markets in the name of Chikankari.

Local  hand made Chikan manufacturers from Lucknow do not fear this growing market. Faiz Farooqui from Unique Chikan, Lucknow, one of the first company to go online promoting Chikan to global markets and has been contributing to the promotion of the Chikankari art globally said "there are a variety of designs and stitches that are available in the hand made Chikan  work which cannot be made  by the Chinese machine made Chikan ( Look a like) fabrics. He further added that a Hand made Chikankari lover would always prefer the genuine stuff over cheap imitation".

Manufacturers is Lucknow continue growing production since they known this is very short term invention and soon will be exposed to customers as cheap and fake Chikan ( Look a like) machine embroidery work.

NEGATIVES WITH MACHINE CHIKAN EMBROIDERY.

-  STITCHES

There is a limited number of stitches which is possible to do with a machine and is mostly around BAKHIYA and shadow. but there are are 32 most used stitches in Chikanakri which is not possible to do via machine. Machine Chikan embroidery is not able to replace the intricate stitch pattern even in the 2-3 stitch variants it is able to make.

- DESIGN PATTERNS

 Chikan hand embroidery is also known for the placement of motifs and design which are in thousands of patterns of permutation and combinations, which would always have the local touch in them and can not be copied by Chikan ( Look a like)  machine embroidery. Chikan embroidery without the local Pasley , Lucknowi MEHRABS, tree BAILS, JAALI, PHANDA, DARAJ, work cannot be imagined.

-  USE OF MULTIPLE FABRICS

The fabric used for machine Chikan embroidery is mostly lawn/cotton low quality and high end fabrics are avoided and mostly not present.

IMPACT ON ART AND INDUSTRY

Cheap imitation of Chikan hand embroidery is done by machines like most other products by Chinese manufacturer and it would have a lot of impact on the present hand made Chikankari ecosystem.

- With Chikan ( Look a like) machine embroidery being dumped in the market on the daily basis, less aware customers would thinking it to be authentic Chikanakri and fall for it due to price concerns... This would make the real art not reach the masses and eventually would die.

- Most of the Chikan artisans are women who make this art to support their household needs. This would directly impact their living.

- When machine Chikan ( Look a like)  embroidery becomes easily available to most , there would be very little comparison between machine embroidered Chikan ( Look a like) and other machine embroidery since it would all look the same, which is like the systematic killing of the art form

HAND MADE CHIKAN LOVERS

There are still a while lot of handmade Chikankari lovers who can very easily make out the difference between the machine embroidered and hand embroidered Chikankari. It is the love for the stitches and intricacy of work which makes Chikankari being loved as an art form. The moment it is made by machines it no longer stays Chikan work but a cheap imitation of the same.

Make sure you are informed about the REAL handmade Chikankari when you make a purchase.