The Blue Lines on a Chikankari Kurta — Epoche A2
This morning a customer messaged us: "My kurta came with thin blue lines under the embroidery. Is it a mistake?" 👇 Not a mistake. That is the drawing, and it is meant to disappear. Our family sells chikankari in Aminabad market in Lucknow, and every piece starts the same way. The pattern is printed onto the cotton with carved wooden blocks and a cheap blue ink that is made to wash out. We send the printed cloth out to the embroiderers - mostly women, working at home in the villages around Lucknow - and they cover the blue lines with white stitches, flower by flower. A simple kurta takes a week or two. Fine work takes months. Some of it you cannot even see being made. For the leaves they use shadow work: the stitching sits on the back of the thin cloth, and the front shows only its shadow. Last comes the wash. The finished piece is washed, the ink lets go, and the drawing disappears, leaving only thread on white cotton. So those blue lines mean one thing: this kurta skipped its final bath. Wash it once, and the drawing will go. It has done its work. Before-and-after photos in the comments. 1,400 rupees, and we post anywhere in India.