1. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY, GANDHINAGAR
Batch – 2016-2020
CRAFT RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION
APPLIQUE OF AHMEDABAD
Mentor: Dr.Japjee Kaur Kohli
Group :
Sharvi Choursiya
Shreya Agrawal
Sifra
Sona Varghese
Sonia Bapna
Supriya Bhardwaj
Vedika Maheshwari
Vidushi Sharma
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2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are extremely grateful to National Institute of Fashion
Technology and Office of Development Commissioner
(Handlooms and Handicrafts ) for making learning more interesting
through project and research based assignments.
Also, we would like to thank all our mentors for their continuous
support and guidance.
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3. INDEX
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S.NO TOPIC SLIDE NUMBER
1. Introduction 4
2. Patchwork and Applique 5
3. Purpose 6
4. History 7 and 8
5. Applique as a nationwide Craft 9 -18
6. Motifs 19 -22
7. Tools 23
8. Technique 24 and 25
9. Products 26 and 27
10. Market 28
11. References 29
12. Plan of Action 30
4. INTRODUCTION OF APPLIQUE
•Appliqué is a technique of stitching fabric shapes onto a base fabric
to create a design.
•It dates back to ancient Egyptians. The examples can be found
through early European and Asian needlework.
•It was used for clothing, military banners, ecclesiastical robes, bed
hangings, etc.
•It is practiced worldwide with different names but similar technique
•Another type of Applique that is commonly in use is the Reverse
Applique technique.
Source: book: Patchwork, quilting and appliqué
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5. APPLIQUE AND PATCHWORK
• Appliqué and patchwork are generally
confused as being one, as they come
from the same origin i.e. from the
tombs of Egypt.
• They also served the purpose of
protection against the cold.
And, both are cloth reusing and
recycling techniques.
However, there are minute differences that
separates the two:
• While, fabric pieces are cut and sewn
over the base fabric in appliqué, in
patchwork the fabric pieces are
stitched together forming seams.
• Appliqué is considered more luxurious
as it is done by layering of fabrics,
where as, Patchwork involves no
layers.
Source: book: Patchwork, Quilting and appliqué 5
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6. PURPOSE OF APPLIQUE
• Traditionally, a means of recycling unused or leftover fabric, artisans
then begin skillfully cutting and sewing the fabrics together to produce
different designs.
• Appliqué was also initiated for protecting one against the cold.
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7. HISTORY OF APPLIQUE
•There was presence of textile production even before pottery, agriculture
and stock breeding until the Industrial Revolution.
•A patchwork ceremonial canopy of small dyed gazelle leather squares
made for an Egyptian queen (c. 980 BC) still survives in Cairo Museum.
•In Asia, ancient appliqué on a saddle blanket was found in the graves of
tribal chiefs in Central Asia made between the 6th to 4th century BC.
•In the cave of the thousand Buddha's along the silk route in the Serinda
region of India from the 6th to 9th century AD, altar hangings of
patchwork comprised of rectangular pieces of cloth banners and small
silk bags made of squares and triangles were found.
Information- Book- Ralli quilts and textile arts of india
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8. HISTORY OF APPLIQUE
•In 1612, the British East India company established a port at Surat,
Gujarat.
•As pre-industrial India was still more than 90% Rural it was village
farmers and craftsmen who supplied the market.
•Women of Nomadic groups decorated cloth with fine Embroidery and
Applique Techniques
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9. APPLIQUE AS A NATIONWIDE CRAFT IN INDIA
As quoted by Patrick J Finn in his book ‘ Quilts of India’ ,
“ Nothing is wasted in India. Everything is used, every aspect of the
object is worked on, worked with , stretched to its limit and made useful ”
hence , it gives rise to numerous technique of doing the same though
with regional diversities.
The technique of appliqué is practiced in various states of the country
including:
•Gujarat
•Bihar
•Uttar Pradesh
•Odisha
•Tamil Nadu
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10. APPLIQUE IN GUJARAT
Name: Katab – Kachchi name for direct
and reverse appliqué
Features : Reverse, Multidirectional,
Contrasting binding , Bold shapes, Delicate
Piping
Motifs : Flowers, animals, birds,
Geometric ( Squares – Chitkis, Triangular
pieces and rectangular borders )
Products : Quilts, canopies, hangings ,
long decorative friezes
Communities : Dowry item for Meghwal,
Mutwa, Sodhi , Rajput, Jat, rabari etc
Color : Red, blue, green , white black and
brown.
Production Clusters : Bhuj, Khadva ,
Kuran ,Hodka , Gandhi nu Dhaam.
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Image Source- Ebook of Handmade in India by
M.P.Ranjan
11. APPLIQUE IN BIHAR
Name: Khatwa
Technique :
•Applique work with chain
and straight stitch embroidery
as linear element.
•Stitches per inch – 105 to
210
•Traditionally, Reverse
Applique.
•Men cut pieces while women
stitch.
Features : Reverse , Use of
embroidery to enhance the
motifs.
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Image Source- Ebook of Handmade in India by
M.P.Ranjan
12. Motifs :
Flowers, creepers , elephants ,
birds, Geometric ( Squares –
Chitkis, Triangular pieces and
rectangular borders ),
Contemporary – Sensitive issues
(AIDS)
Products :
Sari, dupatta, cushion, bed and
sofa covers , curtains, table cloth,
wall hangings.
Organisations :
ADITHI- catalyst to create a
symbolic market
Production Clusters:
Patna City, Darbhanga ,
Muzaffarpur and Madhubani
district
APPLIQUE IN BIHAR
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Image Source- Ebook of Handmade in India by
M.P.Ranjan
13. APPLIQUE IN ODISHA
Name: Pipili Appliqué
Technique :
Motifs are appliquéd to a base cloth
and Outlined with embroidery
stitches.
Tips of motifs are filled with cotton to
give extra dimension.
Features :
Outlined with embroidery stitches (
Straight, Blind , Satin and Buttonhole
)
Central lotus motif - Concentric rows
of triangles, tips of which are filled
with cotton to give extra dimension.
Motifs : Bold stylised forms of birds,
lotus, elephant , lion , the Sun and
the Moon.
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Image Source- Ebook of Handmade in India by
M.P.Ranjan
14. Products :
Trasa- banners, Chandua-
canopies, Chhatti- umbrella, animal
puppets, lantern, bags , pouches
etc.
Communities :
Originated as a temple craft.
Color :
Green and Red – Chariot of
Balabhadra
Black and Red for Subhadra
Yellow and Green – Lord
Jagannath’s Chariot
Production Clusters : Pipili,
Kanchana and Cuttack.
APPLIQUE IN ODISHA
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Image Source- Ebook of Handmade in India by
M.P.Ranjan
15. Name: Appliqué
Technique :
•Process consists of making paper stencils of
the required designs and pinning them onto a
polyester cloth and then cutting the shape
accordingly.
•The pieces are then placed on a base cloth
and stitched down.
•Piping rope is run along the outline and
stitched on a sewing machine in addition to
outlines done in embroidery stitches.
Features :
Piping rope as outline, outlined with
embroidery stitches.
APPLIQUE IN TAMIL NADU
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Image Source- Ebook of Handmade in India by
M.P.Ranjan
16. Motifs :
Religious motifs, Sun , Moon ,
Elephants
Products :
Kodai- umbrella, Magara Toranam
– Doorway hanging , Thombai-
Cylindrical hangings for temple
chariot, Vaasai malai – Gateway
garland
Communities : Pilamar Caste
Production Clusters :
Madurai and Lalgudi
APPLIQUE IN TAMIL NADU
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Image Source- Ebook of Handmade in India by
M.P.Ranjan
17. Name: Applique- Patti ka Kaam
Technique :
•Pieces of cloth are cut and sewn to fine muslin.
•In patti ka kaam, fabrics are cut and hemmed to
the base fabric.
Features :
Economical as it eliminates the need to
embroidery. Daraz - Seam details ( border)
Motifs : Fish, leaf , flower , star, Singhoda
(Lotus fruit motif)
Products :
Traditional – Shamiana – canopies
Contemporary: Stoles, Salwar kurta, cushion
covers , curtains etc.
Communities :
Production Clusters: Lucknow , Aligarh and
Rampur
APPLIQUE IN UTTAR PRADESH
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18. APPLIQUE IN UTTAR PRADESH
Name: Tharu Applique
Technique :
Incisions are made on the top fabric that is
hemmed down to a base fabric.
Features : Background fabric is darker than the
color of appliqué.
Motifs : Rectilinear and geometric motifs, fine
lines and colourful borders.
Products: Ghaghra Chloli, Caps, Jackets,
Purses, Tv covers, handbags.
Communities : Tharu Women
Color : Red, Yellow, Orange , Blue, Green
Production Clusters: Behraich district :
Bishnupur, Balaigaon and shravasti
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Image Source- Ebook of Handmade in India by
M.P.Ranjan
19. MOTIFS
• In Saurashtra, the motifs used are tree
of life, foliage and elephants (considered
lucky because of their association with
Ganesh).s
•Repetitive parts of the patterns are
created by folding the fabric before cutting
into shapes.
•Common motifs to be used in Katab-
Peacock, elephants, camels,
horses,stylized flowers, ocean waves and
vines are often used as border devices.
•Not all the motifs are symbolic, squares
on point, set-end-to-end are popular for
grids and borders. Rectangles create
balance or connect diamonds to form
abstract flowers and free form or
concentric rectangles used nowadays.
Image and information: book-Quilts of india
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20. •Border treatment include- Reverse
applique, saw tooth, and contrasting
binding, the row of tear drop shapes called
jarmar.
•Use of extensive stylisation and
simplification of recognisable forms.
•Many motifs suggest religious significance
and meaning- the swastika, tree of life,sun
disc, lotus are all images used here that
represent spiritual concepts.
•The colours and bold motifs resemble
pako embroideries of Indus delta region.
Thus elements retained from old
embroidery styles trace the bhopas
migration route.
•Colours- red, blue, green, white, black,
brown
Image: book- embroideries of India
Information : book- Quilts of india.
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21. CONTEMPORIZATION
The motifs used earlier were mostly based
on
Natural forms what they used to observe
in their surroundings.
Sometimes repetitive geometric patterns
were
also made by just folding and cutting the
fabrics to achieve desired geometric
shape.
On the contrary, in today's time abstract
forms are used.
Source: Book- Embroideris of India
Image source: Fine design centre store in ahmedabad
By Kartik Chauhan.
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22. Image source: Fine design centre store in ahmedabad By kartik Chauhan and book- quilts of India
Early 20 century
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23. TOOLS AND RAW MATERIALS
•Fabrics (preferably cotton or poplin)
•Scissors
•Needle
•Thread
•Pigment
•Hammer and
cobbler’s chisel
• Sponge
• Stencil
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24. TECHNIQUE
•Step 1- The top fabric is first
folded into layers and then cut
into the desired pattern.
•Step 2- The cut fabric is placed
on a base fabric and is secured
with long running stitches.
•Step 3- The top fabric is then
attached to the base fabric by
folding the edges of the designs
inside, finally blind hem is done
on the edges.
•Step 4- Once the entire pattern
is attached to the base fabrics,
the running stitches are
removed.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Source: book: Indian Textiles
website: youtube.com 24
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REVERSE APPLIQUE TECHNIQUE
• Stencil is placed on the rough fabric and the main fabric is beneath the
rough fabric.
• A sponge is dipped into the pigment and then rubbed over the stencil.
• The stencil has holes for the design through which the pigment
penetrates to the rough fabric.
• Once the printing is done on the rough fabric, the stencil is no more
required.
• The rough fabric is placed over the main fabric and cobblers’ tools are
used to make the cuts on the rough and the main fabric.
• Once the fabric is cut the rough cloth is no more in use and the main
fabric is put over the base fabric and id tacked by long running stitches.
• The edges are folded and blind hem is done to complete the process.
27. Image source: Fine design centre store in ahmedabad By Kartik Chauhan
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MARKET
•Applique is not a craft which is limited to villages and some urban
household but is flourishing world wide.
•Fashion brands like Keri, Bandhej, Fabindia, Okhai, Garvi gujari, Wills
Lifestyle are taking this craft ahead.
•Designer’s like-
• Franco moschino
•Gianni Versace
•Aneeth Arora
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Source:https://okhai.org
Source: www.kerishop.com
29. REFERENCES
•BOOKS-
•Quilts of India – Patrick J Finn
•Indian Textiles- John Gillow
•Embroideries – John Irwin
•Handmade in India- MP Ranjan
( Available on - http://www.cohands.in/handmadepages/book7.asp?t1=7 )
•Ralli quilts – Patricia Ormsby Stoddard
•Textile arts of India- Kokyo Hatanaka
•Applique and Patchwork- V.L Rani
•Patchwork, Quilting and Applique – Jenni Dobson
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30. PLAN OF ACTION
1. SHARVI CHOURSIYA- Technique and photography editing.
2. SHREYA AGARWAL- History, Language editing.
3. SIFRA NAVGAONKAR – History , Digital layout and photography.
4. SONA VARGHESE- Motif study, Sketch and photography.
5. SONIA BAPNA- Digital layout of document and presentation and
Nationwide applique
6. SUPRIYA BHARDWAJ- Market study and maps.
7. VEDIKA MAHESWARI- Raw material, Language editing and artisans
profile.
8. VIDUSHI SHARMA- Motifs study, Products, Sketches
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