The Vocabulary
of Chikankari

Grass and leaf stitch. The ground beneath the florals. It roots the gulab and gives the design its sense of place — without it, the roses float.

An open pulled-thread stitch. Creates hollow centers within the flowers by drawing thread away rather than building it up. Where other stitches add, hool removes — making light inside the embroidery.

Meaning "net" or "lattice." One of the most prized and labor-intensive techniques in all of chikankari. Threads are pulled and manipulated by hand to create an open, lace-like mesh within the fabric itself — not added on top of it. The fabric becomes the embroidery.

A structural definition stitch. It does not announce itself. It gives each motif clean edges and a finished presence that separates considered chikankari from careless imitation.

Tiny raised knots packed together to build dimension in the rose centers. You feel murri before you fully see it. Each knot is individual, placed by hand, one at a time.

Round, precise raised knots — smaller than murri, placed as quiet punctuation across the design. Where murri builds mass, phanda places emphasis.

Embroidered entirely from the reverse side of the fabric. Its forms show through from behind — soft, present, and impossible to rush. The main stitch of The Thread.

The chain stitch. Runs through the design as outline and connector, linking motifs with a line so fine it reads almost like drawing. The structure beneath the softness.