Country Stitches is a collection of exquisitely hand embroidered sarees by local artisans from the country sides of West Bengal (the eastern part of India). It comprises of traditional, understated, and refined stitches that make up the ageless language of complex patterns.
To create something special, several hand stitches, crewel work, needlepoint, cross-stitch embroidery, and quilting are mixed, and is mainly done by means of a needle and thread (and sometimes fine wire or Jori).
There are simply too many variants when the myriad of unique threads are added to the mix.
We have used the fundamental herringbone stitch technique with Kantha in our collection of country stitches, primarily Sada Halo Roopkotha, Neela Ambar, Gaach Bagicha, and Gud Patali (and many others yet to be introduced) to create the master pieces.
Herringbone Stitch (Cross-Stitch)
The herringbone stitch belongs to the large cross-stitch family and has many aliases—Mossoul, Russian, Russian cross, catch, Persian, witch, fishnet, and plaited stitch. The most commonly used name appears to be herringbone with the basic completed stitch resembling the backbone structure of the herring fish, commonly found in the North Atlantic Ocean and possibly pointing to the origin of this name.
History records the herringbone stitch was being used in the 1500s, although it was probably used earlier, and continues to present day.
The herringbone stitch also was used extensively to adorn seams and to appliqué additional patches, laces, and cigarette silks to the inner-patched areas on American and English crazy quilts. It’s a stitch used on modern-day samplers, crazy quilting, crewelwork, surface embroidery, needlepoint, and shadow quilting.
To keep this stitch even and neat on plain fabric, you need to mark two parallel lines(traditionally) or patterns with chalk or a water-soluble marker(which you will definitely see on our sarees),space these lines closer or wider apart, depending upon the effect desired .
Kantha Stitch (Run-Stitch)
"Kantha" refers to both the style of running stitch, as well as the finished cloth.
Traditionally, old cotton saris, lungis and dhotis, which had turned incredibly soft through wear, were used to make kanthas, with the thread for the stitching drawn out from the fabric itself. Recycling at its best!
Around five to seven fabrics would be layered together, with lighter coloured fabrics on the outside so the stitch and pattern was discernible. The stitch would cover the entire cloth to provide strength.Women in almost every household in rural villages would be kantha experts, and spend whatever quiet time they had available - between looking after the house and children, tending to livestock and during the long days of the monsoon - on stitching the pieces. It could take months or even years to complete one kantha. The stitching could be handed down through generations, with grandmother, mother and daughter working on the same kantha.
Kantha, one of the oldest forms of embroidery from India and a craft practiced today by millions of South Asian women, originated from the most humble of beginnings. Born in the rural villages of Bengal, this art form all but disappeared in the early 19th century before being revived in the 1940s by the daughter in law of the famed Bengali poet and Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore.
Now that's how much we know about it. Interesting , eh?
We have created these masterpieces for you on comfortable pieces of cloth out of our love for all the antique traditional country artwork.
Now it's your turn to embrace art and tradition, drape this piece of pure elegance, and flaunt this work of exquisite beauty.
Shop Now - https://aamebyabg.in/collections/country-stiches
