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Hubli city & Dharwar city is famous for
one type of traditional embroidery called Kasuti.
In Kannada, the word
for embroidery is Kasuti . Kasuti or Kashidakari is an antique
embroidery form that goes back to the 8th century. Practiced
in the villages bordering Karnataka and Maharashtra, particularly
in Dharwar, Kasuti work has traditionally been and is still
done entirely by women. After a day's hard domestic work, women
devote themselves to Kasuti work. The threads of Kasuti embroidery
speak of folk craft, its beautiful geometric designs derived
from temple sculptures, evoking images of chariots, birds, animals
and flowers, all done in the rangoli format. There is a great
deal of similarity between Rangoli and Kasooti. There are some
differences too. The Rangoli is a free-hand, stationary art-form,
whereas Kasuti is predetermined, mobile, and an art-form based
on needle and thread
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The most frequently used colors are red, purple,
orange and yellow, the brighter shades of these being preferred.
Kasuti is done on both cotton and silk fabrics. The Kasuti worker
does not trace the motifs to set the pattern. The pattern is
in the mind and is built upon a net attached to the cloth. For
extremely fine materials an embroidery ring is employed to help
avoid wrinkles. The basic stitches used are cross and double
running stitches. Once a languishing craft, Kasuti slowly became
almost tint and owes its revival to few intrepid NGO's and some
women craft activities. |
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A great variety of
stitches are employed in order to obtain the desired design.
Frequently employed ones are Ele, Mente, Negi, Gavanthe, and
Marige. Each thread in  the cloth is counted and patterns are
stitched in such way that the designs on both sides of the cloth
look very much alike. It is the tradition to have a couple of
embroidered saris among the bridal trousseau. The pallu (the
throw of the sari, which covers the bosom and the head) is very
elaborately embroidered. Motifs include geometrical designs,
the Gopuram, the kalasha, planted Tulsis, cradles, and chariots.
Animals such as elephants, cows, parrots, bulls and peacocks
are also used. Sometimes, flowers and creepers are interwoven
with the animals. In Maharashtra
and Karnataka, very elaborate Kasuti is embroidered on a great
variety of articles. Ilkal ( Irkal) saris are well suited for
Kasuti work. |
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