Discovering Textiles from across the world

This article of mine appeared in Silkmark Magazine, published by Silkmark Organisation of India (SMOI)  The one place stop for Textiles of Bhutan, a veritable living museum as it is termed is the RTA – Royal Textile Academy Image Courtesy - Royal Textile Academy of Bhutan    A very old article written by me popped up. It was time to review and know more about how the textiles in Bhutan and the Royal Academy of Textiles was doing. The following is the old article. A further update and article, I will post a bit later.  Mrs. Dorji, the  Executive Director, Royal Textile Academy  recounted the origins of the RTA -  “ In 2001, the country's first permanent Textile Museum was opened by the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) under the patronage of Her Majesty the Queen   Mother Sangay Choden Wangchuck.  This was an important step towards collecting, documenting and displaying our exquisite textiles ...

Silk, the world loves it and it is one of the most premium and luxury fabric in the world. We take you on a brief on innovations of silk. Silk one of the oldest of fabric known to mankind has held its own in the world of luxury. Silk has been coveted, traded and zealously guarded. Given this romance around silk, there has been a continuous process for innovation in it. Along with it there have been innumerable research to create parallels from other plant and insect bodies. The results have been interesting, but the fact remains that Silk has managed to hold its own. However, it is interesting to trace the efforts made for these innovative alternatives. Read on and enjoy the brief compilation. The most recent in 2012 has been the weaving of cloth - the world’s largest pieces from spider silk. Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley worked on an unique five year long project, and silk from over one million female golden orb-weaver spiders were collected from Madagascar.  This was woven...

( We had briefly given an introduction to Hungarian embroidery or Embroidery from Hungary in the earlier article. Here we look at different types of embroidery from Hungary very broadly. We hope these intricate stitches give you inspiration.)   Different types of Embroidery The stitches common to Hungarian embroidery include satin, cross stitch, daisy and chain stitch and darning stitches. Apart from the fine painstaking Matyo needlework, the Kalocsa embroidery centre is another well known place. Hodmezovasarhely the embroidery style popular in the 17 th /18 th Century is being revived and made into contemporary home furnishings. Cross stitch embroidery from Bereg, red and blue Paloc embroidery, Sarkoz, Transdanubia consisting Rabakoz and Buzsak. Each centre well known for its share of needlework. Halas lace is unique and stands out. The most painstakingly done embroidery, which is outstanding, is embroidery from Matyo. It is beautiful to say the least.  Done using minut...

Hungarian Embroidery   - Intricate, eye catching, beautiful and extremely innovative is how Hungarian embroidery can be described. Designer’s take inspiration from traditions across the world, textiles, history, culture, embroidery, craft….to create their magnificent lines.   . The traditions got from across the shores were honed further by Indian craftsmen. When India was so open to foreign influences centuries ago, should we be far behind! Here’s a little inspiration coming from Hungary.   Hungarian Embroidery and textile crafts beginnings are similar to that of India. Meaning many of the tradition or styles of embroidery started off at home. It was predominantly used by girls or women to put together the dowry. Today, the traditional skill and technique is kept alive what changes is its application. The embroidery on a traditional skirt today finds place in a stylish blouse for a working woman. Embroidery on coat today can be seen on cushion covers, place mats and tab...

  ( We had broadly defined the scheme in our earlier post, this one speaks more of the clusters in some detail.) The Pilot Scheme – The pilot scheme which can be replicated has been set up at various places and today there are 20 pilot projects. These are at Bargarh, Barabanki, Bhagalpur, Bijoy Nagar, Bijnore, Burdwan, Chirala, Gadag, Chanderi / Gwalior, Imphal, Kullu, Kurinjipadi, Madhavaram, Mubarakpur, Nadia, Sonepur, Thiruvannamalai, Trichy, Thiruvananthapuram and Varanasi. Spread across the country, the products in each of the cluster as diverse as it can get. The implementation agency which also looks at co-ordination is different in each of these clusters but what stands out is the range of products which have been developed exclusively in each of the sectors. Some of them so strong that it is used as a sourcing base by designers both Indian and International. For example Bargarh in Orissa though a traditional hot bed for ikkat and tie and dye, the products have been in...

The pride of place – India’s handloom Industry India's handloom industry has usually been associated with the image of craft, what is often forgotten is that it is the second largest provider of employment in the country after agriculture. Given this, there is a definitive thrust by the Government to augment the sector and give it support to shape up into a well defined industry. One such initiative has been the development of handloom clusters. The main purpose of developing these clusters has apart from the agenda of social development and keeping a skill heritage alive, the vast potential available in working with handlooms. The strength ranging from flexibility of production in small quantities, openness to innovation, low capital investment and the magical design combinations that are possible. Being one of its kind, the export potential is tremendous as also its usage in the domestic market. Of the various schemes launched including development of Mega Clusters as per the...