Creating Rhythms with Needle and Thread

While most of the dyeing takes place using chemical colours, an array of natural materials, both vegetable and mineral, is also used to provide the strong madder red, indigo blue, ochre yellow and green to dye cloth, yarn or threads for Lambani embroiderers.

Kattha (catechu), Rathanjot, Chawal Kudi (pomegranate peel) are some of the materials used for creating natural colours in which the fabrics are dyed.

Indigo dye stained fingers hold up a seed used for colouring.

Tying sections of the fabric before dyeing, to create a tie-dye effect.

There is also a facility made for roller dyeing at the centre.

The community women operate the machine spinning unit at the centre for preparing the yarn.

A Lambani woman separates the coloured yarn before it goes on to the spinning wheel.

A Lambani spinner transfers loose threads on to small spindles for convenience.

Spools of coloured threads (like the indigo dyed ones in the image) are made at the Sandur Kaushala Kala Kendra, for embroidery work by the Lambani craftswomen.

Many shades of coloured yarn are stored carefully for the embroiderers to use for commercial orders.

Dyed yardage is stacked in a store room to hand out to Lambani women embroiderers. The women may sit collectively or take marked fabric pieces, along with threads, to work at home.

Wooden blocks for hand printing are used at Sandur Kaushala Kala Kendra to mark areas of design on the fabric where embroidery is required.

A block with patterns that date back to traditional tribal motifs used in Lambani embroidery.

A Lambani woman embroiders over pre-marked areas on the fabric according to the requirements of a commercial order from a city.

Block printed fabric from Gujarat is being embroidered upon in Lambani style.

The elaborate handwork on the Lambani woman’s traditional attire, elaborately overlaid with sequins, buttons, mirrors and coins is a sharp contrast to the simply embroidered pieces they make for customers from cities.

A Lambani embroiderer ensures that the simplest of ornamentation on an urban outfit must still be of the highest quality of needlework.

Lambani embroiderers working on pieces ordered by a large retail store which has branches in many cities.

The store on the centre's premises serves local tourist who come to visit the famous ruins of Hampi.

Read more about the Lambanis and their colourful embroidery traditions here:

- Nomad embroideries flourish amidst stone
- Lambani’s coloured homes and embroideries