When the Needle and Thread Meet the Fabric

Craftsman Shabir Ali Beigh says that the needle is their all-powerful tool towards economic success, as also an expression of their dedication and talent.

He says they had to practice a certain movement of holding the needle and passing it through the cloth for six months before they perfected the stitch.

Today, he can fit 500 stitches per square centimetre of a cloth.

This is when needle meets thread. The design to be embroidered is block printed to guide the embroiderer, who will choose the colour-ways to be used for this shawl.

The embroiderer describes this regulated pattern of flowers, leaves and berries as duffe daar kani sozni.

Embroiderers had to practice a certain movement of holding the needle and passing it through the cloth for six months before they perfected the stitch.

Another version of a pond daar kani sozni shawl shows a combination of pastels surrounded and highlighted in black threads.

Posh kaar kani sozni is the Kashmiri name identifying the design on this shawl. Posh means flower, indicating that this is a flower-bedecked design.

A badam or almond is the Kashmiri word used for what is commonly identified as a paisley shape. In other parts of India, it is also described as ambi, or mango-shaped.

Zand badam posh kaar, the name of this design, describes a horn-shaped structure extending out of an almond and surrounded by flower.

A somewhat folk-ish interpretation of the formal shikargah or hunting scene usually executed on carpets and in papier machie art.

The kani shawl in autumn colours has 24 flowers in one block.

The 24 poshal kani sozni is a fine example of how closely the threads are embroidered, not leaving even a tiny space of the pashmina cloth at the base until the last six inches or so.

The gently curving lines enclosing small motifs, closely clustered together, is described as melon shaped kani sozni, since the rounded sections appear to be in the shape of a melon.

This kharboz daar design is executed in almost monochromatic colours which, amazingly, will contain anything from 18 to 24 different shades of thread.

This kani shawl is called the pond daar sozni because you see small coin shaped flowers that make up the overall design.

The inspiration comes from special coins, called pond, that are given to the bride at her wedding.

This is an example of a carefully selected and matched set of monochromatic, gently merging with pale colours.

The recently completed prize collection of kani sozni shawls hung out casually to be displayed.

They are embroidered by the Beigh family who introduced the name ‘kani sozni’ to indicate a combination of kani (a type of weaving) and sozni (a generic name for embroidery) to the lexicon of hand work in Kashmir.

The Beigh family is also willing to experiment with simpler scarves and mufflers for tourists who come to Kashmir to play at the lush green golf courses.

The golfers are shown amidst standard trellis motifs.

More childish experiments, like images of penguins and babies, are meant for easy sales. These are for customers who do not look for elaborate embroidery, but just want a small soft pashmina and embroidery souvenir from Kashmir for their children.

Kashmiri youth are very fond of sports and follow all the state, national and international matches, particularly in football and cricket.

These computer-accessed images were used as designs to embroider a small pashmina muffler for men.

Read more about the art of Kani Sozni here:
- Laying the Standards
- The Process