Manufacturing Process Of Chikankari.
by
Arsh Chikankari
07 Aug 2023
Chikankari is beautiful form of art which has been carried down to generations from over 300 years. The art of Embroidery first entered India back in 3rd Century. But the Chikankari Embroidery took a leap ahead of any other Embroidery starting from 17th Century. Originally Chikankari Embroidery was done on White Pure Muslin or Cotton cloths only but eventually as the fashion trends changed Chikankari Embroidery was done on coloured cloths and also from coloured threads. Now Lucknow Chikankari dress is a must have in your closet and also loved all around the world.
Today we would like to share with you the process of Manufacturing Chikankari products.
Firstly, for the Embroidery the manufacturers have to select cloth on which the Chikan embroidery has to be done. For this the Manufacturer gets sample from at least 8-10 cloth mills. After checking the quality of the cloth, the manufacturer has to decide the number of products he wants to make in a particular design. According to which he purchases the cloth from the mill. This process generally takes 1-2 weeks.
Then, the manufacturer gets the product stitched from the cloth according to the sizes required by him. After the dresses have been stitched there is a further inspection of the pieces in matter of sizes and the quality of stitching of the product. After all this is approved, then the dresses go to the “Chappai Master” i.e. local Lucknow resident experts who print the required embroidery by the manufacturer in each dress. This is done through the wooden blocks or “Chaapa as called in the local market. This whole process is called “The Chapaai Process” and takes approximated 2-3 weeks according to the prices.
After all this, the printed dresses are then further sent by manufacturers to the local artisans who do the Chikankari Embroidery on the printed area of the product. The Chikankari embroidery skills has been in the blood of Lucknow from last 3 centuries at least and have been carried down from generations to generations. The artisans who make the Chikankari Embroidery are generally ladies living in Village and outskirts of Lucknow, so manufacturers sent the products directly to them. Here the artisans generally take 1 month to some times more than 6 months just to make embroidery in a single piece, depending on the amount of Embroidery work told by the manufacturers.
Lastly, after all the work is done on the product by artisans, the manufacturer gets it washed using Starch and Chemical to remove the printed ink in Chapaai process and for the exquisite finish of the product. Then the product is checked by the Tailor Master or the Head Tailor for any damages or any other fault in the product. After the Master approves the product, it is checked twice by the manufacturer for embroidery quality, cloth quality or any other fault in the product. Finally, when the product is totally approved then the product enters the market for the final consumers.
All in total a Chikankari piece can take a period of 1 month to an year for it to be complete.