KASUTI TUTORIAL

COPYING CONTENT

2009-07-06T08:23:00.001+05:30

I had a nasty shock today while browsing the web. I found some of the contents from my Kasuti tutorial copied and posted word for word in another blog and the author was passing it off as her own. There is no possibility of her having copied the contents from the same book I have copied it from as my husband first reasoned - because Whatever I have posted is from my personal notes taken over 15 years of teaching embroidery.

My husband and sons had smug smiles on their faces and if any one of them had said, "I told you so." I would have smacked them. Their constant nagging about other people copying content was one of the reasons why I did not continue the tutorial. Their main concern was the amount of time and effort I was putting into it.

I never worried about copyrights before because thus far I've always found people stumbling on interesting blogs referring readers or directing them to the said blog.
Simply speaking, I never felt the need.

Now it looks like I have to water mark my tutorials and look into copy rights.

2006-05-07T00:12:00.000+05:30

Lesson 1:

Press fabric to be embroidered. Fold lengthwise and breadthwise to mark center.
Likewise mark center of the net after correcting by cutting out any uneven edges using the grid of the net as a guide.

Note: sometimes, the net may be out of shape … slightly askew even after evenly cutting out the edges. This can be corrected by gently pulling the diagonaly corners – first one set of corners then the other.

Baste net in place over the fabric so their centers are perfectly aligned.

The scale shows the relationship between the graph and the grid in the net.

You have to bring the needle up at the center of the square in the grid.
It needle goes down at the center of the third square ... comes up again at the center of the fifth...

Observe that 5 squares are shared by 2 lines, 7 squares by 3 lines, 9 squares by 4 lines...

When working borders, you may want to calculate the space required to complete a border. Or you may want to calculate how many repeats of a motif can be done in a particular space - or if a paticular space is sufficient for completing a motif.

Here is a simple formula:

Number of squares on the net = 2 X number of squares on the graph +1
No. of squares on net Border 1 will need = 2 x 16 +1 = 17 squares

This is the chart for borders 1, 2 and 3.

Border 1: Simply work the Holbein stitch in 2 journeys as shown in the picture below, the arrow indicates the starting point.

The First or Main journey is shown in pink and the return jounrney is shown in green.

The return journey is generally worked in the same colour as the main journey. But here, we’ll follow the two-colour scheme to distinguish between the main journey and the return journey.

Borders 2 and 3 should’nt be difficult. Just follow the line on the Main journey and come back to the starting point same as before.

I will show the entire pattern worked in the same colour along side. I have just charted out the designs for this tutorial. I am yet to work on the sampler. I’ll post pictures of the sampler, when I complete it.

2006-05-06T06:35:00.000+05:30

History of Kasuti

"Kasuti" is a technique of embroidery Unique to the state of Karnataka - famous for its sandalwood forests and its beautiful garden city, Bangalore. "Kasuti" literally means embroidery in the local language.

What I find interesting about this technique is its similarity to Spanish Blackwork.
Of course the motifs and depictions are different, but the technique is the same. Kasuti is reversible and so is Blackwork. Though I already knew about blackwork, (I have even worked a couple of samplers) I discovered only recently that it is reversible.

This beautiful style of embroidery dates back to the 7th Century A.D. It originated in the old provinces of present day North Karnataka. It spread down south of the state in the course of time especially during the reign of the mighty Chalukyas, the Hoyasalas, the Rashtrakutas, the Pallavas and the Vijayanagar empires.

In tribal villages, women presented brides with a typical black saree with a red border which they called Kali Chandrakala on which extensive kasuti was done.

The credit for active interest in this intricate art form in the country goes to Mrs. Ahilya Kirloskar and Ms. Indra Joshi. They created awareness of this art form through "Needle and Thread" - the only Needlework magazine in India. This Magazine is published by Coats India.

Mrs. Ahilya Kirloskar has published her collection of designs in 4 parts.
For those in India, who are interested in this embroidery, I furnish below the publisher's address.

Publisher:
Mrs. Pushpa Bakre
"Jayatashri"
124/4, Erandavana
Pune - 411 004

I admit this address is from 1993, when I bought the books. They are not available in any book stores. You'll have to write to the publisher directly and send a demand draft, for the required amount depending on the availability of the books.
I plan to write to Mrs.Pushpa myself. I'll keep you updated.

A word of caution. Please note down the DD number and send the DD in registered post with acknowledgement due. This will prevent your DD getting lost in post.

In Kasuti, all motifs are geometrical and it was originally executed by actually counting the threads of the fabric. Can you imagine how difficult that must have been? Yet these women turned out such beautiful work. Inspiration for the motifs were mostly drawn from every day objects like temple towers, tulsi plant (basil plant which we Indians consider very sacred – probably due to its medicinal qualities), peacocks, flowers, deer etc.

Another important aspect of this art form is that the motifs no matter how elaborate always ends where it began.

Styles:
Kasuti is done in four distinct styles. They are Muragi, Ganti, Neygi and Methi.
Motifs and borders worked in the Muragi and Ganti styles, range from the very simple to extremely challenging. Some motifs incorporate both styles.
The only stitch employed in Muragi and Ganti styles of Kasuti is the double running stitch also called Holbein Stitch.

Holbein Stitch: This is the basic running stitch done in 2 journeys. First work a line of running stitches (first journey). The graph below indicates the basic running stitch - the first journey.

At the end of the line, return to the starting point by filling in all the gaps (second Journey) - shown in red, returning to the starting point.

Also visit Blackwork for comparison and understanding of the concept - no matter how elaborate always ends where it began.

1. Muragi: The Holbein stitch is worked as zig-zag lines. This stitch looks the same on both sides of the cloth.
2. Ganti: The Holbein stitch is worked as straight lines. This style too looks identical on both sides
3. Neygi: Neygi means woven – an apt name as this style has a woven look. Does not look the same on both sides of the fabric.
4. Menthe: Menthe is the Kanada (language spoken in Karnataka) term for the fenugreek seed. The stitch used in this style is our regular cross-stitch. The stitches look like the fenugreek seeds and hence the name.

The Negi and Menthe styles are not reversible.

With the information of history and styles out of the way, let’s get down to the working of the designs.

2006-04-18T22:53:00.000+05:30

Lets start at the very beginning...

These are the materials required for learning Kasuti.

Click on picture to enlarge.

The graph is used for charting and analyzing complex patterns before we start the embroidery on the fabric.

Kasuti is the kind of hand embroidery in which the designs are geometrical and worked by taking equidistant running stitches by counting the same number of threads at each step.

A special feature of kasuti is that no knot is used – either at the beginning or at the end of each length of thread used.

Another interesting feature of this art form is – no matter how elaborate the pattern, the point where it begins always coincides with where it finishes.

Points to note before beginning.

In this tutorial, we will work kasuti on calico net (white net in picture) sewn to the base fabric (pink fabric in picture) to facilitate counting. Once the embroidery is done, the threads of the net are pulled out.

While it is okay to work kasuti on aida fabric, aida fabric should not be used instead of the net. The reason is when the threads of the aida fabric are removed, the stitches on the base fabric will loosen giving the work a shabby look. This is because aida fabric is thick when compared to net.