Travel with Twinny .. embroidery means embellishment!

Hi !

This is Twinny reporting from

the Little Queen Embroidery Shop ,a tiny shop in the synagogue lane of the Jew town in Matancherry ,Kochi !

The owner , a Keralite gentleman ,Thomas P.E introduces me to a whole new world . It is the painstaking art of HAND EMBROIDERY,

‘adornment by

threadwork ‘ of …apparel , tableware, towels ,what -have – you !

I pick up an organza throw and remark how gorgeous the design on

it , is .

‘Oh that is Spanish shadow work ‘ Thomas informs me .

‘Motifs are drawn on sheer fabric like organdy , silk backstitch is used to outline these motifs , then ‘filling ‘ is done from behind with herringbone or double back stitches .

This produces a shadow of colour on the front of the fabric . Whilst in Spain ( the land of fringes and tassels! ) a blue background is used , the Italians prefer a

‘white on white’ .

Any which way , the final look is dignified and aristocratic .

I marvel at how neat the stitches at the back of the fabric are .

From the front..

From the back …

Sensing my awe , Thomas says lightly ,

‘Oh , this embroidery is easy compared to

the French Knot ,’ He then proceeds to demonstrate how exactly a single French knot is done.

‘Stretch the cloth on a small embroidery hoop , wind a silk thread twice around the needle , pierce the cloth ,pull back , voila !’

I try my hand at it. It takes me a tense two minutes to get one knot done !

Naturally I am left dumbstruck when Thomas displays a table runner which has 2800 knots in its every inch !

Wowwww!

Haha , laughs Thomas wickedly , enjoying my bewilderment.

‘Look here! ‘he said pointing to a unique embroidery on white linen .

‘This is Hapdanger embroidery from Norway .It is rich in ‘drawn thread work’ and the cloth has plenty of ‘voids ‘ traversed by delicate threads , sometimes , by just a single thread!

I gasp!

”Yes ,Hand embroidery is a very skilled and laborious art . Unfortunately it’s a dying art form .

The first hand embroidery Machine was introduced in France in 1832 and now with computerised embroidery machines ,

embroidered garments are churned out by the dozen .

Here in Kochi there are barely a handful of women who actually hand -embroider !

St Gallen embroidery which is also whitework ,was such a productive part of the Swiss economy , a picture of it is imprinted on the Swiss Franc .

And you must know that Michelle Obama chose to wear a St Gallen lace overcoat at the swearing in ceremony of her husband Barack Obama .

Wowwww again !

”Now mostly machine -made pieces are available .It is only here in Kochi that women sit together and sew 8 hours for a paltry 150 Rs !”

A deep respect grew in my heart for the artisan who produced such beauty .

But Thomas was not finished .

He theatrically unfolded an heirloom Venetian piece of exquisite craftsmanship …

gossamer lace used to adorn royal Victorian dresses , the detailing amazing because of the number of bobbins used, not 24 , good grief as many as 84 ! Once again I was starryeyed !

No wonder the Prince of Wales and His wife Camellia have visitedThomas ‘ shop to buy lace !

They liked my

‘petite point ‘ a lot , said Thomas proudly ‘ The Prince was very knowledgeable. He wanted to know how many counts there were in each inch . Of course I had an answer to his every question !

Thomas , you have mentioned French/Spanish / Italian / Swiss embroidery .. all European , but we in India have so many hand embroidered fabrics .

”Yes , yes , hand embroidery is as old as the hills .. it’s in China , Japan , in the Middle East , Turkey ,everywhere !These were luxury items catering to the elite choices of aristocrats , of royalty.

In India there are so many varieties of handembroidery …

Kantha from West Bengal,

Phulkari from Punjab ,

Aari from Kashmir!

In fact Chikankari from Lucknow is exactly similar to shadow work and probably originated here in India much earlier than it did in Europe !

In the court of Akbar too, brocades were enriched with gold threads ( zardosi ) , mirrors , precious gems !

As for the elaborately embroidered Parsee Gara sarees .. they are sold in Mumbai but toiled over right HERE in Kochi !

Did you know it takes 2 years to make an 8 metre saree border ?!

Once again , I gasped !

My head was swimming with images of beautiful borders , royal dresses,embroidered shoes.

The warm Kochi sun, the gentle whirring of the fan , the sinking in of all this information made me long for a cup of hot tea .

I mentioned this and Thomas instantly whisked out a beautiful teacosy complete with tray cloth .

It was simply irresistible!

It was now definitely TIME to BUY and buy I did … a dozen embroidered napkins, 6 placemats , a set of embroidered towels, 2 dresses for a three year old , a runner here , a lace doilie there !

Armed with all these pretty purchases I was set to invite my stylish nephew Ranveer all the way from California for a cup of tea . He is a boy of exquisite taste and has a keen eye for all things fine and beautiful !

There you go Ranveer …

”a pristine white ,scalloped tray mat with a pleasing embroidered napkin placed in an appliquéd pocket on the left hand corner.

Oh yes ….and

here

is your cup of tea!

😊 Byeeeee!