THE CRAFT PROJECT

CRAFT PROJECT IIAD & RANGSUTRA Name- Armaan Singh Level- 5

MY VISION OF LUCKNOW VISION - LUCKNOW Lucknow in the current scenario gives a very antique and royal vibe when visioned through ancient Mughal ways.

For centuries, Lucknow is famous for handicraft work.

The Nawabs of Awadh were great patrons of fine art of which most well known is exquisite Chikankari work. Chikankari is unique craft involving embroidery in a variety of textile fabric like muslin, silk, chiffon, tanzeb, organza, doria and oragandi. There are 36 types of stitches used in chikan work of which Murri, Bakhiya, Jali, Tepchai, Pechni are widely used.

Apart from kurta; saree, salwar-suit, . topis, handkerchief, dupatta are very common. The demand of these things has increased in India and abroad.

In Lucknow the main chikan work is in chowk locality and Daligunj pull. Besides chikan work; Zardozi and Kamdani work are widely appreciated.

Lucknow is known as shoppers delight that is hard to resist.

ABOUT THE BRAND Rangsutra is a bridge between rural artisans and global consumers taking care of more than 2000 artisans. Rangsutra is helping artisans to grow creatively and economically by giving job opportunities and fair amount of wages out of which women are in strength.These artisans are raising the craft in their family lineage.

Rangsutra gives life to artisans by understanding their need and passion. . The few prominent crafts practised are : • Chikankari • Applique • Desert embroidery • Handloom • Kashmiri embroidery • Ralli • Tie and Dye.

ABOUT THE CRAFT Chikankari is a very delicate and intricate hand embroidery process done with needle, threads and embroidery frame. The craft was born during 3rd century BC by a Greek man, who introduced it to the artisans of the town, but the craft gained popularity during the reign of Persian Mughal emperor Jahangir.

Raw Materials: • Cotton, silk, chiffon, crepe, georgette is used for embroidery.

• Cotton thread is used to create the design over the cloth.

• Golden zari, silver zari and anchor threads are used for embroidery. .• Indigo colour used in printing process.

List of Tools: • Needle-Thread • Circular shaped frame • Wooden blocks for printing • Rectangular wooden table • Containers for washing cloth

LUCKNOW IN STUDIO The Lucknow city is famous for Nawabs, Kebab and Adaab.

It welcomes you with royalty of Rumi Darwaza, Bada Imambada, Chota Imambada, Kaiserbagh Palace and many more monuments which we visited in our journey. We proceeded towards Phool Wali Gali in Phuara Chowk with fabric to get it block printed, followed by travelling to Sandeela, a small village in the outskirs of Lucknow, to learn embroidery directly from the artisans who practice the craft from their days of learning, and thereafter completing the process by washing the fabrics at ghat with detergents and acids for the removal of block ink to give a complete look to the fabric.

TRACING AND TRACING SKETCHES & SKETCHES A group activity in which sketches/traces of city were designed which give the reflection of the city.

MOOD BOARD Moodboard is defining the mood of the project.

COLOUR BOARD Colour directions were discussed during interaction sessions with Rangsutra.

INSPIRATION BOARD The inspiration board for the group was made to realisethe direction of work and the group was divided into categories like womenethnic, sustainable fashion,menswear, bottoms, womens-western. So I prepared a kurta for womens-ethnic range keeping in mind the history of clothing of rulers of that era.

CAD FOR MOTIFS Based on these Digital CAD, drawings/motifs were created for designing.

-

DESIGN ITERATIONS The design iterations are essential aspect that helps in adding accuracy to the garment.The iterations give direction in which fabric has to be cut and sewen.

DESIGN ITERATIONS

STITCHING PROCESS Selecting the garment from within the sources and making the final garment on the Indian traditional home machine was a different experience in itself.

The process of making garment included pintucks and .panel joining.

-

EMBROIDERY SAMPLES The purpose of making these samples was to make collection for the client.

MY EMBROIDERY WORK

FINAL GARMENT This garment was developed catering to the women ethnic wear. The design has been derived from fig no.2 of design iteration. The process of stitching has been shown in slides.

The color and ethnic design has come out in a very beautiful way.

MY FINAL GARMENT SHOOT