Kantha Stitch

Leave a Comment / Kantha Stitch – A Women centric craft of Bengal / By soulofbengal

Short history of Kantha Stitch

Kantha work

Kantha Stitch is as old as human civilization. The main stitch used for Kantha is the ‘running stitch’. The word Kantha was originally intended to recycle old and discarded clothes into something more useful like rags or blankets. This craft is a folk-art that is used to make recycled products, usually from used sarees and dhotis.

At present Kantha Stitch is one of the most popular handicrafts of Santiniketan, Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. A few Kantha Stitch designs have the additional identifying features of being traditional or artistic in style derived from the specific geographical region associated with it. As these products are handcrafted mainly from Santiketan area, it carries with them a distinctive style of Nandalal Bose and Binode Behari Mukherjee’s Alpona style. These styles were inspired by cave paintings from Ajanta and Ellora. Traditional Pattachitra has also influenced their art form.

This handicraft of Santiniketan is recognized as a traditional craft well known in the region not only for its attractive style but also for design, elegance, and down-to-earth appearance. Because of its uniqueness, Kantha Stitch has already received its GI tag.

The beauty of Kantha Stitch lies in the traditional skills of the artisans. Most of the artisans are rural women. The beauty of the finished products depend on their understanding of materials and their grasp of the design, form and decoration of their products, which are all acquired over generations.

Kantha Stitch – A Women centric craft of Bengal

kantha stitch blouse piece

Unlike Zardousi, Kashida, and Ari Work, Kantha Embroidery of Bengal is predominated by women folk. Traditionally Kantha Stitch is done over old fabric. Modern Kantha Stitched products are made of soft cotton, pure silk, art silk, tussar, georgette and of almost any possible fabric which can hold the stitches.

Some creative and modern work also involve khes cotton, khadi, and tant materials. Usually cotton threads are used for the embroidery.

Kantha Embroidery

Traditionally motifs were not drawn on the fabrics. It was the canvas of the creative mind of those rural women who poured their hearts in order to get rid of their sorrows and sufferings. At present the motifs are drawn on the fabric by stencil method. A combination of different types of ‘running stitches’ such as ‘Dhaner Chari’, ‘Bakheya’, ‘ZigZag’ , ‘Are Tola’, ‘Box’, ‘Karsida’, ‘Chainstitch’ are used according to the demand of the design.

Overall, to give an idea, a Sari with half of the area extensively stitched will take about 400 hours to finish. After stitching, the product will go through a cleaning and polishing. Some of the sketch marks used to guide the stitching may remain after washing, but these fades away after 2-3 washes. These marks are very small and only very close observation can identify them.

These products are handmade. There can be a few irregularities in the alignment of the stitching. Extensive stitching on the fabric may reduce the length and breadth of the clothes in few centimeters. Also, wrinkle-free clothes with Kantha Stitch is almost impossible even after thorough ironing. The finished product may not appear as machine-made finished product. But the final product is a pre-washed and polished product.

Kantha Stitch clothes have an elegant appearance. The design, stitches, and color combinations radiate a graceful aura.

References:

Opportunities and Constraints of the Kantha-stitch craftswomen in Santiniketan: a value chain analysis

Journal of Social Work and Social Development (ISSN 2229-6468), 2011

Sattwick Dey Biswas

Paromita Roy

Paramita Roy

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