What is Aari Embroidery

AARI embroidery or Aari Kari, is a speciality of Kashmiri artisans. Created in fine, concentric rings of chain stitch using a long hooked needle called ‘aer’, it is a form of very fine Aari Embroidery embroidery that involves elaborate and intricate floral motifs. Aari Kari is done in silk, cotton and woolen threads.

Aari is different from other embroideries as the hook used in this is worked from beneath the cloth unlike the other embroideries wherein the work starts from the top. This movement creates loops and repetition of these loops creates the beautiful stitch pattern in striking colors and patterns. The design for embroidery needs to be printed on the fabric before starting any hook work. Today, with the help of advanced stitching procedures it takes lesser time to complete the Aari embroidery work.

SOZNI Embroidery or Sozni Kari is very fine needle work that is carried out on Pashmina, Semi Pashmina and fine wool fabrics. It is one of the most sophisticated forms of Needle Embroidery in the world. This extremely fine, delicate and artistic needle work is only practiced in Kashmir and has no parallels anywhere else.

The design to be embroidered will be drawn on a graph paper first. Most embroidery workshops have a vast collection of blocks that are used for decades. Different blocks are used for printing the borders and the centre. The master craftsmen carefully prints the design using blocks. Printing is done in such a way that just an imprint remains for embroidery.

Chemical ink is used for printing, after which embroidery is done on the printed designs. Colours are decided as the embroidery is executed. If a shade does not produce the desired effect, the embroidery can be undone and replaced with a new shade. The process of completing a Sozni Kari can take up to a few months.