Aari Bharat Embroidery

The history of the Aari Bharat embroidery belongs to the Mughal era. The Mughal royalty extended their kind patronage to make the artwork of Aari Bharat flourish even more. Though it was primarily practised by the Muslim cobbler communities in India, the karigars (or the craftsmen) of the embroidery form are distributed all over India. The word 'Aari' is derived from 'Aar', which in Hindi means hooked needle. This specific kind of needle resembles the shape of the one used in crochet.

SherwaniStore.com takes pride in its team of creative craftsmen, who hail from different states of India and are highly reputed in their artistic capabilities. The designs and patterns that these well versed craftsmen create on fabric are quite representational. The Aari bharat embroidery can be done on all kinds of fabric, right from various types of silk to cotton fabric. These figures and motifs are created in various subtle gradations of colour. Sherwanis with this exclusive form of embroidery pattern look extremely elegant and are at the same time very sober and match the individual's sense of style and mood.

At many times, the Aari Bharat embroidery is also termed as zari work as it commonly involves the use of zari thread or metallic thread. Not only with colour gradations, but aari bharat embroidery on dress materials is also done using multiple colour threads. The variations in thread colours make the motifs on garments look very naturalistic and depictive. And therefore this style of embroidery can be easily be distinguished from other forms and types of embroidery patterns.

The creation of Aari Bharat embroidery on fabric demands a great amount of precision and patience. At first the selected fabric is fixed on an wooden frame, usually made of bamboos. Craftsmen then trace the pattern on the fabric and then the embroidery work begins. Aar (needle with a hooked end) is used to weave the motifs on the fabric. Thread types used in this embroidery include zari (gold or silver), cotton and silk. The needle work begins from behind when the thread is pushed into the hook. The needle is pushed again and again in such a way that a loop within a loop is created. The process is repeated many times before fine and small sticthes are developed onto the fabric in a unique and interesting pattern.

The craftsmen take extra care that the tension of the thread is uniformly maintained throughout the whole design process. When the karigars have finished the embroidery work, they beat the stitches using a wooden mallet while a wooden anvil remains under the fabric. The final result after hard days of labour is a unique and elegant Aari Bharat embroidery design loved by people of all communities in the country.