As has happened to many forms of embroidery, Phulkari embroidery handmade in the Punjab and the northern areas of India was slowly being replaced by machine-made embroidery. That was until a group of women got together to revive it. The group are now promoting it, supporting themselves and their families, and encouraging the younger generation to value it too.
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| Phulkari motifs. Photo courtesy: Strand of Silk |
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| Phulkari embroidery. Photo courtesy: Wikipedia |
There's a short BBC video about this extraordinarily labour intensive embroidery here. The video clearly shows the technique, and how it is stitched.
It's interesting that shape of the 8-petalled lotus flower used in Phulkari appears in many other forms of embroidery, such as canvas work, pulled thread or Schwalm. It can be purely decorative or represent either a flower or an 8-pointed star. Here it is on my canvas work bookmark stitched with a one of Penny Cornell's variegated threads.
