The making of Lucknow chikankari   

Lucknow is the city of art, culture and its rich heritage, besides being famous for its rich history, Lucknow is recognised worldwide for its Chikankari work. Chikankari, which in the literal sense means embroidery is derived from the Persian word ‘Chakin’ which is also pronounced as ‘Chikan’. It is believed that Noor Jehan, wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir introduced Chikankari in Lucknow. Keeping the traditional Chikan embroidery alive in its finest form, Ada Designer Chikan Studio carried forward the legacy of this timeless craft and become a premium name for the Lucknow chikan embroidery.

For all those who love chikankari as much as we do, let’s take on the journey of the making of chikan embroidery at Ada Designer Chikan Studio.

• Cutting and styling of fabric

The first step is cutting and styling of the fabric in which the tailor cuts the fabric into the desired shape. After cutting, the tailor gives a running stitch to the garment.

• Creating wooden blocks for design

Different patterns of wooden blocks are created like floral, butis or borders as per the design of the raiment. The wooden block is dipped in the colour solution which is made by mixing glue and indigo.

• Printing of Design on Fabric

The designs are printed on the semi-stitched garment with blocks of different designs dipped in dye. The printer dabs the block in the colour and places it on the fabric which is spread on the table.

• Needle Craft of Chikan Stitches

Craftsmen create embroidery over the printed fabric using needle, thread and frame in which the cloth is placed. Different types of patterns like motifs or butis are created with a variety of chikan stitches like Bakhiya, Phanda, Keel Kangan, Pechni etc.

• Washing and Finishing

After the embroidery is completed, the fabric is soaked in water and then washed to remove the block printed blue colour. The stiffness which you see on a chikan product is obtained by starching and ironing of the cloth.

• Quality Check 

The next step is quality checking of the product, we take care of garment quality at each stage of production. If the product surpasses our quality standards then only it is made available for delivery.

• Product Shipped to ADA Store 

The last step is the shipping of the product to Ada Chikan’s store, we at Ada provide worldwide delivery of Chikankari products.

– by Lubna Fatima