Shantiniketan, in the Birbhum area of West Bengal, is the birthplace of the needlework technique known as kantha, which is famed for its beautiful motifs. Traditionally used to adorn quilts, this kind of stitching is now more often seen on sarees.
One of the most well-known types of Bengali handmade sarees is the kantha stitch saree. Each piece of clothing has its own unique style, which is seen in this collection of silk and tussar saris. It takes anything from a month to a year to create the saree, and all of the patterns are handwoven. Hand painting is used on certain sarees, and the kantha stitch is used to sew it together. Sarees with kantha stitching, such as those made of tussar silk, pure silk or blended silk, are very well-crafted and attractive.
Background
The word “kantha” in Bengali refers to an embroidered quilt. They used to build quilts out of discarded saris and dhotis in rural Bengal by stacking three or four pieces and sewing the layers together using coloured threads from the border of one sari, while embroidering motifs on the layers. The word “kantha stitch” was coined since the running stitch was often used in embroidery. Because they were light and comfortable, the quilts were ideal for swaddling babies throughout the colder months of the year.
Sarees in the Kantha style are an Indian tradition
Kantha needlework on sarees is often done with silk, tussar silk, blended silk, art silk or cotton. However, even though they are now made commercially by a number of parties, including fabric wholesalers and designers as well as merchandisers, the Bolpur rural craftswomen continue to embroider these sarees in a tradition that has been handed down for many decades. It might take weeks or even months to create each sari, depending on the intricacy of the embroidery motifs. It is the quality of the cloth that ultimately determines the price of a Kantha Embroidery Saree.
It’s hard to deny the relevance of the Kantha and the Kantha Saree in the modern world Saris, especially those made in the kanth stitch, have been around for quite some time, yet they still have a major place in the fashion world. The flowing stitches of the kantha sari give it a wavy look. With the run stitch, other stitches like the loop and satin stitches are also often employed. Darning stitches are also common. Price is decided by the quantity of labour that has been done, the kind of cloth used, and the intricacy of the stitching pattern employed in a kantha stitch sari. The pallu or the borders of the garment may be embellished with kantha work instead of using the design all over the saree. If you look closely at the hanta fabric, you’ll see that the kantha stitching often represent images from ancient myths.
Banglar Sare 