Zardosi work ~ Add some shine and sparkle to your clothes !!

Zardosi is a beautiful art work I learned about ten or twelve years ago.
Zardosi is derived from two Persian words. 'Zar' means gold and 'Dosi' means embroidery. It was very popular in India too during the Mughal era, specially in the Northern parts of India.

Zardosi has a metallic finish as it uses different shades of gold and silver thread and tiny,delicate metallic spring and coils. You can either do a whole work involving threads only or you can add beads and sequins. I like the latter kind because I always love some shine and glitter 😁

For doing this work you need Zardosi needle which is similar to crochet needle with a very fine hook at the end, metallic/zardosi needle and an embroidery hoop. Fabric which are a bit thicker is preferred because you will be pulling the thread from underneath the cloth to the top. The fabric above is a mix of silk and cotton. If they are of bright colours the metallic shades will perfectly contrast and add richness to the work.

Heavily worked clothes are still a favorite in Indian weddings. You can view intricate Zardosi work of colourful shiny threads and beads on Indian ethnic wears.
I love simple works. So I just added some rows of beads and sequins around the neck and sleeve on an Indian salwar wear. This was done a few years back and sadly I have outgrown this cloth now 😁 I also did a little elaborate neck work on another red coloured fabric but can't find a picture of it 😐

I tried to brush up my skills recently and below are the images. I tried on some basic stitches and decided to do some patches.

Seems like the skill is still intact and I am happy 😁 Once you get over the initial trouble of getting in rhythm with the needle rest is all easy except for some patience and neck pain. Lols !!

If you love needles and thread of any kind do check out Hive account@needleworkmonday community. Share your skill and get acquainted with another one 😊