This beautifully woven bedspread from India has a pastel cotton base with sapphire-blue edge. It features an intricate ari-style floral embroidery design made with satin thread, and depicts elephants, birds, and other natural motifs. Used as a bedspread or throw, it will bring a gorgeous touch of exotic India to your living space.

For enlarged close-up views of the ari stitching on individual sections of this colorful bed cover, see the Slideshow below.

Dimensions and Weight:

60″ × 90″ • 2 lbs (.9 kg)

Slideshow

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About Ari Embroidery

The art of embroidery in India includes dozens of styles, all varying by region; and one of the best known types of Indian embroidery is the "ari" (sometimes spelled "aari") style, or hook embroidery. This premier handicraft gets its name from the long hooked needle (called an aar), similar to a crochet needle, that is used in making such embroideries. The work is done by stretching a length of woven fabric on a frame and then painstakingly creating an extended series of chain stitches with the aar.

The base cloth may be either cotton or wool, and is generally white or cream in color, though pastel shades are also common. The thread for the embroidery is usually made of very brightly colored silk or satin that blends into the background; however, the needle may also carry sequins, beads, and other embellishments to decorate the pattern. Traditional motifs (called bootis in Hindi) incorporate finely worked flower designs and other natural elements, including peacocks, elephants, and other birds and animals.

The craft of ari embroidery dates back to the 12th century and was once popular in the courts of the Mughal empire, whose royalty prized the beauty and refinement of these elaborate designs on their garments and other fabrics. After the decline of the Mughals, these craftsmen (who were mostly Muslim) scattered to other courts throughout India, seeking royal patronage for their rare skill. It is an ancient art that survives and thrives in Gujarat and other parts of India to this very day.

One of the distinctive characteristics of ari embroidery is that very few stitches are used on the fabric. A highly skilled craftsman may sometimes create an entire design from a single stitch type (often called a "Kashmiri stitch"). For this reason, ari craftsmen — and they are usually men — begin training when they are very young. It takes about 25 years of experience to learn to do really good work; so a 10-year-old apprentice just starting out may not become fully qualified until he is in his 30s!

Today, ari embroidery has become very popular among couturiers and interior decorators worldwide as value-added embellishment for haute couture garments, high-end upholstery, and so on.

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