Eri & Muga silk shawl highlighting hand-embroidered patchwork.

Boro is a Japanese technique of stitching together as patchwork anything that may need to be mended or given additional support from tearing apart. Sashiko is like the Kantha stitch, however Japanese use of thread size is different from Indian Kantha, which is what lends a totally unique aesthetic even though the technique of running the stitch is the same.

I am inspired by Japanese aesthetics and Indian craftsmanship. In Samaaya, I have given my best creative effort to combine the two. I reduced the Sashiko stitch thread size and chose a finer size. Also, I decided to reduce the sizing of the patchwork used in a typical Boro patch and make the form more intentional rather than emergent. 

Each textile fabric was carefully chosen by my mother to create the colour family I wished to achieve. This was achieved by segregating thousands of little pieces grouped together into individual colour families. 

Param did every single tiniest stitch by hand using Kantha/ Sashiko in a Boro adaptation of patchwork, stacking fabrics one on top of the other. The embroidery took many months and remained a work in progress that she would continue in the available time. Param has been trained by my mother. Up until 2020, she did not know how to hold a needle. This feat of embroidered patchwork reflects the journey my mother, as a trainer, and Param, as a trainee, has made.

I call this shawl Samaaya because I feel a bond with this shawl, the one where mindstreams move together. It carries the essence of Indian craftsmanship in its finished and elegant look, yet still retaining the humble visible aspect of handcraft celebrated in Japanese workmanship. 

Samaaya is a one-of-a-kind textile designed to highlight a unique coming together of various techniques and creativity of handcraft. This design will not be recreated.

Param made the patchwork & beadwork 

Gurmail, the tailor

Narmohan Dada, the master wild silk pioneer

Mumma, Madhu, patchwork technical eyes and segregating hands

Midtoan.com, the photographer

Designed by Ritika