Ilkal Saree with Kasuti Embroidery

Kasuti embroidery is traditionally done on a Ilkal saree, both (kasuti and ilkal) belonging to the state of Karnataka. In an Ilkal saree, the border and pallu are generally of a different material than the body. Mine was a gift from my mother-in-law and has a spun silk body and an art silk border/pallu.

What is so unique about the saree is the lovely hand embroidery. The Kasuti fits neatly on to a grid if you can imagine it!

Ilkal saree with Kasuti embroidery

This is a closeup of one of the elements in the pallu.

From wikipedia: "Different varieties of stitches are employed to obtain the desired pattern. Some of the stitches employed are Ganti, Murgi, Neyge and Menthe. Ganti is a double running stitch used for marking vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines, Murgi is a zig-zag stitch, Neyge is a running stitch and Menthe is a cross stitch resembling fenugreek seeds."

It is interesting to note how all the stitches mentioned have been used in my saree including the Ganti seen below.

The thread work is done so beautifully that it is hard to differentiate the front from the back!

I also found a nice write-up on Ilkal sarees here.