Kantha

for other uses see Kantha (disambiguation)

Kantha stitched saris on display at Amar Kutir

Kantha is a type of embroidery popular in Bangladesh and in West Bengal, India. The use of kantha is popular in saris traditionally worn by women in Bengal, but any garment or cloth with kantha embroidery (having a border of decorative running stitch motifs) may be called a kantha garment.

Kantha stitching is also used to make simple quilts. Women in Bengal typically use old saris and cloth and layer them with kantha stitch to make a light blanket, throw or bedspread, especially for children. Kantha is very popular with tourists visiting Bengal and is a specialty of Bolpur/Shantiniketan, and is similar to the decorative running stitch of Japanese sashiko quilting. Kantha originated from the way in which Bengali housewives mended old clothes by taking out a strand of thread from the colorful border of their saris and making simple designs with them.

Kantha used as bed for a baby

Kantha embroidery of West Bengal

Kantha is still the most popular form of embroidery practised by rural women. The traditional form of Kantha embroidery was done with soft dhotis and saris, with a simple running stitch along the edges. Depending on the use of the finished product they were known as Lepkantha or Sujni Kantha. The embroidered cloth has many uses including women's shawls and covers for mirrors, boxes, and pillows. In the best examples, the entire cloth is covered with running stitches, employing beautiful motifs of flowers, animals birds and geometrical shapes, as well as themes from everyday activities. The stitching on the cloth gives it a slight wrinkled, wavy effect. Contemporary Kantha is applied to a wider range of garments such as sarees, dupatta, shirts for men and women, bedding and other furnishing fabrics, mostly using cotton and silk.

kantha used as bed

Closeup of a kantha. In the left and bottom Paar is shown, also the running stitches (white) are seen

Other uses of the word

Kantha also means "throat". The name Nilakanth is given to Lord Shiva, literally meaning "blue throat" after he swallowed the poison that resulted from the churning of the ocean, or "Throat chakra". Kantha is also used as an adjective to describe a style of necklace that lies close to the throat, open at the back.

See also

• Nakshi Kantha

External links

• Kantha Embroidery of West Bengal