India is a land where you can have the pleasure of wearing different types of fabrics, woven with exclusive embroideries. Some of these embroideries reflect the rich cultural heritage of the country while some throw light into the modern culture of the country. All in all, it can be said that when it comes to the Indian embroidery and fabric work, even the modern designer designs fail.
One such age-old fabric style that is yet a valuable possession of the women in West Bengal, Orissa, and the North Easter states is the kantha style fabric. Made up from stacking old sarees or another piece of clothing, the entire stack is woven together to form a layered cloth, with different types handwork on them. This particular style of cloth is mostly hand woven and that is why its essence is pure and marvelous. As the stacks are woven together, wrinkles and folding are introduced in the cloth, giving it a unique design.
In modern-day fashion, the Kantha style has become quite popular. Nowadays, starting from bed sheets to sarees, this age-old embroidery style is being adapted by many fashion houses. The most prominent area where Kantha style has been introduced without a doubt is the scarf industry. The cloth worn by the women around their neck are mostly made up of the Kantha design, giving the neckties an exquisite outlook. Made from vibrant to dull colours, the designs crafted on the cloth pieces are magnificent. They are usually made from soft silk fiber or cotton fibers, giving an overall softness to the scarves.
Recently, this Kantha style embroidery has become women’s must-to-have clothing in their wardrobe. Let’s have a glance around the different styles of Kantha works that can be seen amidst the crowd nowadays!
VINTAGE STYLED KANTHA SCARVES
These are somewhat based on the traditional embroidery patterns. Mainly made from silk or cotton fabrics, they reflect the embroidery designs that used to appear in the old Indian culture, highlighting the Bengal’s culture more. From black animal prints to the polka dots or stripes, the vintage Kantha scarf has become popular especially with the Indian traditional dresses. When paired with a traditional shoe wear and the oxidized jewelry, these scarves can heighten the Indian look largely.
GEOMETRIC PATTERN KANTHA SCARVES
Geometric patterns are somehow the most modernistic embroidery designs and are quite popular all across the globe. In fact, these designs make the cloth pieces look more fashionable and enhanced in nature. When printed on the traditional Kantha clothes, you will get a mixed feeling of traditions and modern culture. You can wear these amazing scarves with your modern day clothes like crops or even the one piece. However, this geometric Kantha scarf looks best in a single color base with either black or blue designs.
PATCHWORK PATTERN KANTHA SCARVES
Patchwork or what we know to be a ‘hodgepodge’ is something that suits perfectly on these Kantha styled scarves. A number of different designed clothes are stitched together to bring out the mixture type of pattern in the patchwork Kantha scarf.