Chikankari Mul Chanderi Dress Material White Jaali Yoke

An unstitched two piece chikankari dress material from Lucknow in tonal white fine cotton kurta fabric worked in white on white hand embroidery with chevron bands sweeping across the chest dense jaali panels flanking the neckline placket and tree of life floral sprays rising along the hem Matching bottom fabric and a sheer tissue dupatta with gold zari edges and tiny tonal leaf butis complete the set White on white work hides nothing which makes it the easiest chikankari to verify by touch Run a fingertip across the chevron bands hand stitches sit raised and slightly uneven on the cloth while machine tone on tone embroidery lies flat and uniform Hold the jaali panels up to light hand made openings are parted from the weave with the needle and bound with thread so they glow as soft faintly irregular dots punched machine net repeats perfectly On the reverse you will find the tidy herringbone underside of bakhiya the shadow stitch that gives the front its subtle milky panels Lucknow s embroiderers most of them women working from home across the old city have kept this craft alive for over two centuries passing down more than thirty named stitches A tonal yoke like this one layers several of them jaali bakhiya and knotted phanda in a single panel A white chikankari set is the most versatile piece in the wardrobe tailor it for summer office wear haldi mornings or prayer day dressing and lift it with silver oxidised jewellery or a block printed contrast dupatta when the mood asks for colour