Lifestyle of Hand Embroidery- Part 2- Soof Karigari

Soof embroidery was introduced into Kutch from Pakistan. Pakistan shares a border with Gujarat and there is an influx of people from both sides that has shaped the culture and arts of the land. Soof is practiced by a handful of communities and the art seems to be rare and dying because demand for these products has reduced significantly since the introduction of machine embroidery and printing. However, there is an organization called Kalaraksha that is trying to help artisans sell their art in the form of clothes, stoles or accessories so that the art is not lost as future generations move on to more economically lucrative trades. I was fortunate enough to meet a family of Soof artisans through this organization. The mother daughter team has been practising this art for generations and they are trying to pass on their knowledge to other members of the community.

Soof embroidery is extremely difficult and requires good geometric and artistic talent. The artist starts from the back of the fabric and creates the motif without any prior prints from either their own creative talent or from memory. The motif is created by counting the warps and wefts of the weave. I have attached a video of the daughter, Varsha, creating a small example of symmetric triangles. At the end of the video you will see examples of beautiful work done by her. One expert mentioned to me that Soof is so rare and beautiful that it is worth any price that the artisan asks for. Some of these pieces have taken over 6 months to complete. As always, housework comes first so the artisan practices the art in her free time. Personally, this was my absolute favorite kind of work not only because of its value, but because it was neat and had a modern appeal that other traditional embroideries lack.