Kasuti vs Phulkari
カスティ刺繍 / プルカリ刺繍
Both sit in Textile Traditions, so the question is not what they belong to but how they behave. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.
Kasuti
Counted-thread embroidery from Karnataka, constructing geometric flowers, birds and architectural forms from short and stepped lines. Gavanti, Murgi, Negi and Menthi have distinct roles. Its relationship to cloth structure and returning stitch paths distinguishes it from generic cross-stitch.
Phulkari
Punjab's embroidery tradition joining lustrous silk with coarse cotton. Repeated geometric fields and changes in stitch direction make light move across the cloth. Its range includes densely covered bagh and figurative scenes, with strong relationships to marriage, family memory and the region across today's India–Pakistan border.
| Kasuti | Phulkari | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | living tradition | living tradition / surviving 19th-century works |
| Family | Textile Traditions | Textile Traditions |
| Kind | Technique | Technique |
| Cues | Short horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines following cloth structure / Stepped outlines and small geometric forms / Visible ground between separate coloured motifs / Returning line stitches distinguished from filled areas | Bright silk against coarse earth-coloured cotton / Repeated geometric fields in yellow or pink / Changes of thread direction altering reflected light / Coverage ranging from scattered motifs to dense bagh |
| Best used for | Teaching how fabric counts and stitch paths become shapes · Working with makers to place small geometric units on garments or household cloth | Explaining the relationship between region, family and embroidered form · Collaborating on cloth or garments whose design centres on thread direction and coverage |
| Type | Label enlarged fabric diagrams outside the stitching and connect each to its process name. | Separate a small label for region, technique and maker from the stitched pattern. |
| Composition | Test one unit on the actual cloth before extending the composition with consistent lengths and intervals. | Decide where ground remains visible and where stitches cover it; repeat changes in thread direction. |
| Material | Use a countable ground and make samples that allow the front and reverse to be compared. | Combine rough cotton with lustrous threads and use their reflection rather than a printed flat colour to build the surface. |
| Caution | Not every stitch produces identical front and reverse surfaces. Preserve differences such as Negi, and distinguish origin traditions from established historical dates. | The name's association with flowers does not limit it to floral embroidery. Retain Punjab's cross-border history and treat bagh as a form within the tradition rather than an unrelated extra style. |