Discovering Kantha Embroidery

What I find intriguing about Kantha work is the use of one simple stitch to create intricate motifs. How easy is that; and, it’s just a straight stitch.

That got me interested so I did a little research.  One quilter I found did a beautiful quilt full of little circles, intricately done but using only the simple Kantha stitch.  I can’t remember where I found here but will have to make work of finding it again.  My little fish is about the size of her circles but not nearly as intricate or as colorful.

The blog I learned the most from was Deepa from India.  This is part of what she had to say about it….

“The art of Kantha (pronounced Kaatha in the north, Kontha in the east, kantha in the south) originated among the rural folks of India and literally means 'rags'. It was a method used to make fresh usable pieces of clothing from old worn out clothes especially saris. Bengalis were especially reluctant to throw away their fine quality muslin and cotton saris.All the old clothes are first cleared off the zips,hooks and buttons and any other embellishments and then piled in layers and stitched.”

Since hand embroidery is something I add to my small art quilts that adorn purses I decided to try it on one of them.  This one is a combination of reverse applique and the Kantha stitch….

I like the look so I’m going to have to do a bit more practicing.  Yes, it’s a simple stitch but even is better and mine is anything but even.  I’m not aiming for perfect but I would like it a little more even than I’ve done so far.