The Kokum Tree
A field guide · No. 03
The anatomy
of a Suzani
Kantha.
Three lifetimes of cloth, hung in a window. Embroidered above, sari-laid through the middle, finished in a quiet running stitch. We pulled this one apart, slowly, to show you what's inside.
Scroll to unfold
round flowerchamanguli · marriage motif
silk flosschain & couching stitch
vine, in jadeindigo + pomegranate over-dye
thousands of stitches
Every colour, inspired by nature
#D9A23A
Mustard
Pomegranate rind · turmeric
#2D544B
Jade
Indigo + pomegranate over-dye
#B23A2A
Brick
Madder root · alum mordant
#8C6E84
Mauve
Cochineal · iron mordant
i.
Begin at the surface.
This piece hangs as it was made — long, soft, weighty in the hand. We start where light hits first: the embroidery on the front face.
ii.The suzani
The suzani
blooms above.
Worked in silk floss on a cotton ground. Every flower is a single artisan's hand — a chamanguli medallion, mauve petals, ochre-brown disc, jade vines tying the field together.
iii.The middle is
The middle is
made of memory.
Beneath the embroidery sit two reclaimed saris and three veils of cotton batting. A wedding sari, an everyday cotton, a length of festival silk — each fabric carrying the soft fade of a previous life.
iv.The kantha stitch
The kantha stitch
holds it all.
One running line, end to end, end to end again. A single needle binds every layer — set by feel, never measured, never machined.
v.The selvedge,
The selvedge,
and its fringe.
The edge is bound in the original sari border — that brick-red trim with its quiet looping vine — then finished by hand, uneven, alive in a draft.
·
One throw.
Priceless hours of hand-work.
Photographed in two rooms — north light, west light — on a single afternoon.
Shop the Vintage Suzani Kantha Collection