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The Craft · Kashmir
Sozni embroidery: the fine-needle craft of Kashmir
Sozni is Kashmir's finest hand embroidery, worked stitch by stitch with a needle so fine the design looks painted on. It is the craft behind KARANIRO Drop 01.
In short: sozni (also called sozankari) is a fine-needle hand embroidery from Kashmir. Artisans fill each motif with tiny satin and stem stitches in silk or wool thread. It is traditionally used on pashmina shawls. KARANIRO uses it for the Chinar leaf on the Chinar hoodie, which takes more than 40 hours of hand stitching per leaf.
What sozni is
The word comes from sozan, Persian for needle. Sozni is surface embroidery: the artisan builds the motif on top of the cloth with very small, closely laid stitches, mostly satin stitch and stem stitch, shading colours by hand as they go. The result is flat, fine and dense, closer to a painting than to the raised, heavy look of machine embroidery.
For generations it has decorated Kashmiri pashmina and wool shawls with flowers, paisleys, vines and the Chinar leaf. The most skilled work, called do-rukha, is done so the design looks the same on both sides of the fabric.
How a sozni motif is made
1 · The design
A pattern maker draws or stamps the outline of the motif onto the fabric.
2 · The thread
The artisan chooses the shades: for our Chinar leaf, gold and rust.
3 · The stitching
With a fine needle, the sozankar fills the outline in thousands of tiny stitches, working by hand and by eye.
4 · The finish
The piece is checked, cleaned and pressed from the back so the stitches keep their lustre.
Sozni compared with other embroidery
| Sozni | Fine needle, tiny satin and stem stitches, flat and painterly. The slowest and finest. |
|---|---|
| Aari | Hooked awl, quick chain stitch, bolder lines. Used for Kashmiri crewel and aari work. |
| Machine embroidery | Fast and uniform, usually raised and stiff, often with a backing. No hand shading. |
Why the Chinar leaf
The Chinar is the great plane tree of Kashmir. In autumn its leaves turn rust, red and gold, and the leaf has been a favourite motif of Kashmiri artisans for centuries. For KARANIRO's first collection, a sozni master stitches one Chinar leaf onto heavyweight charcoal fleece. The large leaf of the Chinar Statement takes more than 40 hours of hand stitching; the Chinar Classic carries a small leaf over the heart.
No print. No machine. One needle, one thread, one artisan.
Questions about sozni
What is sozni embroidery?
Sozni is a fine-needle hand embroidery from Kashmir. Motifs are filled with very small satin and stem stitches in silk or wool thread, so the design sits flat and looks almost painted. It is traditionally worked on pashmina and fine wool shawls.
Where does the name sozni come from?
It comes from sozan, the Persian word for needle. Sozni embroidery is also called sozankari, and the embroiderer a sozankar.
What is the difference between sozni and aari embroidery?
Aari is worked with a hooked awl that makes a chain stitch quickly. Sozni uses a fine needle and much smaller stitches, so it is slower and finer. KARANIRO plans aari detailing for a later drop, the Pheran.
How long does sozni embroidery take?
It depends on the size and density of the design. A full sozni shawl can take months. The Chinar leaf on the KARANIRO Chinar Statement hoodie takes more than 40 hours of hand stitching.
What is do-rukha sozni?
Do-rukha means two-faced. It is the finest kind of sozni, worked so the design looks the same on both sides of the fabric.
How can I tell hand sozni from machine embroidery?
Look closely and at the back. Hand sozni has tiny variations in stitch length and direction, and the thread is shaded by hand. Machine embroidery looks perfectly uniform, often with a stiff backing behind it.
How do I care for sozni embroidery?
Turn the garment inside out and hand wash cold, or dry clean. Do not wring, tumble dry or iron directly on the embroidery. Dry flat in the shade.
Wear the craft
Drop 01 is made in numbered, limited runs and opens to the Private List first.