Applique Work - Sonpur, Orissa
Cotton fabric is the basic material that is used for making any artifact of the applique work. The making of applique work is initiated by the selection of desired colour fabric. Further, the fabric is cut into the required length to prepare the base platform. Upon this, the design that has to be made is decided. As per the design, the fabric is cut in shapes that are usually complementary coloured ones, which match the colour of the base cloth. Sometimes apart from the complementary colours, different colours are also used as per the customer’s or as per the artisan’s perception. All the shaped cut pieces of fabric are then arranged on an even surface of base material to finalize the design. Once the design and the pattern are satisfied, those shaped fabric bits are randomly stitched to base cotton fabric material to set the required form. The motifs used for applique are usually floral designs and geometrical forms. Further the edges of these fabric bits of the chosen motifs are completely hand-stitched. Sometimes they are hemmed or sometimes according to the design pattern the embroidery is made on them. Plastic mirrors are also inserted in-between the embroidery for the beautification purpose. The random stitches are further removed completely. Thus the fine details are skillfully rendered and are carefully packed for the sales.
The smallest size of the applique work is 2 meters and goes up to the size of the requirement of the customer. The smallest applique work requires a minimum of two days to complete the work. The cost of the product differs according to the material of cloth, the effort of artisan put in and the designs that are made.
