Rangoli-143

Nela Muggulu

Nela Muggulu means those Rangolis which are specially drawn during the auspicious month of Dhanurmasam-that is the month before the festival of Sankranti  or Pongal. Sankranti is an agricultural festival, celebrating thanks giving to Sun God, for the bountiful agricultural produce. This is also the month when Lord Vishnu is worshipped. 

The Rangolis drawn during this month are special, meant for Thanking Sun God and also for praying to Lord Vishnu. These are drawn using lines (no dots) and are peculiar to Andhra State. The people of Krishna Guntur, Prakasam and especially Coastal districts draw these designs. But now these are all disappearing and only modern Rangolis with dots are being drawn.

My previous posts on this Rangolis are here:

http://summersofindia.blogspot.com/search/label/Nela%20Muggulu

 The leaves denote the crop or agricultural produce.

 These are pumpkins, a favourite of our state.

These denote the Paddy Ears.

There are many more like these which my maternal Grandmother used to draw. But alas! I could not note them down and now most of this type of Rangoli is disappearing.

My request to all those who happen to see this post is, kindly mail me photos or drawings of such type of Rangolis and any details known about them please. I am trying to save these for the next generations.

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Shisha (Mirror) Work-3

Frame Work Stitches-1

Mirrors or Shisha used for embroidery or decoration on fabrics do not have holes. Similarly some Paillettes also do not have holes. In such cases we need fasten them and hold them on to the fabric by using a frame work of stitches. 

For Paillettes, the basic frame work of stitches are enough to hold them as they are not heavy. Care should be taken to do these stitches neatly and precisely.

In case of mirrors, we need to encase the sharp/irregular edges in stitches, so that it will not slip out of the stitches, as the bigger ones are more heavier, the edges harm the fabric as well as our hands while washing them. For this one has to stitch around the mirrors, over the basic frame work of stitches.

There are many ways of stitching the basic frame work stitches which hold the Shisha to the fabric. These stitches depend upon the shape of the mirror, size, ground fabric and thread used. Similarly, there are variety of stitches made over the basic frame work stitches to cover the edges. Apart from this one can use many stitches, and other materials to adorn Shisha work  to make it more attractive.

As far as our Indian Embroidery is concerned, there are some Shisha Stitches used in the Banjara Embroidery (Banjara-Gypsies of India) and embroideries from Gujarat(Kutch, Ahir), Rajasthan and others. Usually wool, cotton or silk floss was used which were hand dyed (in earlier days). The fabric used was mostly cotton. Now commercial embroidery threads and other fabrics are being used for commercial productions.

OK here we go now on the journey of exploring the stitches....


Some Tips Before We Start:

• Use cotton threads and cotton or jute fabric for practising
• Stick the mirror or the paillette to the fabric with fabric glue. This way it is easier to handle
• Work with Paillettes first
• Use embroidery, frames or hoops 

Frame Work Stitches For Round Shaped Shishas or Paillettes:

There are many ways to hold the Shisha on to the fabric. Some are traditional, some modern.

1. Star Stitch: Here four straight stitches are used for holding the Shisha. This is actually star stitch. I have used a Paillette.

After sticking the shisha to the fabric, bring out thread on to the surface of the fabric. Stich from A to B, C to D, E to F and G to H, pulling thread tight enough to hold the Shisha. One can use more stitches in between these to secure it more. Different colours, weights or varieties of threads can be used for interesting effect. I used pearl cotton.

For Paillettes and shishas with smooth edges, we can leave it there. But if the shisha is heavy and edges are not smooth, we may have to add stitches for covering the edges. That I will post in subsequent posts.

Please do drop in your valuable comments and suggestions and any questions...

Watch out for more.....

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Friday-Free Patterns

Design for Borders

The stitches for this design could be-Stem/Chain or Running Stitch, French Knots and Herring Bone/Chain or Satin Stitch.

Would look great for fabric painting too.

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