The story
What it is
Phulkari is the embroidery of Punjab, on both sides of the border. Women stitch long, straight darning stitches in untwisted silk floss across coarse cotton, working from the back. The silk catches the light so the patterns seem to shimmer.
The most densely worked pieces, where no cloth shows at all, are called bagh, meaning garden. They were traditionally made by a grandmother for a granddaughter’s wedding.
Where it comes from
Phulkari has been made in the Punjab for centuries and was part of every bride’s dowry. In Pakistan the craft survives in villages of Punjab and in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and revival projects have brought it into modern clothing and home decor.
