Agra,
the city of Taj, is also famous for its complex but magnificent Zardozi
works. Zardozi is actually a unique art of embroidery that is done in a
3-dimensional pattern. In this kind of embroidery, the artist first
makes free hand sketches of his subjects and then embroiders in cotton
threads over and over. The process is kept on repeating till the pattern
gets the required thickness and movements to make it look like a
3-dimentional figure. In the last stage the artists takes fiber from
silk threads, twists them together in the shades required for and then
weave with them. Zardozi is basically a heavy and more elaborate embroidery work that uses varieties of Gold Threads, Spangles, Beads, Seed Pearls, Wires and Gota. It is used to embellish wedding outfits, heavy coats, cushions, curtains, canopies, animal trappings, bags, purses, belts, and shoes. The material on which this kind of embroidery is done is usually Heavy silk, Velvet and Satin. The kinds of stitches found are Salma-sitara, Gijai, Badla, Katori and seed pearls, among others.
