Chikan embroidery: The floral whitework of India (Shire ethnography)

Chikan embroidery is familiar to everyone as a few rough white stitches on cheap Indian shirts. Its heritage, however, is impressive. Indian textiles were prized in Europe from Greek and Roman times, when their fineness earned them the sobriquet of 'woven winds'. Today no masters are left, but the last to die trained his daughters, who in turn trained the author. Her book records the history of chikan an its sources, analyses the stitches, details the processes and artisans involved.