Short answer: Embroidery is decorating fabric with a needle and thread. Each stitch goes down through the cloth and comes back up, so the design becomes part of the fabric instead of sitting on top like a print. In Hindi it is called कढ़ाई (kadhai). In Urdu you will also hear kashidakari.
We run a hand embroidery studio in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. Women artisans there have stitched more than 5,000 orders for us. This is the explanation we give people who ask what we actually do all day.
Embroidery meaning, in one drawing
Look at a stitch from the side and the whole idea makes sense. The thread travels over the top of the fabric, dives through it, runs a short way underneath and comes back up. The front shows the pattern. The back shows the knots and tails that hold it.
Why so many people in India are searching for it
We pulled five years of Google Trends data for India (October 2021 to October 2026). Embroidery is not a niche word. It is one of the steadiest craft searches in the country, and the plain question "what is embroidery" grew 60% over the period.
Google Trends search interest, India, 19 Oct 2021 to 19 Oct 2026. 100 is the most searched term in the set. Fastest risers: "embroidery shirt" up 300%, "embroidery kurta" up 200%, "what is embroidery" up 60%.
Three ways embroidery gets made
Tap each one to open it.
Hand embroidery
A person, a needle, a hoop and thread. Every stitch is placed by hand, so no two pieces come out identical. It is slow. Our parakeet tee takes about 24 hours of stitching. It is also the only kind that can handle shading, texture and tiny changes of direction the way a painter would.
Machine embroidery
A sewing machine with a hoop attachment fills in a design using a top thread and a bobbin thread underneath. Commercial machines run at roughly 800 to 1,200 stitches a minute, so a 5,000 stitch chest logo takes about five minutes. Turn it over and you will see a white bobbin line and a stiff stabiliser patch.
Computer embroidery
This is machine embroidery driven by a digital file. Someone "digitises" the artwork into stitch paths, and a multi-head machine stitches the same design on 6, 12 or more garments at once. It is how most uniform logos, school badges and shop-bought embroidered kurtas are made. Fast and even, but every piece is a copy.
Read: Which survives 50 washes
The main types of embroidery in India
| Style | Where it comes from | How to spot it |
|---|---|---|
| Chikankari | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh | White thread on pale cotton, shadow work you see through the fabric |
| Kantha | Bengal | Rows of small running stitches that ripple the cloth |
| Phulkari | Punjab | Bright silk floss, geometric flowers stitched from the back |
| Aari | Kutch, Gujarat and Kashmir | Fine, even chain stitch made with a hook, often with beads or zari |
| Mirror work (shisha) | Gujarat and Rajasthan | Small mirrors held down by a ring of buttonhole stitches |
| Zardozi | Lucknow, Agra, Bareilly | Raised gold or silver metal thread, heavy and festive |
Want the long version? Read our plain guide to Indian hand embroidery.
Watch the basic stitches
Most embroidery, from a school project to a bridal blouse, is built from about ten stitches: running, back, stem, chain, satin, French knot, lazy daisy and a few more. This 14 minute sampler from Mordern craft shows twenty of them on one piece of cloth.
We wrote up the names and uses of each one in Types of hand embroidery stitches.
What embroidery looks like on clothes you wear
Real pieces from our studio, photographed as they ship.
Questions people ask us
Is embroidery the same as sewing?
No. Sewing joins pieces of fabric together. Embroidery decorates one piece of fabric. Both use a needle and thread, which is where the confusion comes from.
What is embroidery called in Hindi?
कढ़ाई (kadhai). Embroidered clothing is कढ़ाईदार (kadhaidaar). Older Urdu and Persian words are kashida and kashidakari.
Is embroidery an art?
Yes. Museums collect it, and many Indian styles carry Geographical Indication tags. Hand embroidery on a tee is still art, just one you can wash.
Which thread is used for embroidery?
Mostly stranded cotton floss, plus silk, rayon and metallic zari for festive work. Full breakdown in which thread is used for embroidery.
Will embroidery come off in the wash?
Not if it is hand stitched and washed cold, inside out. The thread goes through the fabric, so there is nothing to peel. See will hand embroidery peel or fade.
Written by the Vee Threads studio team in Bulandshahr. Browse hand embroidered t-shirts, embroidered shirts or order custom name embroidery.
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