.heic)
After the Kantha Workshop last year, I bought Inspiration Kantha by Anna Hergert on Amazon to learn more. The book is very good if you're looking for some in-depth knowledge about Kantha, which I also learned during the workshop. Anna also wrote very detail about what kind of fabrics and thread to use, etc. Well, reading the book is not enough, right. We must try and experience it to learn more.
Frankly, when people heard about Kantha, the most common response would be "ah it's only running stitch, right?" but believe me, this "only running stitch" business can be overwhelming or intimidating especially for beginners. I mean, you have this notion that "it's easy" but when you get down to work on your piece, you will start to feel anxious because your stitches are not even, too big, too small, too ugly, etc. Also, there's a question of where should I start, how to end the stitches neatly, and a lot of other things going on inside your head. Well, at least that's what I felt when I started working on this Chatai fish design.
When working on the fish, I tried to follow the book. The outline work was not tough but when I started the running stitches, I made a few detours. By the way, I am using 2 layers of cotton khadi which I got from the local market just before the pandemic. I tried my best to do smaller stitches but in the beginning, I did a lot of unpicking, because as I said, I feel the stitches are too big or the gap between the lines is too wide. It took me a while to get into the rhythm because I was doing this piece after I finished the placemats which have bigger stitches.
 |
| I love the texture of this khadi fabric |
Now, doing the fill-up stitches, I was confused should I work from inside out or just working from the top row by row. It's pretty tricky. I decided to work from inside out by echoing the fish. I imagined the echo stitches are like the splash on the water as the fish swimming away. After a few lines, it's time to take the stitches in a different direction.
I worked on a section here, one corner at a time started from the bottom. When filling up the top part, I decided to go row by row moving upward. You can see the stitches are going in different directions in the picture above. It showed how confused I was while working on this piece. I even browse Instagram and blogs/websites to learn more about Nakshi Kantha and stumbled upon Fairly Worn website . Valerie is working with an NGO in Bangladesh and Tripty Boutique. Check them out, they are simply stunning.
 |
| The back |
Well, I still have a long way to learn and I really really enjoyed doing the hand quilting /hand sewing and this ancient technique is really intriguing and interesting to learn. Yes, there is a lot of work that goes into one piece of (original) Kantha, fair trade or not. But as you start learning the art, you will start to appreciate it more. Kudos to Valerie who decided to work with the NGO in spite of everything. It takes courage to support those people, especially across many continents.
I hope more people especially in India and Bangladesh will revive this art of Kantha to its former glory. Because Kantha is not just a running stitch! I hope one day I can travel to Bangladesh (which is actually pretty near to my state) to see more about Kantha.
Now this Chatai Fish Kantha is done, framed, and put up on my wall. I still have a few hand quilting projects for my small quilt shop and have a few ideas for my next Kantha project! Stay tuned!
Check out more of my Kantha Journey
Until next time,
Happy Sewing,
Elvira
*****
