SUJANI WORK OF BIHAR

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Origin
History
Process and technique
Materials used
Tools and techniques
Present status

ORIGIN
Sujani is said to have originated around the 1920s and was only
practiced by the Rajput women.

For every important moment in a womans life like

wedding, birth, and religious functions, stitching continues
to be a promising skill. Thats how Sujani embroidery came
into existence in the state of Bihar.
The word Sujani is derived from the words su which
means facilitating and jani meaning birth
Quilts for new born babies were made by stitching together
colorful patches of old clothes and then Sujani embroidery
was done with colorful threads to create motifs and designs.

HISTORY
The earliest known traditional practice of making
embroidered Sujani quilt is traced to the 18th century.
Its basic purpose was to give a soft cover to the newly born
babies immediately after birth. It was then made with pieces
of cloth in different colors derived from used saris and dhotis
by sewing them together, adopting a simple running stitch.
This process involved use of three or four patches of old saris
or dhotis, fitted one over the other and then quilting them
together using the thread that was also drawn from the
discarded garments.
In one ritualistic tradition it represented presence of a deity
known as "Chitiriya Ma, the Lady of the Tatters".

Sujani works

PROCESS AND TECHNIQUE

The most important requirement is to use easily available
raw material as the base fabric.
The process begins with tracing down the designs on the
base fabric using tracing wheel and tracing sheet. Then
artisans start drawing background by fine running stitch.
And finally black or brown threads are used for outlining the
motifs and colorful
Threads are used to fill in colors in the motifs.
Materials required for Sujani kantha stitch include a needle,
frame, scissors, threads of various colours, inch tape, tracing
sheet, tracing wheel, pencil, rubber, blue chalk and kerosene.

Process of making sujani embroidery

Materials used
The materials used in making this product now are
expensive cotton such as "Salita" or cheaper variety of
white or Coloured markeen, Tussar silk, casement cloth.
And embroidery threads such as moon thread or rangoli
or anchor thread.
The motifs are designed by the women sewing the quilt,
usually of their choice.
The embroidery is done as a fine running stitch with
thread of the same colour as the back ground cloth.
For the main outline of the proposed pattern, chain stitch
using black, brown and red thread is used.[1]

MATERIALS USED

Present status
With the rising popularity and vibrancy of other Bihar originated
crafts like Madhubani and paper-mache, Sujani embroidered got
overshadowed.
But today, the production of Sujani embroidery is done in about
15 villages of India. The rural women of Muzaffarpur district in
Bihar continue to embroider in the Sujani style, using
combinations of a fine-running stitch and chain stitch.
When rural women are not allowed to step out and work outside
their homes, practicing this art form acts as the prime source of
earning a livelihood for them and thats how they add to their
familys income through this art.