Chikankari and Jaali: Understanding the Open Stitches

Chikankari is not one stitch: it is an embroidery tradition that includes flat, raised and open jaali work. Jaali stands apart because small openings become part of the cloth’s design, creating an open, trellis-like effect rather than only surface stitching or raised texture.

Understanding that difference helps you describe the effect you want and compare designs more thoughtfully. A useful starting point is to ask not just whether a design looks open, but what the threads and cloth are doing around the openings.

Chikankari describes a tradition, not one stitch

When a garment is described as chikankari, the name identifies a broader embroidery tradition rather than a single stitch. The Victoria and Albert Museum’s account of chikan groups its stitches into flat stitches, raised or embossed stitches, and open jaali stitches. Chikan is also known as chikankari, as the Textile Research Centre explains.

The groups are easiest to understand by the effect they create. Flat stitches lie close to the cloth; raised or embossed stitches add texture that sits up from the surface; jaali makes small openings part of the design. These are different approaches within the broader tradition, not three interchangeable names. The word chikankari by itself does not tell you which effect a particular garment uses.

This distinction matters when you are explaining what appeals to you. “I like chikankari” names a tradition, while “I prefer a lightly textured surface” or “I want open, net-like areas” describes a visual result. You do not need to know the name of every stitch to make your preference clearer; you can begin with how you want the embroidery to look and feel.

Use the categories to narrow your description: choose flat work if you prefer stitches close to the fabric, raised work if you want visible texture, or jaali if you want openings within the pattern. The categories help you compare effects without treating every chikankari design as the same.

Jaali makes the cloth itself look open

Jaali is the open, trellis-like group of chikan stitches: the pattern includes small holes in the cloth, not only threads decorating an unbroken surface. The openings are part of the fabric’s structure, which gives jaali a different look from flat embroidery or raised stitching. The V&A describes jaali stitches as opening tiny holes in the cloth.

One documented mechanism associated with chikan jali is pulled-thread work. In plain language, stitches draw the fabric’s crossing threads closer together to form small openings. The Textile Research Centre’s explanation of pulled-thread work describes this action, and its chikan reference notes that chikan may include pulled-thread work locally called jali work.

The ground cloth is the fabric that supports the embroidery. With this pulled-thread method, the small openings form as the ground threads are drawn together; they are not simply gaps between surface motifs. That mechanism helps explain the delicate, net-like impression: the pattern comes from changing the arrangement of the cloth’s own threads.

This is a useful way to understand one documented method, not a recipe that defines every design called jaali. If a close view is available, look at the cloth immediately around an opening: the important question is whether its threads appear gathered to make the hole. The structure around the opening—not just the outline of a motif—helps you understand why the effect differs from ordinary surface stitching.

Compare the action that creates the openings

Several embroidery methods can leave a textile looking open, so the presence of a hole alone does not explain how it was made. Compare the action on the fabric. In pulled-thread work, stitches draw the ground threads together to form small holes. In drawn-thread work, selected threads are removed and the threads that remain are decorated.

Cutwork takes another approach: sections of the ground fabric are cut away, and those areas may sometimes be filled with stitching. The Textile Research Centre’s description of drawn-thread work notes that extensive use of that technique is often called cutwork. So, although the terms help describe different actions, they are not always used as perfectly separate labels.

A practical comparison is to ask three questions: Are stitches drawing the cloth’s threads together? Have selected threads been taken out, leaving others to be decorated? Or have sections of the cloth been cut away? These questions focus on construction rather than relying on the general impression that a design looks airy or lace-like.

This distinction can help you describe what you see accurately. “Openwork” is a useful broad term for a design with openings. “Pulled-thread work” or “cutwork” makes a more specific claim about how the cloth was changed. When terminology overlaps, explain the action you mean instead of insisting that every textile description uses the labels in exactly the same way.

Read the visible effect without guessing the method

A visible opening is an observation; naming the technique is an explanation of how it was made. Small holes may be consistent with jaali, but holes can also result from other construction methods. Separating what you can see from what you infer helps you avoid using a craft term as if it named every open-looking pattern.

When viewing a close photograph, start with the design itself: note where the open areas sit, how large they appear relative to nearby motifs, and whether the view shows the threads or cut edges around them. A close-up may reveal more than a full-garment image, but the view may not show the reverse side or enough detail to establish every construction step. That limitation matters only when you need to identify the exact method; it does not prevent you from describing the visible effect.

It is also useful to separate three design choices. Construction describes how an opening is made. Placement describes where openwork sits—for example, in a narrow border or across a larger panel. Coverage describes how much of the design is open compared with embroidered or unworked cloth. Two pieces can both look open yet feel quite different as designs because their placement and coverage differ.

For example, “small open areas along the neckline” describes placement and scale, while “jaali made by gathered threads” names a construction. If you cannot tell how an opening was formed, use the visual description. That lets you express the look you prefer while keeping the technique name for cases where the method is identified.

Choose by construction, placement and coverage

Imagine a customer who wants a refined open effect around the neckline and sleeve edges, but prefers the front of the shirt to remain mostly covered with embroidery rather than broad open panels. She compares two explicitly hypothetical designs. Neither is a Hand Work Boutique product: Design A uses pulled threads to make small openings, placed in narrow neckline and sleeve borders; the rest of its front has more continuous embroidered motifs. Design B uses cut-away sections to make a wider open area across the front, with less of the panel filled by motifs.

Both designs include openwork, but they answer her preference differently. Design A’s gathered threads produce the small openings she wants, and its border placement keeps the open effect concentrated where she prefers it. Design B’s cut-away construction and broader open panel create a more prominent area of negative space. If her priority is restrained openings with fuller motif coverage across the front, Design A is the closer match. The trade-off is that she gives up Design B’s larger, more dramatic open panel.

This comparison shows why the stitch mechanism is only one part of choosing. She also considers where the openings sit and how much of the fabric they occupy. A customer who wanted a bold, open front might reach the opposite conclusion and prefer Design B. Neither option is automatically better; the right choice follows from the look the customer wants and the trade-off she is willing to make.

For a real example of listing context, the Lawn Chikankari shirt page describes soft lawn, three metres of unstitched fabric with front, back and sleeves, and chikankari with fine stitches. That makes it a useful example of why format and embroidery description are separate considerations: the broad chikankari description does not name a particular stitch group. If jaali is essential to your choice, distinguish the effect you want from the broader tradition label.

Before deciding, write down three preferences: the construction or visual effect you want, where you want the openwork, and how much of the design you want open. Then compare those preferences with the description and views available. For the hypothetical customer, small gathered openings at the edges and denser front coverage outweigh the appeal of a wide cut-away panel, so Design A is the reasoned choice.

Chikankari covers several stitch effects; jaali is distinguished by open areas in the cloth, often described through pulled-thread work. To choose thoughtfully, consider how the opening is made, where it appears and how much of the design it occupies. Name the effect and placement you prefer, then compare those criteria rather than relying on the word chikankari alone.

Frequently asked questions

Does jaali mean any hole in embroidered cloth?

Not necessarily. A hole describes what you can see; jaali names an open effect within chikan work. Consider how the surrounding cloth is formed before assigning a more specific construction name.

Why is jaali described as trellis-like?

The description refers to an open, net-like pattern made with small openings in the cloth. Those openings create a different effect from stitches that lie flat or add raised texture.

How does pulled-thread work differ from drawn-thread work?

Pulled-thread work tightens stitches to draw the ground cloth’s threads together and form small holes. Drawn-thread work removes selected threads, then decorates the threads that remain.

Why can drawn-thread work and cutwork overlap in terminology?

The Textile Research Centre notes that extensive drawn-thread work is often called cutwork. The labels can overlap, even though their descriptions help explain different ways the fabric may be changed.

What does a chikankari label tell me about the specific stitches used?

It identifies the broader embroidery tradition, not whether a design uses flat, raised or jaali work. If a particular effect matters to you, look for a description that names it.