Kamal kadai-Indian Embroidery

Of late,I've been trying to get myself better acquainted with the Indian embroidery techniques-Kamal Kadai is one of them. This style of embroidery is native to the state of AndhraPradesh in India.

A few months back,a friend of mine was embroidering her sari using this method. I learnt the basics from her,but did not practice on cloth.Yesterday,I finally had the inclination to attempt it.Here's the step by step :

Draw the picture of the flower.Note the way the flower is drawn.This style is the speciality of Kamal kadai.The petals in this case has two levels.You can increase the number of levels if needed.

To form the base of the embroidery,straight stitch the petals as shown above.

Start from the bottom corner of a petal and weave the thread through the foundation lines-over,under,over ,under and so on without picking the fabric.Use a tapestry needle .(I was too lazy to change into one :)) ) And make sure the thread is long enough to cover a single petal.

Here's the partly weaved petal. Each line should be woven close to the previous one.

...and the completed one.After covering the foundation lines completely,take the needle down to the other side.Fasten off and start with the next petal.
Finally,the picture you've been waiting for...
I've used french knots for the center and stem stitch for the leaves (again too lazy) and the stem.

That's about it for now.

Love,Luck and Sunshine,

Deepa