Weaving puts the pattern inside the cloth. Embroidery lays it on top. Here's how Banaras does the second — in gold.
✨ Fun fact: “Zardozi” comes from the Persian for “gold-work” — embroidery once reserved for kings and queens.
Not all the gold on a Banarasi is woven in. Some of it is stitched on afterwards, by hand, in an embroidery tradition the Mughal courts prized as highly as the brocade itself. In Banaras this needlework is called karchobi, and it comes in two great forms: zardozi and hath-ari. Knowing the difference tells you a great deal about how a piece was made — and what it's worth.
What is zardozi?
The word zardozi comes from the Persian zar (gold) and dozi (work) — gold-work. It is rich, raised, dense embroidery worked in metallic thread, traditionally on a heavier cloth that can carry the weight. In its great days it dressed kings and queens; Mughal patronage carried it to its peak, and its main centres became Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Hyderabad and Banaras. A piece of true zardozi has a sculptural quality — the motifs sit up off the surface, catching light from every angle.
The threads and tools
Zardozi has a whole vocabulary of materials. Dabka is a fine, springy coiled wire that gives a matte raised line; salma is a hollow zig-zag wire used to outline; kora is a plain, lustreless thread; kalabattu is gold or silver wire wound onto a silk core; sitara (also called tikki) are tiny star-shaped sequins; and katdana and poth are cut-glass and pearl beads. The work is done on a wooden frame called a karchob — which gives the craft its name — over which the cloth is stretched drum-tight while the craftsmen, sitting around it, build the design.
The patterns
Within zardozi there are named fillings and motifs: the mogra (jasmine) flower, built from small five- and six-petalled blooms; salli, used to fill leaf shapes; the ring or chhalla, a small circle of coiled wire around a star or pearl; and mothra, in which the raised design shows cleanly on only one side. Each is a small piece of engineering as much as decoration.
What is hath-ari (aari)?
The second form, hath-ari, is named for its tool: the ari, a fine hooked needle, like a tiny crochet hook, fixed in a wooden handle. Instead of pushing a threaded needle through the cloth, the craftsman hooks the thread up from below in a fast chain stitch. Hath-ari is lighter than zardozi, worked on lighter cloth, and considerably quicker — which makes it more affordable. It is the technique behind delicate jaali (net) fills, chain-stitched outlines, and much of the zari embroidery you'll see on georgette, chiffon and tissue.
Zardozi vs aari — how to tell, and what to pay
The simplest way to think about it:
- Zardozi: heavy and dense, on thicker cloth, worked with a needle and a battery of wires and beads. Sculptural, luxurious — and expensive.
- Hath-ari (aari): light, worked with a hooked ari in fast chain stitch on lighter cloth. Elegant, quicker to make — and gentler on the budget.
There's also a practical reason a craftsman might choose the ari: a delicate zari thread, repeatedly pulled through cloth by an ordinary needle, frays and breaks, whereas the ari's hook is kinder to it. Neither technique is “better” — they're built for different weights of cloth and different occasions.
At Khinkhwab
For our own hand-embroidered pieces, we go to where this craft is at its finest: Jaipur, home to some of the most accomplished karigars (master artisans) working in zardozi and aari today. We gather these embroidered sarees in our Aayna — The Royal Jaipur Edit. Wherever a Khinkhwab piece carries this hand embroidery, it sits in the same courtly tradition described above — the gold drawn from real zari, every stitch placed by hand.
And if you'd like to understand how the gold gets into the cloth in the first place, rather than onto it, our guide to kadwa weaving is the companion to this one.
Frequently asked questions
What is zardozi work?
Zardozi is heavy gold-thread embroidery, worked by hand on a stretched frame using metallic wires (dabka, salma, kalabattu), sequins (sitara) and beads. The name is Persian for “gold-work,” and it was historically the embroidery of royalty.
What is the difference between zardozi and aari (hath-ari)?
Zardozi is dense, raised embroidery worked with a needle on heavier cloth. Aari, or hath-ari, is worked with a small hooked needle in a fast chain stitch on lighter cloth — lighter, quicker and more affordable than zardozi.
Why is zardozi expensive?
It is slow, highly skilled handwork using real metallic thread and beads, often built up in raised layers. The materials and the hours both add to the cost.
Is zardozi done on the saree or separately?
It is embroidered directly onto the cloth, which is stretched tight on a wooden frame called a karchob. The design is transferred onto the fabric first, then built up stitch by stitch.
What threads are used in zardozi?
Common materials include dabka (coiled wire), salma (zig-zag wire), kora (plain thread), kalabattu (wire wound on silk), sitara or tikki (sequins), and katdana and poth (cut-glass and pearl beads).
Where can I see Khinkhwab's hand-embroidered pieces?
Our zardozi and aari sarees are worked by master karigars in Jaipur and gathered in one place: Aayna — The Royal Jaipur Edit. If you'd like to explore our hand-embroidery collection, that's the place to start.
Sources & further reading
This article draws on standard works on Banaras textiles, including Tarannum Fatma Lari, Textiles of Banaras: Yesterday and Today (Indica Books, 2010), which documents the karchobi, zardozi and hath-ari traditions in detail, with wider craft context from the government study Dream of Weaving: Study & Documentation of Banaras Sarees and Brocades (Textiles Committee, Government of India, 2007). Further reading: Rai Anand Krishna & Vijay Krishna, Banaras Brocades (Crafts Museum, 1966); Jaya Jaitly, Woven Textiles of Varanasi (2014).
