Pakko embroidery is practised by the Sodha and Jadeja communities. Pakko embroidery gets its name from an essential characteristic that defines it. Pakko means solid, strong, and this is the defining feature of this style. The solid compactness is achieved mainly through an abundant use of the tight, open and elongated chain stitch known as the cheereli saankdi. This stitch is used, along with a few other stitches, to create floral, animal and bird motifs. 

Craftswomen use mirrors and the khann — a single unit of the chain stitch — to lighten the density of Pakko embroidery. The khann also works as an effective highlighter.

Ahir embroidery is practised by the Ahir and Meghwaad Gurjar communities. 

Ahir craftswomen use the word thassa to define their embroidery. The word suggests a confidence, a boldness that celebrates abundance and opulence. Indeed Ahir motifs are large and colourful, the embroidery lush, dense and chock-a-block with mirrors. The combination of these elements creates a vibrant embroidered universe full of flowers, birds and animals – a reflection of the predominantly agricultural lifestyle of these two communities. 

Ahir embroidery is open to innovation. Non-traditional elements such as abstract motifs, muted colours and minimalist designs have also been seamlessly integrated. But always the core Ahir values are respected, as evident in the use of specific stitches for specific functions: the small, round saankdi or chain stitch to outline the motifs; the vaano, the herringbone stitch, to fill in; and the daano, a single chain, or the bakhiyo, the backstitch, to highlight and provide the final flourish.

The Rabari community has several subgroups, each with its own style of embroidery.

Irrespective of subgroup, Rabari men and women lead a nomadic life in search of pasture with their sheep and their camels. Often it is the women who lead camel caravans through scrubland full of thorny shrubs.

Rabari embroidery styles are bold and vigorous. They use the elongated chain as the main stitch to create large, stylized motifs of birds and animals. Thus vibrantly coloured, abstract renditions of camels, peacocks, scorpions and even elephants are found in Rabari embroidery. The natural world also finds expression in the form of thorn-like highlights that are ever-present around the motifs.

The abundant use of mirrors of different shapes is yet another distinctive feature of Rabari embroidery.

DHEBARIA RABARI APPLIQUE+EMBROIDERY 

While the embroidery stitches of different groups of Rabaris are more or less similar, the Dhebaria Rabaris have a unique style of applique + embroidery freehand designs that have bold and colorful motifs. These are done by each artisan as per her imagination without any graph or stencil print design to follow, making each piece unique. Their motifs are inspired by their culture and what they find around them –  such as Kavadiyo (a man who carries heavy weight balanced on two sides of his shoulders with a bamboo) – referred in traditional applique, embroideries to a legendary person called Shravan, who is said to have carried his parents on a kavad for pilgrimage, butta suda (a pair of parrots), vichchhu (scorpion), kukda (hens), morlo (peacocks), hathido (elephant), chakli (sparrow), kubo (shrine), ambo (mango), fuldo (flower) etc.

The Mochi community practises Aari embroidery.

Renowned for its subtle, painting-like effect, this style dates back to Mughal times and beyond, when male artisans were commissioned by royalty to create this embroidery exclusively for them. Aari continued to enjoy popularity during the British Raj, when the European elite took the place of maharajas and princes as its patrons. 

Today Aari embroidery is practiced in many parts of India, including Kutch. It is done with a hooked needle called the awl, on lightweight fabrics that are stretched over a wooden frame. The painting-like effect is achieved through the exclusive use of a very fine chain stitch, moving gently from darker to lighter shades or from lighter to darker of the same colour. The Mughal influence still lingers in the floral motifs and the occasional use of gold and silver threads.

The Haalepotra and Meghwaad Maarwaada communities practise eight styles of embroidery. They are best known for their Khudi-Tebha and Kambiro embroideries.

The origin of these two styles can be traced to the traditional practice of recycling old garments, wherein the simple running stitch was used to join pieces of fabric that still had some life left in them. So neatly and uniformly did the women embroider the functional running stitch, that over years and generations, it emerged as a decorative element with the potential to create elaborate motifs and designs. Over time, another design detail, created by using the satin stitch in silken floss, also became an integral part of these styles. 

Craftswomen embroider these styles on household items; however, it is in their quilts that they showcase the most innovative expressions of the transformed running stitch. Haalepotra craftswomen have gone a step further with their innovations. Their signature quilts combine distinctive patchwork with Kambiro and Khudi-Theba embroideries.

The Mutva community that lives in the remote area of Banni, at the edge of the salt desert, practises eighteen different styles of embroidery. Craftswomen refer to these individual styles as bharat. Each bharat uses only one primary stitch to create either the entire bharat or to create its main distinctive features.

For Mutva craftswomen a stitch is either a pakko stitch or a kachcho stitch. They use the term pakko, meaning strong, durable, to denote stitches that lock. The opposite of pakko is kachcho, meaning fragile. Kachcho stitches do not follow the locking principle. Nine styles use a pakko stitch as the primary stitch. These styles are referred to as Pakko bharat. The remaining nine styles use a kachcho stitch as the primary stitch and are known as Kachcho bharat.  

Mutva embroidery is lush, ornamental and full of arresting details. It is known for its very tiny stitches and equally tiny mirrors. The craftswomen’s skill in working in the realm of the miniature makes the embroidery look as if it is studded with diamonds. 

Mutva embroidery is also a celebration of abundance. There are thirty-four stitches, many of which have variations. There are three sizes of mirrors and nine different ways of ornamenting them. Each style is distinct and is created by using a specific stitch or stitches in a particular manner. All this makes for an embroidery universe that is infinitely vast and varied.