Apparel July 2019 Apparel July 2019 issue | Page 90

FEATURE
TODAY, MANY DESIGNERS ARE
INCORPORATING RUNNING
STITCHES IN THEIR GARMENTS TO
CREATE AVANT-GARDE DESIGNS
AND TEXTURES.
loose loops all along. For the interlaced stitch, the
laced stitch is worked in one direction and then
the other, to give rise to a pattern shaped like the
number ‘8’. By working loops across two parallel
lines of the stitch, more variations can be created.
In this way, the embroiderer can create several
renditions from the basic running stitch. And by
using varicoloured threads for the base running
stitch and subsequent stitches, an attractive
ornamental effect can be created.
running stitch, double running stitch, and double
running steps, as listed by Anne Butler Morrell in
her publication, The Migration of Stitches & the
Practice of Stitch as Movement. Whipped running
stitches are created by taking the needle from
below a stitch, bringing it down, and once again
weaving it below the consecutive running stitch
(without piercing the cloth), leaving behind a tight
decorative wave-like design. In the laced running
stitch, the needle comes from below a running
stitch and goes under the consecutive stitch from
above, later going below the next stitch, working
78
I APPAREL I
July 2019
CONTEMPORARY EXPRESSIONS
Today, many designers are incorporating running
stitches in their garments to create avant-garde
designs and textures. It is a two-way street
wherein they explain the technique of the stitch to
novice artisans who they employ—thereby giving
them livelihood—whilst the artisans’ work adds
value to the designers’ garments.
The stitch also works well on reversible
garments, where one side has printed motifs
outlined with running stitches, and the other side
is plain fabric (preferably of a different colour than
the printed side), with the stitched outline as the
central feature.
Swati Kalsi, textile and fashion designer based
out of New Delhi, collaborates with sujani artisans
in the villages of Muzaffarpur, Bihar, to create
garments accentuated with abstract patterns
brought about by the usage of the running stitch.
Kalsi produces one-of-a-kind pieces crafted
from natural fibres, wherein stitches are worked
with single or double strands of six-ply cotton
yarns, depending on the intensity and texture of
the stitch to be created. Sometimes, Kalsi also
makes use of metal yarn to lend her clothes an
exaggerated appeal.
In this way, traditional artisans as well as new-
age designers are drawing on the simplicity and
dynamic potential of the stitch to birth a spectrum
of textiles and garments that are infused with
beauty and class.