Browse the work by what you are looking for
Nobody searches for a category. They search for a peacock, a maroon bridal blouse, or a neckline design - so the work is grouped the way it is actually asked for.
By occasion
What the piece is for decides how heavy the work should be, more than any other single thing.
Bridal
மணப்பெண்Full hand work for a muhurtham or wedding blouse - the heaviest designs, the most zari, and the pieces that get looked at most closely in photographs.
37 designs · 3 guidesReception
வரவேற்புLighter than a muhurtham blouse and usually in a different palette. Reception work has to read across a hall and photograph well under artificial light, which is a different problem from looking good up close.
56 designs · 2 guidesEngagement
நிச்சயதார்த்தம்Medium-weight work for engagement and betrothal functions, often the first piece a bride orders and a good way to see how a design will sit before committing to the wedding blouse.
39 designsHalf-saree function
அரை சேலைWork for half-saree and langa voni functions - usually brighter, usually lighter, and worked to be worn by somebody who will be photographed all day.
8 designsFestival & everyday
பண்டிகைModest hand work for festivals, temple visits and blouses meant to be worn often rather than once. A single well-placed motif rather than a covered blouse.
26 designs
By design
The motif and the technique. Most bridal blouses use more than one of these together.
Peacock
மயில்The most asked-for motif in bridal aari work, and the hardest to do badly unnoticed. A peacock lives or dies on the tail - the spacing between the feathers is where hand work separates from machine work.
9 designs · 2 guidesMango & paisley
மாங்காய்The mango, or paisley, is the oldest motif in South Indian embroidery and the most forgiving to wear. It repeats cleanly along a border and never looks dated.
13 designsFloral & vine
பூ வேலைRunning flower and creeper designs. These suit a neckline and a sleeve better than almost anything else because a vine can follow a curve, which a geometric repeat cannot.
41 designs · 1 guideTemple motifs
கோவில் வேலைLamp, gopuram, elephant and the older temple vocabulary, usually worked in gold zari on a traditional ground. This is what aari work was originally for.
15 designsLotus
தாமரைThe lotus, worked flat or shaded. It suits a waist border and a back neckline better than almost any other single motif.
9 designsElephant & procession
யானைElephants, palanquins and wedding processions worked as a scene rather than a repeat. The most demanding thing to do by hand, and the most obviously hand-done.
4 designsJhumka & jewellery
ஜிமிக்கிEmbroidered jewellery - jhumkas, chandbalis, kasu coins and chains - worked into the fabric so the blouse carries its own ornament.
3 designsJaal & lattice
ஜால் வேலைAn all-over diamond or trellis fill. It reads as one continuous surface from a distance, which is why it photographs so well.
24 designsStone work
கல் வேலைStones set by hand rather than glued. Slower to work and heavier to wear, and the single biggest thing that separates a blouse which survives a season from one that does not.
51 designs · 3 guidesZari work
ஜரி வேலைGold and silver thread work. The grade of the zari decides whether a blouse still looks like this in ten years, and it is worth asking about before the design is agreed.
54 designs · 3 guidesBead & pearl
முத்து வேலைPearl and bead work, which sits softer than stone and photographs without the hard flare that stone gives under a camera flash.
55 designsMirror work
கண்ணாடி வேலைShisha or mirror work, held in with a worked thread ring rather than glued. Bold at a distance and unmistakably handmade close up.
5 designs
By where the work goes
Neckline, sleeve, or the saree itself. Each behaves differently once it is being worn.
Neck designs
கழுத்து வேலைWork at the neckline - the part of a blouse that is seen in every photograph taken from the front, and the least expensive place to put real hand work.
65 designs · 1 guideSleeve work
கை வேலைSleeve and shoulder designs. A sleeve is the one area where a design must survive being moved constantly, so how it is anchored matters more than how it looks flat.
65 designsSaree border & pallu
சேலை கரைWork on the saree itself rather than the blouse - a border lifted, a pallu given a motif, or a plain saree brought back into use.
1 design
By colour
The saree decides this before the blouse does.
Maroon
மெரூன்The default bridal ground in this district, and the colour most often got wrong in photographs - a filter that pushes maroon towards purple loses the whole point of it.
5 designs · 1 guideRed & gold
சிவப்பு & தங்கம்The traditional muhurtham pairing. Gold zari on a red ground is the combination that reads correctly under temple lighting, which is not true of every palette.
6 designs · 1 guidePink & magenta
இளஞ்சிவப்புRani pink, magenta and the softer rose shades. The most-asked colour after maroon for receptions and engagements.
11 designsPastels
பேஸ்டல்Pastel grounds are increasingly asked for at receptions and engagements. They are less forgiving than a dark ground - every thread end shows - so the finish matters more.
15 designsOrange & rust
ஆரஞ்சுCoral, rust and burnt orange. Warm grounds that carry gold zari particularly well and photograph without going flat.
8 designsGreen
பச்சைDeep green with gold is a traditional alternative to red and photographs beautifully, particularly on silk.
13 designsTeal & blue
நீலம்Teal and peacock blue. A traditional alternative to green that sits beautifully under gold work.
3 designsNavy
கடல் நீலம்Deep navy, usually on velvet or heavy silk. Dark grounds make pale thread and pearl work read from across a room.
5 designsPurple & plum
ஊதாPlum, wine and lilac. Purple grounds take antique gold better than bright gold, which is worth knowing before the design is settled.
6 designsBlack
கருப்புBlack and near-black grounds, usually velvet. Dramatic, and unforgiving of loose work because everything shows.
1 designIvory & gold
தந்தம்Ivory, cream and champagne. Tone-on-tone work where the finish matters more than the colour, because there is nothing to hide behind.
8 designsMustard & yellow
மஞ்சள்Mustard and turmeric yellow. Traditional for daytime functions and for muhurtham in several communities here.
3 designsBrown
பழுப்புChocolate and coffee grounds, usually worked in gold thread alone. Quiet, and increasingly asked for.
2 designs
By fabric
Some fabrics carry weight and some need backing before stone work goes near them.
Silk
பட்டுKanchipuram and soft silks take hand work well and carry weight without distorting, which is why most bridal work is on silk.
59 designs · 2 guidesGeorgette
ஜார்ஜெட்Light and fluid, and the fabric most often ruined by too heavy a design. Georgette needs backing under stone work or the blouse pulls out of shape within hours.
Tissue & organza
டிஷ்யூSheer fabrics where every thread end on the reverse is visible from the front. The finish on the back of the work matters as much as the design on it.
2 designs
Send the design and get a straight answer
A photograph of what you have in mind and the date you need it by is enough to quote from.