Phulkari Phulkari is the art of embroidery of Punjab. It is the term used for both the embroidery and the chaddar or shawl made with this type of embroidery. Phulkari means ‘flower work’ or a bed of flowers. The other term bagh (literally a garden) has also the same connotation.
Phulkari was mainly a domestic craft, executed by the girls and ladies of the household and sometimes by women servants under their directions. The embroidery is done on coarse cotton ( khaddar ) material with untwisted silk floss called pat . In the heavily embroidered baghs , the embroidery covers the fabric so completely that the base colour of the fabric can only be seen on the reverse side. Traditionally, this embroidery was associated with wedding ceremonies and baghs were made by the maternal grandmother for her grand-daughter or by the paternal grandmother for her grand daughter- in-law.