Most people commissioning a piece have never done it before. This is the whole process, start to finish.
Aari, also called maggam, is chain stitch worked with a fine hooked needle on fabric held taut in a frame. It builds the dense florals, vines and temple motifs across a yoke.
Zardosi lays metallic wire and coil onto the surface rather than through it, which is why it sits raised and throws shadow.
Shisha sets small mirrors into a cord frame stitched down around each one — a sleeve lattice is built mirror by mirror.
Come to the studio, or send photographs on WhatsApp. We talk through the occasion, the saree or fabric you are working with, and what you want the finished piece to feel like. If you have a reference image, bring it — it is the fastest way to get to the same picture.
The motif layout is drawn for your neckline, sleeve and back. This is where the decisions are made: how dense the yoke should be, where the piece is deliberately left quiet, which threads and beads are used, and how the back reads when you are seated.
Measured in person. Nothing here is sized small, medium or large — the pattern is drafted to your measurements, and fit matters more on an embroidered blouse than a plain one, because the work has to sit correctly across the shoulder.
The cut fabric is stretched taut on a wooden frame and the embroidery is worked by hand with a hooked aari needle. Zardosi is laid separately, coil by coil. This is the longest stage by a wide margin and the one that cannot be compressed.
The embroidered panels are assembled into the finished garment and you come in to try it. Adjustments are made there and then. A fitting is part of the commission, not an extra.
Final press, final inspection, and it is yours. We will tell you how to store and clean it — hand embroidery needs slightly different care from a plain blouse, and it will last for years if it gets it.
Bridal work should be started well ahead of the date. The earlier you come in, the more the design can be yours rather than whatever fits the time left.