Pipili appliqué work
The village of Pipili, Puri district, Odisha, India, is well known for its appliqué work, traditionally known as Chandua in India. "Appliqué" comes from the French word appliquer, meaning "to put on". There are two variants to this technique: appliqué, where a fabric shape is sewn over a base layer, and reverse appliqué, wherein two layers of fabric are laid down, and a shape is subsequently cut out from the upper layer, exposing the lower layer, before both are stitched together.
It is one of the products which has been granted Geographical Indication by the government of India.
Etymology
The word Chandua is derived from the Sanskrit word Candrātapa and the Prakrit word Candāava meaning moonlight, an awning, canopy, lantern.History
Pipili appliqué work owes its origin to the culture of Lord Jagannath during the 12th century.Earlier appliqué canopies, umbrellas and lanterns were prepared by the Gajapatis for the annual Ratha Jatra of Jagannath.
Use
Nowadays its usage is more in household, decorative and festival products. The appliqué items are mainly used during rituals and jatras of the deities, particularly the colourful appliqué cloth covers of the three rathas of the deities during Rath Jatra. Apart from differences in colour the basic design of all three is similar. Appliqué work is also used in making pillows, seats and ritual dresses for the deities.Designing
The base cloth includes water proof material for umbrellas, velvet for tents, cotton, and threads.Mythical and natural figures are used for the work, including peacocks, ducks, parrots, trees, elephants, creepers, flowers such as jasmine and lotus, the Sun, half-moon, and Rahu.
The craft involves embroidering and stitching. For attaching the pieces of cloth the makers use straight stitch, satin stitch, blind stitch, or buttonhole stitch. Sometimes they also make mirror work and many decorative stitches.