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Activities / Banjara Embroidery / Banjara Embroidery Bag

Banjara Embroidery Bag

Banjara Embroidery Bag: Mirror, Chain and Herringbone Stitches on Cotton

Level
Intermediate
Duration
6 - 10 hours (over a few evenings)
Budget
₹450 – ₹1,500
Age
14+
State
Andhra Pradesh

Materials

  • Plain white or natural cotton canvas tote bag
  • Cotton embroidery floss, 6 strand, in orange, red, yellow, green, white
  • Embroidery needles, size 5 to 7, and a thimble
  • Wooden embroidery hoop, 15 cm (6 in)
  • Acrylic craft mirrors, 1.5 cm, round
  • Glass seed beads, 3 mm (8/0), mixed colours
  • Water-erasable fabric marker
  • Scissors, a ruler and a piece of cardboard
  • Fabric glue or white glue (optional)

Steps

  1. Wash and iron the plain cotton tote bag
    Wash the tote in warm water with a little soap, dry it and iron it flat on the cotton setting. New canvas bags shrink and carry a stiff finish that makes the needle hard to push through, so washing first saves you trouble later. Common mistake: embroidering a bag that then shrinks and puckers the stitches in the first wash.
  2. Mark a 15 by 10 cm panel and divide it into three bands
    On the front of the bag, 6 cm below the top edge, draw a rectangle 15 cm wide and 10 cm tall (6 by 4 in) with a water-erasable fabric marker. Divide it into three horizontal bands: a top band 3 cm tall, a middle band 4 cm and a bottom band 3 cm. Press lightly. Banjara work is built from stripes of different stitches, so these bands are your plan for the whole project.
    Tip: Slip a piece of cardboard inside the bag while you mark and stitch so you never catch the back layer.
  3. Put the panel in the hoop and thread the needle with 4 strands
    Cut 50 cm of orange floss and separate the 6 strands. Use 4 strands together for a bold, chunky stitch. Thread a needle and knot the end. Open the 15 cm hoop, lay the panel on the inner ring and press the outer ring over it until the cloth is drum tight but not stretched out of shape. Common mistake: stitching through both layers of the bag, so keep the cardboard inside.
  4. Stitch two rows of chain stitch in the middle band, orange then red
    Bring the needle up at the left end of the band's top line. Put it back in at the same hole, leaving a small loop, then bring the tip up 5 mm along the line and through the loop. Pull gently so the loop lies flat, continue to the right end, and work a second row in red just below. Chain stitch looks like a braided rope when the stitches are the same size.
    Tip: Make every stitch the width of a grain of rice. Even stitches matter more than speed.
  5. Fill the top band with herringbone stitch in two colours
    Work a zigzag: bring the needle up at the bottom left, go across diagonally to the top line, take a small stitch back to the left, and cross diagonally down to the bottom line, again taking a small stitch back to the left. Each stitch should be about 8 mm tall. The threads cross in the middle like a woven braid. Work one row in yellow, then a second row in green below it.
  6. Mark four mirror spots along the bottom band
    Mark four dots along the middle of the bottom band, 3.5 cm apart, so there is a margin of 2 cm at each end. Each acrylic mirror is about 1.5 cm across. Hold a mirror on a dot to check the spacing, then draw a tiny circle around it. Even spacing looks as though a skilled hand made it.
  7. Hold each mirror with four stitches, then cover them in buttonhole stitch
    Hold the mirror on its circle with a finger. Make a stitch right across it, then another across at right angles, so the threads form a cross that holds it down. Bring the needle up just outside the mirror and work buttonhole stitch around its edge, going under the cross threads and looping the thread at the edge so the stitches face outward. Stitches should be 2 mm apart, covering the cross completely. Common mistake: stitching too loosely, so the mirror slips.
    Tip: If the mirror slides, put a tiny dot of fabric glue under it first.
  8. Sew little clusters of three seed beads between the mirrors
    Between each pair of mirrors, sew three seed beads in a row, one at a time. Bring the needle up, thread one bead, then go back down next to it and come up again for the next bead. Use 2 strands of red or white floss for beads. Pull each stitch snug so the beads sit flat against the cloth.
  9. Add a running stitch border above and below the panel
    With white floss, 4 strands, sew a straight line of running stitch 5 mm above the top edge of the panel and 5 mm below the bottom edge. Make each stitch and each gap about 4 mm. Then work a second row in the gaps of the first so the border looks like a dotted line. Keep the stitches level by following the pencil line you drew with the marker.
  10. Fasten off the threads and press the panel from the inside
    On the inside of the bag, slide each thread tail under the stitches on the back for 3 cm and cut it short. Take the bag out of the hoop. Dab the marker lines with a damp cloth until they disappear. Place a towel on the ironing board, lay the embroidery face down on it and press from the back on a medium setting, so the stitches stay raised.

Sustainability

Medium - reuses a plain tote; threads are cotton

Safety

Needle pricks, so use a thimble; use acrylic mirrors, not glass; eye strain from detailed work, so stitch in good light