Qalam Kaari means pen work. Qalam is the pen, a word shared by Arabic, Persian and Urdu, and kaari means work or craft. At Soznikar, Qalam Kaari is our name for the finest hand-drawn sozni in the house: fine needlework in silk thread, worked at the corner and along the border of a square hand-loomed in plain weave. The cloth depends on the collection: Kashmiri semi pashmina for Qalam Kaari Super Turma, and pure Kashmiri pashmina for Qalam Kaari Pashmina.
This post belongs with our writing on Kashmiri craft. For the wider story of the needle, read Sozni Embroidery: A Six-Hundred-Year-Old Needle.
What sozni is
Sozni is the fine needle embroidery of Kashmir, worked on pashmina and other fine wool. It is embroidery, not weaving: the cloth is woven first, and the pattern is added afterwards with a needle and thread. That is what sets it apart from kani, where the pattern is woven into the cloth on the loom.
The work traditionally passes through several hands. A designer, the naqash, draws the pattern. The outline is transferred to the cloth, and the embroiderer then works the design stitch by stitch, in very fine stitches that follow the drawn line. A border can take weeks. A piece embroidered all over can take a year or more.
Why pen work
Every sozni pattern begins as a drawing, and the best work never loses that quality. Pen work describes needlework so fine and so even that, at arm's length, the motif reads like a drawing made with a qalam. The outline is crisp, the curves are smooth, and the fill sits flat and close to the cloth.
That is the standard we hold Qalam Kaari to, and why we call it the finest hand-drawn sozni in the house.
Qalam Kaari is not Kalamkari
The names sound alike, and the confusion is common. Kalamkari is a separate textile tradition from southern India, in present-day Andhra Pradesh, in which designs are painted onto cotton with a pen or printed with blocks, using natural dyes. Some sellers also use the word for pashmina shawls that are painted and then embroidered.
Qalam Kaari, as we use the term, is embroidery. The motif is worked in silk thread with a needle, not painted or printed onto the cloth.
Why the corner and the border
A square of pashmina worn as a ghutra is folded corner to corner into a triangle. The corners fall forward over the chest and back between the shoulders, so a motif at the corner sits exactly where the eye falls, and a border traces the edges that frame the face. Working the sozni there, rather than across the whole cloth, keeps the piece light and lets the ground speak.
How to judge fine sozni
You do not need to be an expert to see quality. Look closely, then step back.
- Density. Fine work packs many small stitches into a short distance. Coarse work shows longer stitches and gaps.
- Evenness. Stitches should be consistent in length and tension, with no puckering of the cloth around them.
- The line. Outlines should be clean and continuous, with smooth curves rather than jagged steps.
- The thread. Silk thread has a soft lustre and lies flat. Synthetic thread tends to look glassy.
- The reverse. Turn it over. Neat work is tidy on the back as well, with no long loose threads.
- At arm's length. The motif should read as a single, balanced drawing.
The colour stories
Each Qalam Kaari piece is one of one, with its own ground and its own thread. The line moves between a few families: ivory grounds with pale gold worked tone on tone; sage and greige grounds with white or gold; pale blush grounds with fine black and white; and richer pieces in copper, plum or peacock gold and teal.
Tone-on-tone pieces suit daytime and formal settings. Contrast and multicolour pieces come into their own in the majlis and at celebrations, as we describe in Pashmina for the Majlis. See every piece in the two Qalam Kaari collections.
Wearing and caring for embroidered pashmina
- Dry clean only, by a cleaner who handles fine embroidery.
- Do not fold along the embroidery. Repeated creasing across the stitches strains the thread. Fold so that the motif lies flat.
- Store it flat in breathable cotton, away from direct light, which fades silk thread.
- Mind the agal and jewellery. Lower the agal gently rather than dragging it across the stitches, and keep rough edges away from the work.
There is more on storage in our care and storage manual, and on wearing the cloth well in How to Wear a Pashmina Ghutra.
Questions we are asked
Is Qalam Kaari the same as Kalamkari?
No. Kalamkari is painted or block-printed cotton from southern India. Qalam Kaari, as we use the term, is fine sozni embroidery in silk thread on Kashmiri pashmina or semi pashmina.
Is Qalam Kaari embroidered or printed?
Embroidered. The corner motif and border are worked with a needle in silk thread.
Is each piece unique?
Yes. Each Qalam Kaari piece in our catalogue is one of one, never repeated.
What is the cloth?
It depends on the collection. Qalam Kaari Super Turma is Kashmiri semi pashmina and Qalam Kaari Pashmina is pure Kashmiri pashmina, both hand-loomed in plain weave. Our field guide to pashmina explains the fibre.
Who is Qalam Kaari for?
The line is made for men, as squares to be worn as a ghutra. It also makes a considered gift, and our gift guide for the Gulf may help.