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Karuna's Treasure Trunk: Applique Stories Stitched in ‘Fabric on Fabric’!
- omemy tutorials
- Jan 4
- 9 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
The old haveli buzzed with an energy it hadn't felt in years. Karuna's grandchildren—scattered across three continents—had finally converged under one roof for her 80th birthday. While the adults caught up over endless cups of chai, the younger generation found themselves wandering through rooms that felt like stepping into another era. The house was indeed different - everything told a story; nothing was mass-produced.
"Nani, do you have some secret hobbies or secret stash?" asked twelve-year-old Sia, accustomed to her structured, London flat.
"Or some mystical treasures?" added Miguel, her cousin from Barcelona. Karuna smiled, her eyes twinkling.
"Come," she said one evening, beckoning all seven grandchildren to her room. "It's time you met my secrets and treasures."
She unlocked a large wooden trunk—sandalwood, worn smooth by decades of handling. As the lid creaked open, a faint scent of camphor and memories escaped.
The Trunk of Wonders
"This," Karuna pulled out a vibrant wall hanging, "is from Pipli, Orissa. See these bright fish swimming across the fabric? Each one is a separate piece of cloth, cut and stitched onto this background."
The children leaned closer. The fish seemed almost three-dimensional, their scales created by smaller fabric pieces layered on top.
"This is appliqué," Karuna explained. "The art of stitching fabric pieces onto a base fabric to create pictures and patterns. Unlike patchwork, where you sew fabrics together side-by-side like a puzzle, appliqué is about layering—one fabric on top of another."
Aisha, the eldest at sixteen, ran her fingers along the edges. "How is it attached? I can barely see the stitches."
"Ah, that's the mark of good appliqué work," Karuna said proudly. "In Pipli craft, they traditionally use hemming stitch or buttonhole stitch. The edges of the fabric pieces are folded inward to conceal the raw edge and then stitched down onto the base fabric. This creates a neat, clean, and durable finish — see these tiny loops along the edges? They secure the fabric and prevent fraying, while also becoming part of the design."
She pulled out another piece—a wall hanging with bold, dancing humans in primary colours. "This is also Pipli work. The craftspeople there are famous for their temple decorations, garden umbrellas, and canopies. They use bright, contrasting colours because these pieces were originally meant to be seen from a distance during festivals."
Dancing figues in Pipli Craft from Orissa
Techniques Hidden in Every Stitch- Methods of Applique Crafts
"But there are many ways to do appliqué," Karuna continued, pulling out more treasures. "This one"—she held up a delicate piece with geometric, pastel flowers—"is hand-hemmed appliqué called 'Phool-Patti ka Kaam' from Aligarh in India. See how the edges are turned under and then slip-stitched invisibly? It gives a cleaner finish."
Rohan, who loved his computer graphics, was fascinated. "So it's like... different techniques for different effects?"
"Exactly! This felt onel"—she showed them a whimsical children's wall hanging—"has edges that aren't turned at all. Felt doesn't fray, so you can simply cut your shape and stitch it directly with blanket stitch or even running stitch. It's perfect for beginners."
Miguel noticed another piece where the colours seemed to glow from within. "What about this one, Abuela?"
"Ah, my clever boy noticed! This is reverse appliqué—popular in Mola craft from Panama. Instead of stitching fabric on top, you layer fabrics underneath and then cut away the top layer to reveal the colours below. See these intricate patterns? Each colour is a different layer beneath."
A World Stitched Together: Applique Craft across Cultures
As Karuna unpacked, continents unfolded from her trunk.
"These geometric stars are from American quilts—they call it appliqué quilting there. During the 19th century, American women would gather for 'quilting bees', working together on appliqué patterns with names like 'Dresden Plate' or 'Sunbonnet Sue'."
She pulled out a striking piece with bold, abstract shapes in earthy tones. "This is inspired by Fon Appliqué from Benin in West Africa. They create banners telling stories of kings and battles. See how fearless the shapes are? No tiny details—just powerful, symbolic forms."
The children noticed how different each piece felt. The European appliqués Karuna showed them were often floral—neat roses and vines with perfectly turned edges. The African pieces were confident and graphic. The Asian work ranged from floral ‘Aligarh Phool Patti Ka Kaam’ to delicate Japanese techniques where every stitch was invisible.
"Each culture developed appliqué for different reasons," Karuna explained. "Sometimes to make fabric go further during hard times, sometimes for ceremony, sometimes simply for beauty. But everywhere, it served the same purpose—to save fabric, to tell stories, to create something beautiful from scraps."
The Art of Zero Waste: Sustainability and Applique Crafts
Sia held up tiny fabric pieces no bigger than coins. "Nani, why did you keep these?"
"Because even these can become art, beta. Look at this piece." Karuna showed them a fabric collage of a garden scene. "Every single leaf, every petal, every butterfly wing came from scraps. That yellow flower? It's from your mother's old school uniform. The blue butterfly? Your uncle's shirt that tore. The green leaves? Curtain scraps from when we renovated in 1987."
The children fell silent, seeing the piece differently now!
"Appliqué is perhaps the most sustainable, circular textile craft," Karuna said softly. "In patchwork, you need larger pieces to sew together. In appliqué, the tiniest scrap has value. A thread-thin strip can become a stem. A coin-sized circle can be a flower center. Nothing goes to landfill if you have imagination." Children listened in awe as she brought out a repurposed applique sling bag she had bought from a recent craft exhibition.
She pulled out her old appliqué basket—filled with scraps sorted by colour, none larger than a child's palm.
"Our throw-away world has forgotten this wisdom. But climate change is teaching us again—nothing should be wasted. Every scrap has potential."
Applique Craft in Personal Collections
''Abuela, how wonderful it must be to make memorable gifts from applique crafts!'' said Miguel. The comment refreshed Karuna's memory of a visit to one of her friends in London. There she had come across one of the most memorable wedding gift; a quilt topped with applique work. Luckily, she still had pictures of this work of art in her album.
The quilt was gifted to Nora and Paul by their cousin Louise from Australia. This intercontinental gift speaks volumes of the fondness the artist had for this couple. It looks like the quilt was designed and constructed on the mathematical principles of 3s and 4s. The construction of traditional quilts requires a sound sense of geometry along with sewing skills, which the artist seems to have excelled in. The appliqued lemons (mark of fertility as mentioned in the label) are all arranged in sets of 3 in the corners, and there are a total of 36 lemons in the centerpiece. Similar sets of 3 - patterns has been followed for the leaves. Interestingly, the contrasting diagonal cut center-back piece also seems to be divided into the pattern of thirds and not exactly halves. The rest of the elements in the quilt, the shape, stars, and squares conform to the geometry of 4s. The applique patterns depict both machine and hand stitches where the leaves have been machined while the yellow lemons have been hand-stitched with blanket/buttonhole stitch. Interestingly, the gift comes with a hand-made, calico drawstring bag with wash-care instructions. It goes without saying that it took Louise 9-12 months to finish this piece of exquisite craft. Her incredible perseverance is a testament to goodwill, especially in today's world where the price tag of factory-made gifts often eclipses the emotions and intentions behind them.
Free Expression and Sense of Community-Applique Craft
"Has Applique craft been used as a medium of free creative expression, beyond the boundaries of finesse and perfection?" asked Aisha, scrolling mentally through her art history classes.
"Oh yes! Let me show you..." Karuna pulled out another album, its pages marked with fabric bookmarks. "This is a community patchwork created by Sewcial group in London. The Sewcial group was set up under the Talking Tree umbrella in 2023 to raise awareness towards clothing and fabrics and how they impact the environment.'' According to Janet Lloyd, in early 2025 as part of the Thrive festival, the Sewcial group invited its members, members of other talking tree projects as well as members of the general public to make 18 centimetre fabric squares and to decorate them using any techniques and materials that they wish, the two proviso’s being :
all materials used should be recycled or repurposed materials already in existence as opposed to brand new material.
The squares should be themed around the Talking Tree mission of working towards Zero Carbon and increased biodiversity
The squares were collected over several months, and in early June 2025 the Sewcial Group assembled them onto a backing to produce the Talking Tree Zero Waste Patchwork. This was displayed in the Talking Tree hub as part of the Thrive festival."
The collage below provides glimpses of the complete project as well as close-ups of few of its squares. Interestingly, a large part of the patchwork is covered with appliqued squares, depicting various aspects of life in general. There are few others in techniques like embroidery etc. But it is the applique craft that seems to be providing a strong sense of free expression combined with the flexibility of application. The rendition is raw, edges unfinished, but expression is doubtlessly bold and varied. Applique takes precedance over other techniques due to it's potential of free artistic expression aligned with the possibility of utilising smallest of the scraps!
Talking Tree Zero Waste Patchwork
The Tools Are Simple, The Skill Is Everything: Tools and Equipment for Applique Craft
"Can we try?" asked the youngest, seven-year-old Zara.
"Of course! That's why I saved these." Karuna pulled out a smaller box. "For appliqué, you need very little: fabric scraps, scissors sharp enough to cut clean edges, needles, thread, and pins. That's it. No expensive machines necessary, though you can use a sewing machine for quicker work."
She demonstrated both hand and machine methods on a small practice piece.
"Machine appliqué is faster—you can use a tight zigzag stitch or even a straight stitch for a raw-edge look that's very modern. But hand appliqué"—she took a needle and thread—"requires patience. Your stitches must be tiny, even, invisible if you're aiming for the traditional look."
Watching her aged but steady hands work, the children understood. This wasn't just craft—it was meditation, concentration, years of muscle memory.
"The real investment isn't money," Karuna said. "It's time, patience, and the willingness to start over when a curve doesn't sit right or a point doesn't come sharp. My hands remember hundreds of hours. This skill isn't built overnight."
What Appliqué Taught !?
As the evening deepened and younger children started yawning, Karuna began packing her treasures back.
"You know what appliqué taught me?" she asked, not expecting an answer. "That broken things can become beautiful. That scraps have value. That with patience, you can turn nothing into something. That every culture has solved the same problem—how to make beauty from limitation—in their own unique way."
She closed the trunk, her hands resting on its lid.
"In patchwork, you celebrate each fabric by giving it space, stitching pieces side by side as equals. In appliqué, you layer stories, one on top of another, building depth and dimension. Both are beautiful. Both are necessary. But appliqué... appliqué taught me that even the smallest piece matters. That foreground and background work together. That what you choose to place on top creates meaning."
Aisha helped her grandmother lock the trunk. "Will you teach us, Nani? Before we leave?"
Karuna smiled. "I've already started! Tomorrow, we'll each make something small. You'll take it home—a piece of this house, these stories, stitched by your own hands."
As the grandchildren filed out, chattering about what they wanted to create, Karuna sat quietly. Her trunk held more than fabric and thread. It held continents, decades, conversations with craftspeople from Orissa to Oaxaca, patience learned stitch by stitch, and the stubborn belief that in a world drowning in plastic and speed, there was still space for hands that moved slowly, creating beauty one tiny scrap at a time.
The old haveli settled into night, its walls covered with stories stitched in fabric—each one a small rebellion against forgetting, against waste, against the idea that art requires expensive materials rather than patient hands and scraps filled with possibility.
And in a wooden trunk that smelled of camphor and memories, hundreds more stories waited, each one cut from fabric and stitched with love, ready to inspire the next generation to see beauty not in what's brand new, but in what we already have—if only we're patient enough to piece it together.
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