Making the band fit

One full zig and zag is one repeat. With 2-square slopes, one repeat is 4 squares long. Plan your band on graph paper so its length is a whole number of repeats. If the space is 41 squares, either use 40 and centre the band, or change the slope width. Never squeeze or stretch the last few slopes to make it fit.

Turning a corner

• Chart the corner first. Draw both bands and the corner on graph paper before you stitch.
• The neatest corners put a point of the zig-zag exactly on the corner diagonal, so the two bands meet in a clean mitre.
• Work out from the corner in both directions if you can, so any leftover length falls at the ends, not at the corner.

Murgi with Gavanti

A Murgi band is often framed by a Gavanti line above and below. Stitch the Gavanti frame first, then the Murgi inside it. Check your chart: some designs leave one square between the frame and the points; others let the points share the frame’s holes.

Routes through a motif

Inside a motif, Murgi lines behave like Gavanti lines. Plan the route in pencil, work any short branch out and back as you meet it, and never carry thread across bare cloth on the back.

Tension

Diagonal stitches pull the cloth on the bias, where it stretches most. Keep the fabric drum-tight in a hoop and pull each slope only until it lies flat. Use the same tension on both passes, or the up-slopes and down-slopes will look different.

• Two colours while learning. Pass 1 in one colour, pass 2 in another. You will see the ladder build itself.
• Tack the guide rows with a contrasting sewing thread on cloth that is hard to count. Pull the tacking out when the band is done.
• Count the slope, not the gap. Say “up two, along two” for every stitch. A rhythm keeps you on count.
• Plan in repeats. Mark every fifth repeat on your chart, so you can check your place quickly.
• Start in the middle of a long border and work out to each end, so both ends match.
• Watch the middle hole on Aida. A 2 × 2 diagonal passes over a hole in its middle. Go over it, not into it.
• Let the needle hang every few stitches. Twisted thread makes diagonals look thin and ropy.
• Use a short thread, about 40–50 cm, as for Gavanti.
• Try a taller band once you are confident: rows 3 squares apart, slopes 3 across. Taller bands show off the zig-zag on a garment.
• Stack two bands with their points facing, and you get a row of diamonds. Many Kasuti borders are built this way.
• Photograph the back after every band. Points that don’t meet show more clearly in a photo.

The points don’t meet: there are small gaps at the top or bottom.

1. A return stitch missed the shared hole. Unpick it and put it into exactly the hole the pass 1 slope used.
2. If a pass 1 slope is one square short or long, unpick back to it and redo it; don’t correct it on the return.
3. Next time, check every point against the guide row as you go.

The zig-zag leans or looks uneven.

1. Some slopes are wider than others. Count a few and find the odd one out.
2. Unpick back to the first wrong slope and re-stitch.
3. Next time, keep a steady “up two, along two” count, and check every five repeats.

The back doesn’t mirror the front.

1. On the back, the thread jumped somewhere other than behind a slope. Unpick that section and re-work it.
2. At the turn, make sure you came up where the last slope began.
3. Next time, turn the work over after the first few repeats of every band.

The band is wavy, or the fabric pulls out of shape.

1. Diagonals were pulled too tight. Ease them gently from the back with the needle tip.
2. Dampen the finished piece and press from the back on a towel to settle it.
3. Next time, use a hoop and lighter tension.

The band doesn’t fit the space: you are left with half a repeat.

1. If only a little is left, end on a full point and centre the band by adding equal space at each end.
2. If a lot is left, change the slope width so a whole number of repeats fits.
3. Prevention: count the space and plan the repeats on graph paper first.

The corner looks muddled.

1. Unpick back to the last full repeat before the corner.
2. Chart the corner on graph paper, with a point on the mitre line, and re-stitch from the chart.
3. Prevention: always chart corners before you stitch; never improvise them on the cloth.

The thread runs out halfway along the band.

1. Stop with 8–10 cm left and weave it back under the last few slopes on the back.
2. Start the new thread by weaving it under a few stitches of the same band, and come up in the right hole.
3. Next time, stitch one repeat, see how much thread it uses, and cut enough for the whole pass.

The band looks thin or sparse.

1. Add a strand: 3 strands on 14-count Aida fill the diagonals better.
2. Use steeper or shorter slopes, which pack more thread into the band.
3. Test both on a scrap before you start the real piece.

• Work pass 1 right to left, making the slopes that lean the other way, then fill the gaps on the way back. The finished zig-zag is exactly the same.
• Don’t mirror the chart. Only your working direction changes.
• You can also turn the hoop upside down and work “left to right” on the turned piece.

Mistakes

• Learning Murgi before Gavanti. The out-and-back idea is easier on a straight line first.
• Not marking guide rows, so the band slowly drifts up or down.
• Pulling diagonals tight, which puckers the bias of the cloth.
• Starting a border at one end and finding the other end doesn’t fit.
• Carrying the thread across the back to start the next band.

Myths

• “Murgi is a different stitch from Gavanti.” It is the same double running idea, on a zig-zag path.
• “Only one slope shows on the back.” Done properly, the back shows the full zig-zag, just like the front.
• “Murgi is too hard for beginners.” It is a beginner-to-intermediate stitch. If your Gavanti is secure, you are ready.

1. Three bands: three Murgi bands, each 10 repeats long, rows 2 squares apart, in two colours.
2. The framed band: one Murgi band between two Gavanti lines.
3. The diamond row: two bands with points facing, making a row of diamonds.
4. The corner: a Murgi border that turns one corner, charted first.

As a hobby: Murgi bands make cheerful borders on cushion covers, table runners, bag straps and cards. Try one band in several colours to see how much the colour changes the mood.

For earning: a Gavanti-framed Murgi band is a classic border for blouse sleeves, dupatta edges and saree borders. Clean, matching points on both sides are what a buyer looks for; photograph the back for every listing (Volume 2).

For teaching: teach Murgi straight after Gavanti, with two colours and pre-marked guide rows. Drills 1 and 2 make one class; the corner makes a good homework task.

• Pull out tacking threads and remove pen marks before pressing.
• Trim tails only after they are woven in for 2.5–5 cm.
• Press from the back, on a folded towel, with a damp pressing cloth, so the diagonals stay raised.
• Test colour-fastness on a scrap before washing anything wearable; wash by hand, don’t wring, and dry flat (see Module 7, Caring for Kasuti).

• Is your zig-zag continuous on both sides?
• Are all the slopes the same width and height?
• Do the points meet cleanly at the top and bottom?
• Are there no knots and no travelling threads on the back?
• Does your band end on a full repeat?

If all five are yes, you have mastered Kasuti’s second reversible stitch.

• Murgi (also Muragi): the zig-zag or ladder double running stitch.
• Guide rows: the two parallel rows of holes the zig-zag runs between.
• Slope: one diagonal stitch of the zig-zag.
• Point: where two slopes meet on a guide row.
• Repeat: one full zig and zag.
• Mitre: the diagonal line where two borders meet at a corner.
• Bias: the diagonal direction of a woven cloth, where it stretches most.

• Main source: D&D’s own ebook, chapters 6, 10, 13 and 14, with general embroidery practice.
• Sources differ on how Murgi looks: most describe straight diagonals between two rows, as taught here; some show a stepped, staircase-like zig-zag. Both are worked out and back.
• We have not found a reliable explanation of the name Murgi. If you know one from your family or teacher, tell us.
• The 2-square band in this lesson is a learning size, not a traditional rule.