Making more Kasuti is not only about more hands. It is also about designing pieces that many hands can make the same way, in a sensible time, without losing what makes the work Kasuti: counted stitches and a finished back. This lesson shows four ways to grow volume honestly.

What you’ll learn

  • How to design pieces for time without making them “fake”.
  • How standard sizes and stitch maps let many hands match.
  • Where Kasuti-inspired lines fit, and how to label them.
  • How licensing charts and motifs can scale your work without more stitching.

1. Design for time

The four stitches take very different times. Gavanti and Murgi are quicker; Neyge, the woven fill, is the slowest and most skilled (ebook ch. 14). So for volume:

  • Use smaller motifs and more space between them.
  • Use more Gavanti and Murgi for outlines and bands.
  • Keep Neyge for the hero pieces – the made-to-order pallu or the bridal blouse.
  • Repeat a few motifs so makers get faster with practice.

A smaller, simpler piece is still real Kasuti if it is hand-worked in the traditional stitches with a clean back. What you must never do is drop stitches or hide machine work and still call it hand Kasuti.

2. Standard sizes and stitch maps

Fix the size, the cloth count, the colours and the stitch map for every volume product. A stitch map shows which stitch goes where, the strands, the start point and the route. With these, a hundred pieces from twenty makers can match.

3. Kasuti-inspired lines, honestly labelled

Some products can carry Kasuti motifs without hand embroidery. Applied textile research has explored weaving Kasuti-style motifs on jacquard looms, including work with Ilkal handloom weavers, using new yarns and techniques to reproduce motifs such as the Murgi zig-zag in the weave itself (ebook ch. 18). Prints and machine embroidery can carry motifs too.

These can reach more people, but they must be sold as Kasuti-inspired weave (or print, or machine embroidery), never as hand-embroidered Kasuti. They are a different product, not a cheaper version of the same one.

4. Licensing your charts and motifs

If you design original charts, you can license them: another business pays you a fee to use your design, with credit, for agreed products and quantities. Traditional motifs belong to everyone; your own drawn charts and new designs are your work. Licensing lets your design reach more buyers without more stitching by you.

Worked examples

Example 1: redesigning a cushion for volume. The hero version has a large Neyge chariot (ratha) in the centre, taking H1 hours. The volume version keeps the Gavanti outline of the chariot, fills it with a Murgi band, and adds four small Menthe buti: H2 hours, much less than H1. Both are real Kasuti; the hero is made to order, the volume version is in stock.

Example 2: a three-tier range. Tier 1 (hero): full four-stitch pieces, made to order. Tier 2 (core): Gavanti and Murgi pieces, in stock, made by the team. Tier 3 (inspired): a woven or printed line with Kasuti motifs, clearly labelled. Each tier has its own label and story card.

Example 3: a licence. A stationery company wants your gopura chart printed on notebooks. Agree: which design, which products, how many, how long, the fee method (a fixed fee, or a share of each sale), the credit line, and that it is labelled “Kasuti-inspired print”.

Tips, tricks and hacks
  • Time every new design on a sample before it goes into volume.
  • Keep the hero piece in photos; it shows what the brand can do and lifts the whole range.
  • Design borders in repeat units that fit standard sizes exactly.
  • Choose cloth with an easy count for volume lines; save fine silk for hero pieces.
  • Write “Kasuti-inspired” in the same size as the rest of the label, not hidden.
  • Keep a register of your original charts with dates and drafts – useful if you ever need to show they are yours.
  • Use charting software only if it keeps the stepped, angular grid; never “smooth” Kasuti into curves (ebook ch. 20).
Problems and how to fix them

Volume pieces look plain.

  1. Use colour contrast and placement rather than more stitches.
  2. Add a small Menthe accent; it is quick and lively.
  3. Prevention: design volume pieces from the start, not by cutting down hero pieces.

Pressure to drop the back finish to save time.

  1. Refuse; the clean back is what makes it Kasuti.
  2. Simplify the design instead.
  3. Prevention: the back is in your written quality standard.

A buyer confuses your inspired line with hand work.

  1. Correct it at once and clearly.
  2. Make the label and listing wording plainer.
  3. Prevention: separate names, labels and photos for each tier.

A licensee uses your chart beyond what you agreed.

  1. Point to the written agreement.
  2. Ask a lawyer about next steps.
  3. Prevention: a clear written licence before you hand over files.

Makers are bored by repeats.

  1. Rotate products between makers.
  2. Involve makers in designing the next range.
  3. Prevention: mix volume work with some hero work for skilled makers.
Mistakes to avoid
  • Calling woven, printed or machine work “Kasuti” without “inspired”.
  • Dropping Neyge and still charging hero prices.
  • Smoothing motifs into curves that no longer fit the counted grid.
  • Licensing without a written agreement.
  • Licensing traditional motifs as if you owned them.
What to ask your CA, lawyer or the office
  • Lawyer: “What rights do I have in my original charts, and how should a licence be written?”
  • Lawyer or KSHDC: “How may a woven, printed or machine-made product with Kasuti motifs be described without misusing the GI?”
  • CA: “How are licence fees recorded and taxed?”

Note: rules on tax, registration and export change. Check the current position with a chartered accountant or the office named before you act – this lesson tells you what to ask, not the answer.

Check yourself
  • Are your volume pieces designed for time, not cut down?
  • Does every volume product have a stitch map and standard size?
  • Is every inspired product clearly labelled?
  • Do you keep Neyge for hero pieces?
  • Are any licences in writing?
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