This glossary gathers the Kannada and craft words used in this course, in one place. Use it when a word in a lesson is new, or when you meet a different spelling in a book or shop.

What you’ll learn

  • The meaning of every Kannada and craft term in the course.
  • The other spellings you may see for each one.
  • Kannada script for common words, where the spelling is well established.

How to use it

  • Terms are in alphabetical order, grouped by letter. Tap a group to open it.
  • Kannada script is given for everyday words where the spelling is well established. For the stitch names, spellings vary, so script is left for a Kasuti teacher to confirm.
  • Alternative spellings are given after “also”. Kannada words are written in English letters in several ways; none is wrong.
  • “See” sends you to the main entry.

The words you’ll use most

  • Kasuti (ಕಸೂತಿ) – the embroidery itself.
  • Gavanti – double running stitch. Murgi – zig-zag running stitch. Neyge – weaving (darning) stitch. Menthe – cross stitch.
  • Buti – one small motif. Seragu (ಸೆರಗು) – the pallu of a saree.
  • Count – one step on the grid: one Aida block, or 2 threads of plain cloth.
A – B
  • Aane (ಆನೆ) – elephant; a motif of strength, often shown carrying an ambari.
  • Aida – a cotton cloth woven in blocks with a hole at each corner, made for counted embroidery. Sold by count, such as 14-count.
  • Ambari (ಅಂಬಾರಿ) – also howdah; the ceremonial seat carried on an elephant’s back.
  • Asana (ಆಸನ) – a seat for a deity; a temple motif.
  • Back – the reverse side of the work; in Kasuti, the test of quality.
  • Banjara – see Lambani.
  • Border – a buti repeated in a line to make a band.
  • Buti – also booti; one small, repeatable motif, the building block of a border.
C – D
  • Chandrakali (ಚಂದ್ರಕಾಳಿ) – also Chandrakala; the traditional black silk bridal saree embroidered with Kasuti, often with a red border.
  • Chart – a grid drawing of a design, one square per count.
  • Cluster – a group of artisans in one area working together.
  • Cooperative – a group owned by its members, who share the work and the earnings.
  • Corner – a border mirrored at a right angle.
  • Count – one step on the grid. Also the number of blocks per inch of Aida (14-count = 14 per inch).
  • Counted-thread embroidery – embroidery placed by counting the threads of the cloth, not by following a drawn line.
  • Cross stitch – see Menthe.
  • Darning stitch – see Neyge.
  • Deepa (ದೀಪ) – an oil lamp; a motif linked with light and wisdom.
  • Double running stitch – see Gavanti.
  • Dye lot – one batch of dyed thread; colour can vary slightly between lots.
E – G
  • Evenweave – cloth with the same number of threads per cm in both directions.
  • Float – a long length of thread lying loose on the surface or back. Avoid them: they snag.
  • Gantu (ಗಂಟು) – knot. Kasuti uses none.
  • Gavanti – also Gavanthi, Ganti; the double running stitch, Kasuti’s most-used stitch. Reversible. The name is usually linked to the Kannada word for knot; sources don’t agree on exactly how.
  • GI tag – Geographical Indication; a legal registration tying a product’s name to its region and traditional method. Kasuti’s is held by KSHDC.
  • Gopura (ಗೋಪುರ) – the tiered gateway tower of a South Indian temple; one of Kasuti’s best-known motifs.
  • Ground – the base cloth that the embroidery is worked on.
H – J
  • Hamsa (ಹಂಸ) – swan; a bird motif.
  • Handloom – cloth woven on a hand-operated loom.
  • Hatti (ಹತ್ತಿ) – cotton.
  • Hoop – two rings that hold cloth tight while you stitch.
  • Ilkal saree (ಇಳಕಲ್ ಸೀರೆ) – a handwoven cotton or cotton-silk saree from Ilkal, Bagalkot district; the classic ground for Kasuti. It has its own GI.
  • Jinke (ಜಿಂಕೆ) – deer; an animal motif.
  • Join – starting a new thread inside a line of the same colour, without a knot.
K
  • Kai (ಕೈ) – hand. The name Kasuti is usually explained as kai + suti (cotton): hand work in cotton. This is the traditional explanation, not one proven by language scholars.
  • Kamala (ಕಮಲ) – lotus; a flower motif linked with purity, in several forms.
  • Kasuti (ಕಸೂತಿ) – the counted-thread hand embroidery of north Karnataka.
  • Khana (ಖಣ) – also khun, khan; a handloom blouse fabric of north Karnataka, best known from Guledgudda. Sources describe its fibre differently (cotton, or cotton with silk).
  • KSHDC – also KHDC; the Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation, holder of the Kasuti GI.
  • Kulai – a bonnet; one of the five traditional Kasuti garments.
  • Kunchi – a baby’s bonnet with a cape; a traditional Kasuti gift for a new baby.
  • Kusuba – a blouse or bodice piece; one of the five traditional Kasuti garments.
L – M
  • Lambani – also Banjara, Lamani; a community of Karnataka and neighbouring states with its own embroidery tradition.
  • Lenga (ಲಂಗ) – also langa; a skirt; one of the five traditional Kasuti garments.
  • Mallige (ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ) – jasmine; a flower motif.
  • Menthe – also Menthi, Menthya (Henthe is listed in some sources; uncertain); the cross stitch, named after fenugreek, menthya (ಮೆಂತ್ಯ), whose seeds its little crosses resemble. The least reversible stitch.
  • Mirror – to copy a shape in reverse across a centre line.
  • Motif – a single design figure: a gopura, a peacock, a lotus.
  • Murgi – also Muragi; the zig-zag (ladder) running stitch, worked in two passes like Gavanti. Reversible.
N – P
  • Nandi (ನಂದಿ) – the sacred bull, Shiva’s mount; a temple motif.
  • Navilu (ನವಿಲು) – peacock; a motif of beauty.
  • Neyge – also Neygi, Negi, Nyege; the weaving (darning) stitch, from the Kannada for weaving, neyge (ನೇಯ್ಗೆ). Worked in offset rows; not reversible.
  • Net method – also waste canvas method; a removable counting grid tacked over cloth that can’t be counted, pulled out thread by thread after stitching.
  • Pallakki (ಪಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿ) – palanquin; a ceremonial motif, often paired with the ratha.
  • Pallu – also pallav; the decorated end of a saree. See Seragu.
  • Pass – one journey along a line. Gavanti and Murgi have an outward pass and a return pass.
R – S
  • Ratha (ರಥ) – the temple chariot; a procession motif.
  • Ravike (ರವಿಕೆ) – a blouse; sometimes embroidered with Kasuti and given at a baby’s birth.
  • Repeat – one unit of a border, stitched again and again.
  • Reshme (ರೇಷ್ಮೆ) – silk.
  • Reversible – looking the same, or nearly, on both sides.
  • Seragu (ಸೆರಗು) – the pallu of a saree; the most richly worked of the five traditional Kasuti garments.
  • Shankha (ಶಂಖ) – conch; a sacred motif.
  • Strand – one of the six fine threads that make up stranded cotton.
  • Stranded cotton – embroidery thread of six strands that can be separated; today’s standard Kasuti thread.
  • Swatch – a small labelled sample of a stitch or motif.
T – W
  • Tacking – long temporary running stitches used to mark lines or hold a net in place.
  • Tail – the short end of thread left on the back at the start, trapped by the first stitches.
  • Tapestry needle – a needle with a blunt tip and a long eye, which slips between threads instead of splitting them.
  • Tension – how tightly each stitch is pulled.
  • Topeteni – also tope teni; a term linked with the Ilkal saree’s pallu. Our source ebook describes it as the interlocking weave that joins the pallu to the body; other sources use kondi for that join and tope teni for a pallu pattern. Sources differ.
  • Tottilu (ತೊಟ್ಟಿಲು) – cradle; a motif of family life.
  • Tulsi katte (ತುಳಸಿ ಕಟ್ಟೆ) – also tulasi katte, tulsi vrindavan; the raised household shrine for the holy basil plant.
  • Waste canvas – see Net method.
Sources and uncertain points
  • The kai + suti explanation of the name Kasuti is traditional, not proven.
  • The link between Gavanti and the word for knot is widely repeated, but explained differently by different sources.
  • The spelling Henthe for Menthe appears in some lists; we have not confirmed it.
  • Descriptions of khana and of tope teni vary between sources.
  • Kannada script is given only for common words. Script for the stitch names and for kunchi, kulai and kusuba is left for a Kasuti teacher to confirm.
Check yourself
  • Can you name the four stitches and say which two are reversible?
  • Do you know what a buti is, and how it becomes a border?
  • Can you name the five traditional Kasuti garments?
  • Do you recognise Negi and Muragi as other spellings of stitches you know?
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