This lesson is for anyone who wants to buy materials for Kasuti, buy finished pieces, or commission artisans to make work: learners, teachers, designers and shops. It explains where things come from, how artisan groups are organised, and how to commission fairly.

Organisations named here are described from published craft writing. We have not checked their current activity. Always contact an organisation directly before relying on it.

What you’ll learn

  • Where to source fabric and thread for Kasuti.
  • Where Kasuti artisans work, and how their groups are organised.
  • How to brief and commission an artisan or group fairly.
  • What to check before you buy or accept work.

Fabric

  • For learning: Aida and evenweave from embroidery and craft suppliers, in shops and online.
  • Ilkal sarees: woven in and around Ilkal, Bagalkot district. Buy from weavers’ cooperatives, handloom emporia or weavers directly where you can. The Ilkal saree has its own GI.
  • Khana (khun): the handloom blouse fabric of north Karnataka, best known from Guledgudda, also in Bagalkot district.
  • Handloom cotton and silk: from handloom societies, government handloom shops and trusted weavers.

Thread

  • Stranded cotton is sold widely by colour number. Buy enough of one dye lot for a whole piece.
  • Silk and zari from specialist thread shops. Ask whether zari is real metal or imitation.
  • Test every thread for colourfastness before you use it.

Where artisans work

Most Kasuti is stitched at home, by women, in towns and villages of north Karnataka – around Dharwad, Hubballi, Gadag, Belagavi, Vijayapura and Bagalkot – and fitted around other work. Many embroiderers belong to a group:

  • Cooperative societies, owned by their members.
  • Self-help groups (SHGs), small groups of women who save and work together.
  • NGO programmes that train women and find orders for them.
  • Training centres run by government bodies.

Commissioning fairly, in five steps

  1. Brief clearly: a chart, the size, the cloth and count, thread colour numbers, and the stitch names – Gavanti, Murgi, Neyge, Menthe – which are the artisans’ own working words.
  2. Pay for a sample and approve it before the full order.
  3. Agree the time with the makers. Hand Kasuti can mean thousands of stitches in one motif.
  4. Pay fairly and on time, in a way that reaches the people who stitch.
  5. Credit the makers by name or group, with their consent.
Organisations you may come across
  • Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation (KSHDC): the state body that holds the Kasuti GI. It runs the Cauvery handicrafts emporia. A natural first contact for verified sourcing.
  • Development Commissioner (Handicrafts): the central government office for handicrafts, under the Ministry of Textiles. It runs schemes for artisans, including artisan identity cards (reported as the Pehchan card).
  • Crafts Council of India and the Crafts Council of Karnataka: non-profit bodies that support craftspeople and can sometimes connect designers with artisan groups.
  • Kaikrafts, with the IDF SHG Foundation: reported to have trained and employed women in Kasuti since about 2010, in the craft’s home region. Not checked by us.
  • Banjara Kasuti: reported to work with women of the Lambani (Banjara) community around Vijayapura, on skill-graded wages. Not checked by us.
  • Cooperatives around Dharwad, Hubballi, Kalghatgi, Gadag and Mundargi, supported by bodies reported to include Bhagini Samaj and Janata Shikshana Samiti. Numbers and current status not checked by us.
  • A training centre in Hubballi set up by the state to protect the craft, reported in several sources. Current status not checked.
What to check

Before you buy a finished piece

  • Turn it over. Gavanti and Murgi should look almost the same on both sides, with no knots (Module 8, Is it real? Spotting hand-worked Kasuti).
  • Look for small human variation between repeats. Perfect sameness suggests a machine.
  • Look for Neyge. It is often the first stitch dropped under time pressure.
  • Ask who made it, and where. A good seller can usually tell you.

Before you accept a commissioned order

  • Compare it with the approved sample, front and back.
  • Check the count, the colours and the size against the brief.
  • Check the ends are woven in and trimmed, and there are no marks or stains.

When a supplier makes claims

  • “GI authorised user”: ask for their registration details and check them in the GI Registry’s public records.
  • “Natural dyes” or “eco-friendly”: ask for supplier-specific evidence. Hand stitching itself does not guarantee any dye or fabric standard.
  • “Fair trade” or “artisan-owned”: ask how the makers are paid and who owns the group.
Questions to ask an artisan group
  • How many embroiderers work with you, and where?
  • How are they paid: per piece, per day, or a fixed wage? When?
  • How long would this design take one embroiderer?
  • Can you make a paid sample first?
  • Who checks quality, and how?
  • May we name your group, and the makers, on our product?
  • What materials do you prefer to use, and where do you buy them?
Tips for learners and teachers
  • Visit if you can. Meeting the makers changes how you brief and how you price.
  • Work with a group rather than one person for repeat orders; it spreads the work and keeps quality steady.
  • Run a joint design workshop before a collection: your market knowledge, their craft knowledge.
  • Keep everything in writing: brief, sample approval, dates, payments.
  • Order steadily. Regular smaller orders often help artisans more than one huge rush.
  • Teachers: buy class materials from local weavers and shops where you can, and tell learners where they came from.
Common misunderstandings

“A low price means a good deal.”

For hand Kasuti, a quote that ignores the hours means either an unrealistic deadline or a shortcut: fewer stitches, no Neyge, or machine help.

“Buying from a cooperative always means fair pay.”

Usually it helps, but ask how members are paid. Good groups are happy to explain.

“Free samples are normal.”

A sample takes real hours. Paying for it is fair, and it shows you are serious.

“Online marketplaces sell only genuine work.”

Some do; some don’t. Apply the same checks whatever the channel.

For earning and teaching

For earning: a reputation for fair commissioning attracts the best artisans and builds trust with buyers. Methods for costing and contracts are in the course Kasuti as a Business. Contracts are a question for a lawyer; tax on purchases and sales is a question for your CA.

For teaching: a session on “who made this, and were they paid fairly?” gives learners a lasting respect for the craft and its makers.

Sources and uncertain points
  • KSHDC as the GI holder is on the public GI record. Its Cauvery emporia are well known.
  • Kaikrafts with the IDF SHG Foundation, Banjara Kasuti, Bhagini Samaj, Janata Shikshana Samiti and the Hubballi training centre are described in craft documentation cited by our source ebook. We have not confirmed their current activity, numbers or wages.
  • The Pehchan artisan card is reported as a scheme of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts); check its current form with that office.
  • Where Ilkal sarees and khana are woven is widely documented; the GI status of the Ilkal saree is on the public GI record.
Check yourself
  • Do you use the four stitch names in every brief?
  • Do you pay for samples and approve them before the full order?
  • Do you check the back of every piece you buy or accept?
  • Do you ask for evidence behind GI, eco and fair-trade claims?
  • Do you credit the makers, with their consent?
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