Appliqué is the craft of sewing pieces of cloth onto a larger cloth. The pieces make a picture or a pattern. The big cloth underneath holds them all.
Wikipedia calls it “ornamental needlework”. It says fabric pieces are “sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern” (Wikipedia, Appliqué). The word comes from the Latin applicō, “I apply”.
Where appliqué began
Wikipedia says appliqué had “a humble beginning”. People first used it “to strengthen worn areas of items or to patch holes” (Wikipedia, Appliqué). It started as repair and later became decoration.
That link to old, worn cloth is one reason we care about it. Kantha shares the same habit of reuse.
Appliqué and patchwork
People mix these two up, and the quickest test is the base cloth.
- Appliqué sews smaller pieces of fabric onto a larger fabric.
- Patchwork is “also known as piecework”. It sews small pieces together, and it “needs no background fabric.”
Measure by the Yard puts the test in one line: “The primary difference between applique and patchwork is the background fabric” (Measure by the Yard). The same page says people can use both in quilting.
Appliqué work in India
Search for “applique work” and most of the answers come from India. Pipili, Khatwa and Kawandi show how wide the craft is. These three are only examples.
Pipili, in Odisha
Wikipedia says the village of Pipili in Puri district “is well known for its appliqué work”. It dates the craft to the 12th century and the worship of Lord Jagannath. The best-known pieces are the coloured cloth covers of the three chariots at Rath Jatra, a chariot festival (Wikipedia, Pipili appliqué work). Today the same work also appears on pillows, seats and festival goods.
Khatwa, in Bihar
Khatwa is the name for appliqué work in the Mithila region. Makers cut one fabric and stitch the pieces to another. Wikipedia says it is mainly used for “designer tents, canopies and shamianas” (Wikipedia, Khatwa).
Kawandi, in the Siddi community
The Siddis of western India make quilts called kawandi. Women use a cotton sari, a long wrapped cloth worn in South Asia, as the backing. They fix patches to it “with lines of back stitch or running stitch, until the entire sari is covered.” Most of the cloth comes from “old, worn-out clothing.”
The Textile Research Centre in Leiden adds a note. It says “Kawandi are often called patchwork quilts, but technically they are made in an appliqué technique” (TRC Leiden).
Wikipedia also lists the godadi blankets of Kutch in Gujarat. It says the ralli quilts of India and Pakistan “also use appliqué” (Wikipedia, Appliqué).
Raw-edge appliqué
Needle-turn appliqué folds the cut edge under, and the stitches almost vanish. Raw-edge appliqué leaves the cut edge as it is.
The International Quilt Museum covers both in a beginner tutorial.
It says raw-edge appliqué “is often easier for beginners making fabric art”. For that method, “the simplest sewing stitch to use for this technique is running stitch” (tutorial).
The same tutorial says needle-turn appliqué is “preferred for quilts and clothing that will be washed and used a lot”. It adds that raw edge may not be the best method for work that people wash or fold a lot.
Where kantha fits
Kantha is a different craft. It is a running stitch that holds layers of cloth together. A textile reference says makers create kanthas “by embroidering the layers of cloth together, not stitching, patching or appliqueing them” (source).
Appliqué is about how cloth goes on. Kantha is about the stitch that holds it. Our post What is kantha? tells the full story of the stitch.
Kantha and appliqué do meet in history. Wikipedia suggests the earliest kantha “was probably the patchwork kantha”, and that the appliqué type “evolved from this” (Wikipedia, Nakshi kantha). Wikipedia presents this as a proposal, not as settled fact.
Building a Kantha panel
A Kantha panel is not appliqué, and it is not a nakshi kantha. It does borrow from both.
- A maker cuts 35 squares of cloth, each 6 × 6 cm.
- They lay the squares on a backing cloth. Each square overlaps the next by 2 cm, so 4 × 4 cm of each shows.
- They sew rows of running stitch through the square, the printed paper sheet and the backing.
- They tear the paper away along the stitches.
Step 2 is how raw-edge appliqué works: cut cloth on a ground cloth. Step 3 is kantha’s stitch. The result looks like patchwork, a grid of squares, but the squares do not join edge to edge.
Our Help page shows each step with drawings. The studio arranges the 35 squares from the maker’s own cloth, and how Kantha works explains the whole process.
A short summary
- Appliqué sews cut cloth onto a base cloth.
- Patchwork sews pieces edge to edge, with no base.
- Kantha is a running stitch through layers.
- A Kantha panel lays squares on a backing, as raw-edge appliqué does. It holds them with that stitch.